When yet another consultant supernova flashes in the sky you ask yourself a question, what, again? I get it. All consultants are not created equal. The blend of expert and process knowledge is what makes them valuable for the client.
In my journey, I made a lot of steps first only by intuition. Then formal learning kicked in, cementing and structuring the knowledge. I pride myself on merging business knowledge with innovative technologies. After all, the business is a combination of processes and people, but why deny myself some automation?
Below I put together some of the features to my method besides the obvious, like data collection and analysis, visualisation and reporting, process mapping and mining, and so on. Here I’d like to show why the experience of working with me is really different and, more importantly, valuable.
All you need is…
As Alan Weiss says in his Consulting Bible, “The role of a consultant is to improve the client’s condition”. So, similar to Hippocratic Oath, we should do no harm. And also dig deeper for the route cause of business troubles.
“All clients know what they want. Few know what they need.”, says Weiss in the same book. I learned this the hard way through countless customer interactions. Then the quantity has turned into quality and I started getting the idea of what the client really wants before asking too many questions.
For instance, when I went to an urban development conference earlier this year, there was an interesting report on how replacing concrete school yards with green spaces increases kids’ happiness. Of course this initiative didn’t go without a hitch, having met the resistance of teachers and parents. I started asking the lecturer questions about the real motivations behind it, implying that maybe the drivers for parents (more greenery - more time outside - less time for learning - bad marks - lost future) and teachers (more greenery - less attention - more time outside - bad marks - school reputation down) were actually not that far off. In return, I was asked if I was speaking from my experience. No, I just used the five whys!
This shows how close the motivations lie for those who dare research them and how far for those who mistake the client’s wants for needs. What I always try to do is to discover the needs of the customer and build our workflow from there.
By people for people
When I explained my business model - process optimization - to an experienced consultant from another field, she asked “Why not simply use a piece of software for that?”. That led me to improving my pitch of course, but she got a lengthy explanation why it’s much more than just an app.
Processes can be impeccably built… and grind people. As the song goes, “Some of them want to use you… Some of them want to abuse you”. When organizations do that, they do get some results. What they also get is disoriented people, high turnover, goal misalignment and low motivation. Not on my watch!
I strongly believe in developing the processes people feel comfortable in. It doesn’t mean these are not scalable and tailored to boot, just the opposite. To me, the efficient process is transparent, well-documented, aligned with the goals and, what’s more important, giving a clear idea what every single employee can do to drive the company forward. That’s the real empowerment for me.
Why so serious?
“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.”, says the Bard. Although present mirth and laughter might seem counterintuitive to the serious business setting, believe me, it’s quite the opposite.
One of the key parts of my approach to business improvement is the outsider’s POV. And sometimes this outsider is the jester, who can freely speak their mind. Through jokes and metaphors it’s much easier for the customer to see their business in a different light. Not mockingly but with good humour that allows everyone to relax. Think Misrule in a controlled environment, where people involved can wear the imaginary cap with bells and speak their mind. Trust me, this really helps.
I’ve signed up for a standup comedy course. It certainly will be reflected in later posts. Stay tuned!
The interconnectedness of all things
All these features come together nicely. Discovering the real business needs leads to clear goal setting that in turn get communicated to employees and aligned with their motivations, where humour and unorthodox methods are used in moderation to break the tension and foster communication.
“I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.” (and what’s the talk about the holistic approach without Dirk Gently!). I prefer going into the project with mind open, approach things systematically and wear many hats… including the one with bells!
