I would like to explore my attitude towards line management.  I have always have enjoyed consulting and have helped many people with their management issues.  In addition I have been very successful in managing complex projects to a successful conclusion.  However I hav

From the point of view of some people in the client organization, the consultant is seen as a threat.  In these days of outsourcing, their jobs may be threatened.   Having a consultant doing some work may be an implied criticism of internal people.  None of these t

As a part of any rapid project approach, there is often a kick off or a set of guidelines that are set up and a couple of buzz words that come out if are" CollaborateCommunicate I was reminded of this in my discussion with Rex earlier this week and have been pondering this a lot

Often the role of the consultant is to introduce change in an organization.  This can come in many forms.  However it is obvious the client wants something to be different when you assignment is finished.  So the assignment always involves change.  The success of t

Many consultants are hired for their expertise in some area.    Sometimes they are asked to produce something; a report, a design, a plan, or a program.  However how a consultant responds to this request determines if the consultant is effective or not.   Effe

One of the modules I include in every consulting skills fundamentals is the role of the consultant.  I ask the participants what they think the role of the consultant is from various points of view; the consultant, the client, the consultant’s employer.  The discussion

In the "Fifth Discipline", Peter Senge talks about one of the learning disabilities is the belief that I am my job.  This means that a person behaves as he thinks a person in his position "should" behave instead of behaving authentically.  So what does th

I have been thinking about readiness for change and the way we introduced new systems to our customers.  The general scenario is that we do business analysis to find out what are the requirements for the new system.   We then get key people to sign off on the requiremen

I had done some really good consulting work with this organization and was asked to propose on a systems planning process.  It was a competitive proposal but I felt I was in a good position to win the bid.  I proposed a very creative planning process that included a planning

Another key factor affecting readiness is how senior people make demands of their subordinates.  If the senior make clear demands and mean them can really affect peoples readiness.  One interesting phenomenon is higher up the management chain the weaker the demands get.