Technical and Interpersonal Skills Aren’t Enough for Consulting

By Carter McNamara on February 24, 2017

Peter Block, in his seminal consulting book, Flawless Consulting, writes, “There is a set of skills that is an essential part of consulting over and above technical expertise and interpersonal skills – and these are consulting skills” (Jossey-Bass, 2000, p. 6).  Yet, the myth continues that technical and people skills are sufficient for successful consulting.  […]

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How Disconnected Conversations Can Hurt Your Consulting

By Carter McNamara on February 13, 2017

Here’s an Example of a Disconnected Conversation A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine and I were talking about a particular consulting project.  We just weren’t connecting in our conversation somehow — I kept repeating my points and he kept repeating his.  It felt like we were disagreeing somehow, but neither of us […]

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Challenges in Consulting to Small Organizations (Part 3 of 3)

By Carter McNamara on January 23, 2017

See Challenges in Consulting to Small Organizations (Part 1 of 3) and Challenges in Consulting to Small Organizations (Part 2 of 3). 8.  The focus of consultant projects can change frequently. Smaller organizations, like larger organizations, are dynamic and complex.  New and different problems can arise at any level in the organization.  However, in smaller […]

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Challenges in Consulting to Small Organizations (Part 2 of 3)

By Carter McNamara on January 16, 2017

See Challenges in Consulting to Small Organizations – Part 1 . 5.  The organizations are often too small to justify or pay for expensive outside advice. Even when struggling with recurring issues, many small organizations hesitate to spend money on what is seen as diverting valuable dollars from sales and services.  So when they do […]

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Challenges in Consulting to Small Organizations (Part 1 of 3)

By Carter McNamara on January 12, 2017

Small organizations are often like small families, with all of the ensuing dynamics and challenges that we encounter in families of our own.  This presents special challenges for consultants when working to help leaders of these organizations to solve problems and learn at the same time.  However, this also presents opportunities for the consultants who […]

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How to get your clients to participate in their consulting projects (Part 3 of 3)

By Carter McNamara on December 28, 2016

As we clarified in Parts 1 and 2 of 3, if your clients don’t participate in the consulting to improve their organization, then you are faced with the dilemma:  “Should I just do the work for the client, or should we keep slipping deadlines in the project”.  However, long-lasting change will not occur in their […]

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How to get your clients to participate in their consulting projects (Part 2 of 3)

By Carter McNamara on December 20, 2016

As we clarified in Part 1 of 3, if your clients don’t participate in the consulting to improve their organization, then you are faced with the dilemma:  “Should I just do the work for the client, or should we keep slipping deadlines in the project”.  However, long-lasting change will not occur in their organization if […]

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How to Get Your Clients to Participate in Their Consulting Projects (Part 1 of 3)

By Carter McNamara on December 12, 2016

A common question that we get is “How can I get my clients to participate in the consulting project when they seem too busy to even attend our meetings?”  This question is relevant whether you are an internal or external consultant. In those situations, you are faced with the dilemma:  “Should I just do the […]

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What really motivates you as a consultant? What really motivates your clients?

By Carter McNamara on December 6, 2016

 Different people are motivated by different things.  It’s very important to know what really motivates you.  Otherwise, the quality of your work will suffer.  When helping another person, it’s very important to know what really motivates them, as well, so that you can build those motivators into your work with them. Consider from among the […]

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How Can I Market My Consulting Business (Part 1)

By Carter McNamara on December 2, 2016

There are numerous sources of online information about how to market a consulting business, for example, use your browser to search at inc.com, marketingsuccess.com and entrepreneur.com.  We have been teaching consulting skills for many years, and the advice that we hear from our students about what has been successful for their marketing often does not […]

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