If solid diagnosis is the foundation for effective organizational change, what is a good way to structure my recommendations?

There is no excuse for sloppy description of an otherwise solid diagnosis. How you present your results affects how well they are understood, accepted and implemented. One good way is how many financial analyses and audits are presented:

• Material Weakness - a description of the facts in evidence that bear attention by management.
• Cause of Condition - the source of the material condition and why this condition exists (and what the recommendation seeks to alleviate).
• Effect - how this condition affects the organization's core needs or performance, in effect the reason you are recommending the organization address this as a priority.
• Recommendation - what actions the organization should take to eliminate the effect and prevent reoccurrence of weakness.

One of the real benefits of this approach is its ability to clearly document your diagnosis for future use. When consultants make recommendations for their clients, everyone usually understands the implications at the time they are made. However, six months or a few years later, the nuances of your findings and recommendations are lost. This format should help make the value of your diagnosis last.

Tip: This format will help you be very clear about the subtleties of your findings and recommendations. Propose a specific format, with a few examples, of how you will characterize your diagnosis, and review with your client.

© 2009 Institute of Management Consultants USA

Prospects are sometimes reluctant to start an engagement until they see the full scope of the process but can't see the scope until they start and complete some diagnostics. How can I get past this constraint?

This is always in a manager's mind but probably more so in these risk-averse times. From the manager's perspective, he or she wants to assure that money and staff time are well spent and wants to know the scope, sequence and content of consulting tasks. From the consultant's perspective, we want to conduct some diagnostics first before laying out the full scope of the engagement, even though we have a pretty good idea of how we would proceed. In management, as in medicine, prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.

The building industry figured this out years ago when building slowed down. They developed the design/build concept, where a single firm would do the architectural design work prior to building. Once the project was clear, the buyer could go out and find the best builder. However, the buyer had already established a trust in the design phase and was familiar with the design itself. More often than not, the buyer would select the firm it knew. By offering both services, the project was both more efficient and better for the builder.

Tip: Offer to provide both design and build services for consulting work. Approach a prospect in need and offer to scope out the work using fast track diagnostics and limited interviews. For a low price and risk, you can provide the prospect an objective and independent view of what might be needed in an improvement project. They are under no obligation to use your services but you reserve the right to bid on any request for services they issue. The client receives valuable perspectives from you, gets a chance to know you without any obligation, and you get insight into how best to serve. Sounds like a good plan all around.
© 2009 Institute of Management Consultants USA

What are some of the things a consultant should have with them when giving a presentation? I don't want to carry a suitcase but feel like there are probably some essentials.

Every so often, consultants show up at a meeting, facilitation session or workshop wishing they had an item that could make a big difference. It might be a whiteboard marker (all the ones there were dry), post it notes (it would have made quickly collecting client ideas easier), Ethernet cable (client wireless network went down), flash drive (needed to use client's laptop when yours died), or extra marketing materials (when a prospect asks, it pays to be ready).

There are a few items in your toolkit that can save the day. First is a three pronged electrical adapter (when wall plugs are only two prongs). How would you like not being able to do your presentation because you can't plug in your projector? Second is a digital camera. It is able to record the contents of a white board or capture images of the attendees at a meeting. Finally, a digital voice recorder is often very useful for capturing details of an interview or meeting when taking notes is impractical.

Tip: Think through all the times in a meeting, workshop or presentation where you or someone else either had or didn't have some item, tool or component that made a difference. Make a list of those items and check it before each time you leave the office. It is even possible to have a small box or case packed with the items on your list you can grab on your way out the door or keep in your car.

© 2009 Institute of Management Consultants USA