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7Cs of Consulting
- By Mick Cope
- Published Mar 21, 2000 by Pearson FT Press.
Book
- Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
Description
- Copyright 2000
- Dimensions: 6 x 9
- Pages: 256
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-273-64511-0
- ISBN-13: 978-0-273-64511-5
The consultancy business is booming. For any consultant aiming to survive and grow in this complex world, they need to have a clear and concise change model to hand, one that can guarantee delivery of a wide range of change projects.
Based around the author's 7Cs model (Client, Clarify, Create, Change, Confirm, Continue, Close), The Seven Cs of Consulting offers both budding and experienced consultants a solid and robust framework to enhance their ability to manage any consultancy assignment — from understanding the client's needs through to successful assignment completion and developing new business out of that success. With the help of the crib notes on the pull-out back pocket guide, the 7Cs model will show you how to improve your professionalism and deliver clear and demonstrable results to clients, bringing them back for more.
Sample Content
Table of Contents
Preface.
About the Reader.
Acknowledgements.
I. INTRODUCTION.
1. The Framework Background.2. Navigating the Waters.
3. Consulting Environment.
II. THE SEVEN Cs PROCESS.
4. Defining the Seven Cs.Timing. Sequence.
5. An Effective Client Relationship in Five Steps.Step One: Stool. Step Two: Trust Index. Step Three: Engage. Step Four: Push/Pull. Step Five: Shadow Diamond.
III. THE SEVEN Cs TOOLKIT.
6. Stage One: Client.Orientation. Desired Outcome. Change Ladder. Situation Viability. Decision Makers. Ethos. Contract.
7. Stage Two: Clarify.Diagnosis. Shadow. Culture. System Construction. Stakeholders. Life-Cycle Risk. Feedback.
8. Stage Three: Create.Managed Creativity. Creative Blockage. Scanning. Storyboard. Resources. Stream Owners. Positics.
9. Stage Four: Change.Methodology. Energy. Engage. Entry. System Dynamics. Uncertainty. Resistance.
10. Stage Five: Confirm.Responsible. Timing. Design. Depth. Data Map. Consulting Performance. Costs.
11. Stage Six: Continue.Sustainability. Language. Gravity. Flow. Knowledge Transfer. Knowledge Management. Diffusion Channels.
12. Stage Seven: Close.Clients View. Outcome Review. Learning. Added Value. Build. Re-engage. Exit.
IV. SEVEN Cs IN ACTION.
13. The Reality.3M Mapping. Skills. Client Understanding. Client Meetings.
Appendix: Model Deconstruction.Bibliography.
Index.
Preface
Preface
Conventional wisdom suggests that an author should focus on the needs of the reader. I confess I took the decision to be selfish. I wanted to write a book I would use as a personal guide, memory-jogger and communication tool. However, my belief (and the argument in this book) is that the principles of consulting are sufficiently generic to ensure that what I find of use will also be of interest to colleagues in other companies and industries. The underlying principles are:
Consulting is fundamentally about change, about helping another person, team or organization make the transformation from one state to another. This might be a physical, cognitive, emotional, structural, technological or organizational change. Unless something changes, then why should any reward be forthcoming from the client?
Any consulting project will benefit from the application of a change model that makes sense to the client as well as the consultant.
Consulting is consulting. Scale, context and outcomes may differ, but the basic steps are common to all assignments.
Since content and context drive a consulting project, no two will be the same. So any consulting framework can only act as an indicative rather than a directive model.
Successful consulting is about making a difference for the client and consumer - the goal is to deliver the contracted change, not a successful t consultancy project.
These guiding principles are used to underpin the Seven Cs, from meeting the client to closing the contract and saying goodbye. However, they are not offered as sacrosanct principles that must be employed in all situations. Such a rigid approach ultimately leads to the desire to implement wholesale replicated change programmes, which in turn lead to only limited success. That approach is often behind the cynicism about the consulting industry. The aim of this book is to offer an outline framework within which each consultant can understand the context of a situation and then develop a solution that is appropriate (Lissack, 1999).
I hope that you accept my ideas in the spirit in which they are offered. Although the intention is always to offer ways and means, not must and should,this is difficult when certain ideals and beliefs are felt with passion. So although parts of the book might appear to be directive in nature, if the reader ever feels that the style or content is offering the 'right solution', then it should be consigned to the waste bin.
To prepare yourself for the world that is coming, you must understand why it will be different from what most experts tell you.
(Rees-Mogg and Davidson, 1997)