The most common response prospects give us is “I’m
fine.”
While many may indeed be “fine”, the majority of these
businesses are doing their best ostrich imitation, hiding their heads in the
sand. Management is focused on the day
to day operation of their companies and don’t have the time to look for areas
that could be improved. “If it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it.”
The “I’m fine” response also reflects a basic distrust of
consultants. To be fair, many in my
profession have built reputations for which distrust is well deserved. Consultants tend to be expensive and are
frequently unable to produce quantifiable results. There are 2 types of consultants. The first is a professional who chooses a
career helping companies to succeed.
Their professionalism and abilities significantly increase the
likelihood of a successful engagement.
Be wary of the second type who is really unemployed and looking for
work. They may be experts in their
fields but have not yet learned how to convert that knowledge into a productive
result.
So why should you hire a consultant?
Carter McNamara offers the following list:
The following are typical situations when an
organization might need a consultant.
1. The
organization has no expertise in the area of need.
2. The time of
need is considered short-term, e.g., less than a year, with a general start and
stop time.
3. The
organization's previous attempts to meet their own needs were not successful.
4. Organization
members continue to disagree about how to meet the need and bring in a
consultant to provide expertise or facilitation skills to come to consensus.
5. Leaders
want an objective perspective, i.e., someone without strong biases about the
organization's past and current issues.
6. A
consultant can do work that no one else wants to do.
7. An outside
organization demands that a consultant be brought in, e.g., a funder wants to
ensure the organization is well suited to spend the funder's money.
8. The
organization wants a consultant to lend credibility to a decision that's
already been made (this situation would be looked at by many experienced
consultants as highly unethical).
If you see yourself in any of these situations, a
professional consultant can help you through it.
