I was recently called in to "fix" the work of another consulting firm. The prior engagement called for a straightforward reorganization and the firm brought in seven consultants who created a structure and transformation process that was so complicated that the company abandoned implementation midstream. Is this common or is it more common for the client to just not follow through on a good plan?

The question is common and the answer is really simple. If the client is unable to implement the consultant's recommendations effectively, the fault primarily lies with the consultant. Now, before you say that the consultant delivered a competent plan but the client fouled it up, remember that the consultant is responsible for providing advice that leads to improvement in the client's condition. That means after implementation, not after plan delivery. If a consulting firm knows it will not be able to manage or facilitate the implementation, it is obligated to provide a workable plan or withdraw from the engagement.

Consultants are brought in to help a client get better and, more often than not, this means simplifying structure and processes. What you design should be as simple as possible to maximize the odds of it being implemented and sustained (whether you are involved in implementation or not).

Tip: Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." This is good advice for consultants when they get excited about "building" new structures or processes on a client’s existing situation. Focus on making the client’s issues as simple as possible, not adding on your own complexity.

© 2010 Institute of Management Consultants USA

How important is it to know the history of management theory as long as I know how to improve my client’s situation?

While there is a case to be made that many "new" management theories developed by researchers, practitioners and consultants are variations of existing concepts, it is still important to know their pedigree. I am not suggesting that you need to know them in enough detail to write a research paper complete with footnotes. I am suggesting you should know where they came from, why they were initially developed and whether the conditions from which theory were developed still apply to your client’s circumstances. The alternative is to keep applying what might have been, at some time in the past, a "best practice" but has ceased to be so.

Every management consultant should all understanding why some concepts, such as those developed by Whyte, Cyert and March, Simon, or Kuhn were and still are relevant. We also should be aware of why some others were tenuous at the time of their introduction, despite their popularity in the media, and are largely inapplicable now. Part of this should be aimed at understanding the circumstances under which a theory or associated consulting practice was "cast out" of the profession. For example, TQM had its day, but was its fall from grace due to a poor theory, inappropriate implementation, or being displaced by incremental theories that are rally a variation on the same theme from which TQM was derived in the first place.

Tip: Find some of the older management texts (look on Amazon under used books) that can summarize early 20th century management concepts, based on the understanding of the day. William Whyte's The Organization Man and Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions are still amazing reads. If you want the abbreviated version, try a primer on management theories.

© 2010 Institute of Management Consultants USA

It seems that increasingly I am underbid by someone offering fixed rate services at rates that I can't compete with. My consulting service is impeccable and clients seem to keep coming back, but I am afraid my competitors will continue to cut into my business. Any advice?

You are not dreaming about this phenomenon. Services are increasingly being commoditized and sold off schedules. This started in force with the federal government that, along with health care, is the largest consumer of management consulting services. Want a strategic plan? Buy it off the schedule. Need to train your staff in lean manufacturing? Again, pick from a menu of vendors, some much lower priced than others.

Some consulting services are really commoditized. They are becoming undifferentiated in the eyes of the consumer, despite our feelings of how unique they are. This has become especially true of assessments and training. Need to "check out" your people? "Hire a firm to do a DISC, Harrison, MBTI, Prevue or any other one. They're all the same so just get me the cheapest one."

To see an example of this phenomenon, go to GSA Advantage, the government's procurement schedule. Search for "strategic plan" and see if your prices and offerings can compete with the 4,000 companies who will sell you one. (Note that the federal government negotiates rates that are discounted from commercial rates.)

Tip: Create a menu of your services. How would you sell a specific outcome (e.g., marketing plan, performance measurement system, process design, more effective sales force, supply chain security) for a fixed price? Not easy, is it? Put yourself in a client's shoes. Menu pricing makes it easier to see if you are providing something of value and not based on your hourly rate - you may be over or under pricing your services. With that warning in mind, the only way to compete with commoditized services offered by your competitors is through differentiation of your services in the mind of the client - the a la carte items that can't be sold as substitutes of each other.

© 2010 Institute of Management Consultants USA