Category Archives: Consulting Philosophy

Here’s the fine line walked by fine consultants:

1. Don’t assume the client is damaged.

But DO validate and verify what you’re told through observed behavior.

2. Don’t get sucked in by fads, jargon, and academics’ “breakthroughs.”

But DO find legitimate workplace trends and develop your own intellectual property.

3. Don’t get sucked into the whirlpool of low level people who talk a big game but have no budgets or authority.

But DO identify that one in ten who is professional, recognizes value, and can introduce you to economic buyers.

4. Don’t allow amateurs shouting on the social media platforms to influence your thinking or actions.

But DO use social media to introduce your own value into larger communities and to overcome the amateurs who are upset because you won’t follow them on Twitter!

5. Don’t allow the client to tell you how to consult.

But DO operate diagnostically in your marketing to draw the buyer toward your approaches, then become prescriptive when you’re hired and you must be seen as the consultant.

6. Don’t spend your precious discretionary time on people who beg you to help them for free.

But DO provide pro bono work, philanthropy, and advice to those whom you respect and deserve such help.

7. Don’t think you have to have all the answers.

But DO know how to ask all the right questions.

8. Don’t wait for the prospect to get back to you.

But DO think of the fourth sale first, and don’t rush into the easiest or most obvious project.

9. Don’t spend more than you take in.

But DO plan to invest in your own self-development continually.

10. Don’t fail to use technology to reduce labor intensity.

But DO avoid allowing it to become a burden or time waster.

11. Don’t charge by the hour or time unit.

Seriously, not ever.

© Alan Weiss 2010. All rights reserved.

Here is the heart and basis of my proposals and consulting model. It’s simple, but it’s incredible how many people mess it up.

Conceptual agreement is based on a trusting relationship with a buyer. You must deal with an economic buyer, who can authorize payment for your value. You must have a trusting relationship or the buyer will not share what you need for a proposal: conceptual agreement.

Conceptual agreement has three elements:
1. Objectives. These are ALWAYS business outcomes, never deliverables (which are always requested by low level, non-buyers), tasks, or activities. An objective is not to “Observe your work force” but rather to “Improve productivity and accountability.”
2. Metrics. These are measures of progress and success. They must be seen in the environment, so a metric cannot be “phone representatives will feel more confident that they can handle a multiplicity of client questions.” How would you know? The indicator may be “logs show that there is a continuing reduction in calls referred to technical experts.” (A metric can be subjective if you agree on the standard: “The buyer will report that time spent on serving as ‘referee’ for the management committee has significantly declined.”)
3. Value. This comprises the real power of ROI and your fee justification. It is not merely a repetition of the objective. An objective such as “increase profits” may seem like value in and of itself, but it can also translate into other value:
• Higher dividends for investors
• Better treatment by lenders
• Higher equity for resale of business or exit strategy
• Greater philanthropy and community support
• More competitive investment in overseas growth, use of technology, etc.
You can see that 5-6 objectives, multiplied by 5-6 statements of value for each, can create a very compelling reason to make a major investment in the project.

It’s really that simple.

© Alan Weiss 2010. All rights reserved.

Leadership is a noun. Leading is a verb.

I’ve been observing, coaching, and consulting with leaders since 1972. This has occurred in large firms and small, public and private, educational institutions, charities, the military, non-profits, arts groups, and the clergy, to name the major categories. I’ve done this in 50 countries.

Great leaders can’t be idealized. They possess some traits which we might otherwise regard as inappropriate at best and offensive at worst. They tend to strive for results and not acclaim. They don’t care if people like them, they care about meeting goals. Jack Welch was effectively leading 12 separate companies as CEO of GE, from light bulbs to locomotives, and was sometimes known as “neutron Jack.” He didn’t seem to care (and while GE was a client, I didn’t observe any managers who cared). He was extraordinary.

They are in many cases quasi-narcissists. They believe they are somewhat different, marching to the beat of a distant drummer, on a road rarely traveled. They break rules, exercise power, demonstrate outrage, don’t suffer fools gladly or in any other way, and are not at all afraid to make mistakes. Steve Jobs said, okay, we’ll provide you with a free case to mitigate dropped iPhone calls, but what’s the big deal?

What, indeed?

Outstanding leaders stand their ground.

They are tough, demanding, but fair. When I worked with Roy Vagelos, CEO during the golden years at Merck (America’s Most Admired Company five years running in the annual Fortune Magazine poll), people were afraid of his temper and bluntness, but he never turned a deaf ear to a fair argument. He never asked anyone to do things he wouldn’t. He thought he was the brightest guy in the room until and unless someone proved otherwise.

They take chances and aren’t afraid. Lou Gerstner didn’t know a whole lot about IBM, but he had the skills and the nerves to turn the supertanker around in the water. Scully couldn’t do that at Apple and Gilmartin couldn’t do it at Merck.

Organizations, businesses, even governments aren’t true democracies. They often function best with a benevolent dictatorship. (Lincoln Steffens observed that if we had had good kings, we would all still be monarchists.) Lincoln and Roosevelt regularly bent the rules (e.g., one suspended habeas corpus, and the other tried to pack the Supreme Court).

They aren’t afraid to tell us what we need. Morita gave us the Walkman, great grandfather of the iPhone. Smith gave us overnight, guaranteed delivery, which experts had scoffed at.

Great leaders see themselves as different, not subject to all the normal rules and regulations (and sometimes laws of nature). They can be infuriating, They wield power disproportionately. They make demands.

But the great ones make a difference.

© Alan Weiss 2010. All rights reserved.

If you want to be seen as a leader, as a brand, and as an object of interest, stop joining conversations.

Lead them.

Your “self-talk” needs to be manifest as interactive communications, attempts to influence and persuade, defense of your positions, and so forth. You’re not going to stand out in a crowd if you’re simply singing the same song as the other 400,000 people in the choir.

If you intend to be a thought leader, an object of interest, a center of expertise or however else you may choose to attract people to your market position and brand, then consider these dynamics:

• Is there a uniqueness you can lend to the discussion, given the economy, technology, or society?
• Is there a contrarian or non-mainstream view that will give others pause to think?
• Can you anticipate a new application or window of opportunity approaching?
• What original elements can you lend to the discussion?
• What examples can you cite in contemporary business and/or society that reinforce or refute the position?
• What metaphors or analogies will make your approach memorable and attached to you?
• Can you cite examples of having personally used, proved, disproved, or otherwise engaged in the subject matter?

For example, I feel that planning and strategy are two different pursuits, usually incorrectly interchanged and artificially combined by organizations and professionals. So I point out to people that “strategic planning” is an oxymoron, and that planning usually kills strategy (because the former starts at the present and extrapolates, and the latter paints a picture of the future and works backwards). I can cite why two airlines have shown intelligent strategies and results while the others have mostly floundered, and I use a strategy/tactics grid to help leaders understand where they are, where they should be, and what they have to do to get there.

When people talk about “team building” I point out that most organizations have committees, not teams, and they are two entirely separate species.

You get the picture. Don’t join the crowd, lead it. You neither want the beat of their drummer nor a distant drummer.

You want to set your own beat.

© Alan Weiss 2010. All rights reserved.

The Chief Justice of Western Australia was cited here not long ago with a video link, calling for attorneys to stop charging by the time unit as unfair to the client, and not representing their own value correctly. I sent him my book, Value Based Fees, with a note. He recently returned from a trip and kindly responded.

View letter in PDF (220 KB)