Tips for the consultant

Here are few points that I have developed over observing external consultants come in and give seminars. I have seen some impressive people, which made me salute them inside and I have seen some whom I just wanted to ask, “Why did you even join consulting, this does not suit your personality.”

I’ve been making notes on what I should do and shouldn’t do if I am in their shoes.

I was looking up my notes this morning and thought I would post some of them.

Here they are:

• Go to basics

Go to the basics. Ask questions like, “Why are you here” “why did they hire you” “what is the goal of this business” what is the one differentiating factor between you and your competitor”. These questions startle your audience and leads them to a little introspection. I have found that these questions also help when you are trying to motivate individuals.

• Dress like the people:

Blend into the people. Do a little research. Wearing a suit and counseling a group of manufacturing supervisors actually distances you from them. The consultant I felt the most affinity with, actually wore jeans and a rugged work shirt. He was just dressed like the supervisors and they lapped up everything he said.

• Don’t show that you are the smart ass

Don’t try to show them that you are the smartest guy in the room and a know all. Don’t make yourself the center of attraction. Turn the focus lights on them. They are the superheros for the day. Make them feel good and make them like you, fast.

It is more important to be liked and a part of them than to be the smartest guy in the room. Coming back to my age old principle, “ People listen to you only when they like you.” And if they don’t like you, spell out the secret of the holy grail, no one cares.

Following it up with another line that has been very useful to me over the last couple of months “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

• Repeat people’s words and quote their names

Eg: Like Chris rightly said a while ago, the customer is the most important person on the line. Everyone knows that the customer is the most imp person, but by crediting a person in the group to that statement you turn a person of the group into your favor and make him feel proud.

• Show them the future

Show them a dream, a vision of how the whole organization would look 1 year from now with the proposed changes. Eg: A year from now, you would be so high up in your industry that your competitor would just be satisfied to be the number 2. Atleast I bought into the idea, when he described how our plant could look with the changes.