Your unique style and personality are your consulting business's most valuable assets. This practical consultant's guide emphasizes the often-ignored interpersonal aspect of the client-consultant relationship, and encourages you to add personal flair to the way you do business. Step-by-step exercises show you how to identify, nurture, and apply your style; improve your people skills; and maintain your professional integrity.
1. A consultant by any other name...
Some definitions and distinctions • Consulting skills preview • The promise of flawless consultation
2. Techniques are not enough
Beyond substance • The consultant's assumptions • The consultant's goals • Developing client commitment • Roles consultants choose • Collaboration and the fear of holding hands • Staging the client's involvementùstep by step • Checklist #1. Assessing the balance of responsibility
3. Flawless consulting
Being authentic • Completing the requirements of each phase • Results
4. Contracting overview
Contractingùthe concept • Contracting skills • Elements of a contract • Checklist #2. Analyzing one of your contracts • Ground rules for contracting
5. The contracting meeting
Who is the client? • Navigating the contracting meeting • The problem with saying no • Checklist #3. Planning a contracting meeting • Selling your services • The meeting as a model of how you work • Closing the contracting meeting • After the contracting meeting • Checklist #4. Reviewing the contracting meeting
6. The agonies of contracting
Dealing with low motivation • Ceaseless negotiation • Some other specific agonies • The Bonner Case • A look into the Bonner Case
7. The internal consultant
Important differences between internal and external consultants • Triangles and rectangles
8. Understanding resistance
The faces of resistance • What are clients resisting when they are resisting us? • Underlying concerns • Sometimes it is not resistance • The fear and the wish • Ogres and Angels • ...and heroics
9. Dealing with Resistance
Three steps • Don't take it personally • Good faith responses • Consulting with a stone
10. Diagnosis concepts
The call to action • Juggling the presenting problem • How the problem is being managed
11. Getting the data
The steps in getting data • Assessing how the problem is being managed • The data collection interview • A final comment on what to look for • Checklist #5. Planning a data collection meeting • Checklist #6. Reviewing the data collection meeting
12. Preparing for feedback
A clear picture may be enough • Some do's and don'ts • Language in giving feedback • A preview of the feedback meeting...as courtroom drama • Support and confrontation
13. Managing the feedback meeting
Feedback concepts and skills • How to present data • Structuring the meeting • The feedback meetingùstep by step • Resistance in the feedback meeting • Checklist #7. Planning a feedback meeting • Conducting a group feedback meeting • Checklist #8. Reviewing the feedback meeting • Feedback skills summary
14. After the preliminary events are over
Flawless consulting during implementation • Ending a project • The benediction
Appendix. Another checklist you can use
To get an overview • Before you negotiate your next contract, remember... • Before you go into the data collection and diagnosis phase of your next project, remember... • Before you go into the feedback phase of your next project, remember... • When you encounter resistance, remember...
Suggestions for further reading
Acknowledgments
About the author
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