Checklist to Terminate a Consulting Project

By Carter McNamara on June 23, 2016

If you and your client decide to terminate the project because it was satisfactorily completed, or for a technical reason, or because of a sudden interruption, then be sure to terminate it in a way that maintains a respectful relationship.  Consider these guidelines. Produce a Final Project Report Both you and your client should complete […]

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How to Manage Resistance in Consulting — Part 1 of 3: What is Resistance?

By Carter McNamara on May 5, 2013

Welcome to this 3-part article on managing resistance in consulting projects.  This Part 1 describes resistance and how to recognize it.  Part 2 will describe how to deal with resistance from your client.  Part 3  will describe how to deal with your own resistance as a consultant. What is Resistance?  What Causes it? An important […]

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Why I’m Cynical about the Consulting Profession

By John Dupre on April 14, 2013

Years ago, I remember going out on sales calls with one of the partners in our consulting firm, Marv Weisbord. We would most often be asked in to help a leadership team that was struggling. So, we’d be sitting with a group of managers listening to them talk about their difficult issues. I’d find myself […]

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Foundations of Consulting — Part 5: Internal and External Consultants

By Carter McNamara on March 6, 2013

Welcome to this six-part series on the foundations of consulting.  If you have not been following along with us, then we encourage you to read parts 1-4, referenced from the bottom of this article.  Part 1 establishes the basis for the series by using Peter Block’s definition of a consultant as someone who is trying […]

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Foundations of Consulting — Part 2: How Do Consultants Work?

By Carter McNamara on February 12, 2013

Part 1 of this series is What Do Consultants Do?, which defines a consultant (as Peter Block puts it) as someone who is trying to change another person, process or organization, but who has no direct control over what they are trying to change.  That post also listed numerous roles that a consultant might play […]

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Foundations of Consulting — Part 1: What Do Consultants Do?

By Carter McNamara on February 6, 2013

Peter Block, in his seminal book, Flawless Consulting, explains that a “consultant” is someone who is trying to change another person, process or organization, but who has no direct control over what they are trying to change. Usually, that change is intended to improve performance – the effective and efficient achievement of goals. One of […]

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Foundations of Consulting — Part 6: Good Reasons to Hire Consultants and Poor Reasons to Hire Consultants

By Carter McNamara on February 6, 2013

Welcome to this six-part series on the foundations of consulting.  If you have not been following along with us, then we encourage you to read parts 1-5, referenced from the bottom of this article.  Part 1 establishes the basis for the series by using Peter Block’s definition of a consultant as someone who is trying […]

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Training Versus Consulting – a Story

By John Dupre on February 3, 2013

Recently a student asked me what the primary differences in skills were required between a consultant and a trainer. I thought about it and told her this story….. When I was working in the OD firm, Block Petrella Weisbord, I was on the consulting side of the business with Tony Petrella and Marvin Weisbord. Peter […]

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Gaining Clarity in What You Care About Most Deeply in Your OD Work

By Carter McNamara on December 2, 2012

(This post was written by co-host, John Dupre.) I was recently talking to a group of students in a master’s program in OD. They were interested in pursuing OD consulting, whether it be internal or external. The problem with offering advice is that there are so many definitions of OD now. The profession has become […]

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Differences in How Change in Practiced in East Compared to West

By Carter McNamara on September 2, 2012

(Guest post from Ron Leeman.) I have also recently undertaken some “rough and ready” research into the different dynamics that impact the way change is practiced in the East to that of the West. I am looking at the dynamics from three perspectives: From Western Consultants who have had experience of and have practised Change […]

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