Why We’re Different
Why We’re Different
What’s wrong with CONVENTIONAL consulting?
According to Robert H. Schaffer, author of “High Impact Consulting”, and another giant whose work has strongly influenced us, almost all the managers who engage consultants, and almost all the consultants they hire, subscribe to a model of consulting that severely LIMITS the benefits of their collaboration! We’ve seen plenty of cases where traditional consulting resulted in the proverbial “three-ring binder on the shelf”. This happens A LOT! It is important to deeply understand WHY it happens, in order to then appreciate why a very different approach is needed.
Schaffer explains that in conventional consulting:
- It is typically expected that consultants are accountable for creating the best possible solutions and tools…while clients are accountable for using those solutions and tools to produce the improved results.
- Success obviously depends on the client organization being ABLE to do what must be done to benefit from the consulting input, AND being MOTIVATED to do it.
- If there is a gap between what is necessary for success and what the client is ABLE AND WILLING to do, then the anticipated benefits will not occur.
- Such mismatching occurs very frequently!...and at enormous cost to clients and consultants alike.
- Many consultants rationalize that such projects are technically “successful” since the consultants have provided the “right answers”, but for some reason—usually various CLIENT shortcomings—the clients were unable to benefit from the projects.
We agree with Schaffer’s strong response: “We must reject this explanation!...any answers that do NOT help clients achieve what they are trying to achieve are, in fact, WRONG answers. Period.
Conventional consultants are often (perhaps usually) unwilling to admit they have given wrong answers.”
The bottom line is that MANY projects are undermined by a huge gap between knowing WHAT to do, and having a good HOW to actually do it…to achieve REAL RESULTS!
We Are a Stark Contrast
One last note:
Many firms are likely to promise the things in our column, but won’t deliver.
We actually promise them AND deliver!