In this weeks Coffee Conversation, Jim mentioned a saying he often said to me about change and client readiness. You can’t push on a rope, or in other words, if a client is not ready, no matter how hard you push they will not move in that direction.  This also speaks to our

One of the things that was special about Harvey was his respect for everybody no matter what their role.  He believe that everybody had a special role.  He felt very passionately about this and my first experience with this was with the support staff.  He watched very c

One of the things consultants struggle with is how much one should be involved in the clients problems.  Should one simply collect data, analyse and report or should you get involve in making it happen?   In discussion with one of my partners who wanted to be actively i

"Drip Method" – Probably my most memorable saying from HSG was the "drip" method – Burry Foss. This is the gradual introduction of new ideas to clients when their readiness for change is low.  I have found it to be one of the most powerful tools in

The other saying which I mentioned in the # 1 but deserves its own note is "What is in the best interest of the client?" Often when I had a tough client situation and was not quite sure what to do I would have a discussion with Harvey.  He always listened carefully and

I thought as all of a sudden we started publishing Jim and Harvey sayings to give you a brief intro as to why.  Jim (Jim Hayward) and Harvey (Harvey Gellman) started a Canadian consulting firm called "Gellman Hayward and Partners Ltd." in the early 70’s which even

"People get the systems they deserve." Most people complain about the systems they have. They are too slow, they are too old, they are not integrated, they don’t meet our needs, they are too restricted in their capabilities or they are too difficult to use easily. Whil