Consulting Best Practices: Harvard Business Review
Best Practices
- Providing Information
- Solving Problems
- Effective Diagnosis
- Recommending Actions
- Implementing Changes
- Building Consensus & Commitment
- Facilitating Client Learning
Facilitate Learning
- Organizational Effectiveness
- More Emphasis on Process
Consensus building is a process involving a good-faith effort to meet the interests of
all stakeholders and seek a unanimous agreement.
We strive to leave behind something of lasting value at the Client’s end of the Business
Consulting Purposes
1. Providing information to a client.
2. Solving a client’s problems.
3. Making a diagnosis, which may necessitate redefinition of the problem.
4. Making recommendations based on the diagnosis.
5. Assisting with implementation of recommended solutions.
6. Building a consensus and commitment around corrective action.
7. Facilitating client learning—that is, teaching clients how to resolve similar problems in the future.
8. Permanently improving organizational effectiveness.
Additional Resources
Corporate Training Materials
What is meant by organizational effectiveness?
At the most elemental level, organizational effectiveness is a concept that measures how thoroughly and
efficiently a company achieves its business goals. An effective organization runs like a well-designed,
well-oiled machine.
The Right Way to Cut People Off in a Meeting
Originally posted on Harvard Business Review.
You’ve spent hours preparing for the meeting. The objectives are clear. The agenda is tight. Relevant material
was distributed to attendees in advance. Smartphones are put away, and your team seems focused and ready to
work.
The conversation begins, but after 10 minutes of good discussion on the first agenda item, someone goes off
on a tangent that, while interesting, is only marginally related to the designated topic. Then another person
jumps in to elaborate, and the two start talking in detail about issues relevant only to them. Other attendees
begin to tune out. Now 20 minutes have passed — and you haven’t made any progress.
Short Reads
Verbal Communication Skills List
Master Class Robin Roberts Authentic
Communications