CIB.02 (CREATING A CONSULTING / IMPROVEMENT BUSINESS): ROLES & THE OATH - WILLIAM EASTMAN

Last week we outlined what the revival of the consulting series; today we start with Roles and the Oath. Some background on my consulting story.

Academically my second degree and career started with a BS in Organizational Behavior, my MS is in Management & Organizational Development. I started the first consulting operation the US Coast Guard while assigned to its Leadership & Management Program where I eventually fleeted up to School Chief.

I left the military and started a one person consulting frim and built several successful businesses including the Ken Blanchard Companies Consulting Firm - Blanchard Solutions Group.

This series and today's show in a reflection of the good, the bad, and the ugly of 41 years in the industry.

INTRODUCTION
Let me start with how much I dislike the term consultant. Not because I dislike the profession, it is all about a misunderstanding that we in the industry perpetuate. I refer to myself as the 'Unconsultant' because I want to improve our reputation from:

somebody from out of town in a business suite with a brief case and business card who borrows your watch to tell you the time and expects a big check for their positive impact.

OBJECTIVE

1. How do I decide what role to play as a consultant and what are the rules to live by?

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW
Consulting Models and Roles
4 Roles a Consulting or Consultant can play: Virtual or Fractional Executive, Subject Matter Expert, Coach, and Trainer. Each has important underlying assumptions, and each can, under the proper conditions, be useful. A consultant may also choose to play any role depending on their area of specialization and the context in which help is needed.

However, many consultants primarily act from being in charge, taking over a specific function, helping Owners/Executives to improve, or conducting a technology transfer.

• Virtual Executive - Although the VE is being “employed” by the client, in reality it is a different type of consulting assignment. Instead of giving advice and coaching members of the company on implementation, the role is execution. The process is collaborative with final decisions made by the client, however the individual in the FE role is responsible for delivering on contract specifications.
• SME – The consultant offers some information or service that the client is both requesting and unable to provide for themself. There are important assumptions in this model.
  
  • Has the client correctly identified their own needs?
    
  • Have they considered the consequences of expert data collection and recommendation on organizational change?
    
  • Is there one reality about their organization that can be objectively studied and rendered useful to the client?
    

This model puts great power into the hands of the consultant.

• Coach – the consultant assists and guides the business owner in running a business by helping to clarify the vision of the business and how it fits in with their personal goals. It​ is a process used to take a business from where it is now to where the business owner wants it to be. It is the opposite of the SME role because the coach is not providing technical information, rather is holding the owner accountable for their stated goals and objectives.
• Trainer – The consultant endeavors to increase the client’s capacity to learn so that it can fix its own problems, today, and in the future. It is a philosophy and practice built on the idea that problems are solved more effectively and sustainably if the organization itself is at the core of both diagnostic and remedial efforts. This model keeps both responsibility and control with the client.

Understand that the terms of consulting (FE & SME), coach, or trainer are artificial. Each are a methodology for sharing and incorporating information the client needs to deal with immediate issues and handle long term growth challenges.

UnConsultants Hippocratic Oath

1. Do No Harm. During the project planning phase it is critical to make the major risks known to the client and its leading indicators. The project plan must mitigate major risks to the degree possible and have a backup plan if the risks become too dangerous.
2. We Are Hired to Be Fired. The truth and the client company's success is the only aim. Be clear, pull no punches while doing it in a way the doesn't attack their self esteem or generate fear.
3. We Can't Care More Than the Client. If we find ourselves engaged with a client that is not committed to improve their business, stop the project and save them from expending another dollar. 
4. Treat Client Money Like Your Own. Since clients are incurring additional costs (travel & per diem, employee's time away from their normal assignments), manage those additional dollars like it is coming out of your pocket. Travel on schedule to get the lowest rates possible, never use their time without pre-work and structured face time.
5. Model the Process. Remember, you are modeling for the business owner a repeatable process to use after the project. Because of our engagement they must become self-reliant and self-managing.
6. They Must Know What We Know. It starts with a technology transfer. Depending on the level of engagement, make your library of knowledge and tools available to everyone in the client organization. Enable clients to take the business to the next level, not do it for them.
7. The Relationship is Never Over. Regardless of the engagement level, we are always there when they need us. This is not about money, it is about growth of their business - the money will follow.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO

1. ​Join our Facebook Group
2. Join our LinkedIn Group
3. Download the mobile APP

Next Show: CIB.03 SELECTING YOUR PRACTICE AREAS