Why are consultants failing to deliver successful results to their clients? This article offers ten reasons that should be obvious but are all too often overlooked. If you are a consultant or an employer, read on.
1. Not understanding the business.
A deadly and very common mistake that consultants make is that they do not understand their clients’ business. it’s not enough to know about business or industry, or to offer iterative solutions. It is imperative to know the history, mission, objectives, competitors and stakeholders related to the organization.
2. One size?
When it comes to processes, people, communications, strategies and solutions, one size fits all. No do everything. Let the best practices be your guide, but always put your intuition and experience to work to define each component and its impact on the complete solution, along the way.
3. They don’t listen.
You cannot have a “know it all” attitude and expect to discover and understand the pain points that will enable you to provide relevant analysis. If you don’t listen to or ignore what your customer is saying, you’ll miss out on key factors that stunt your ability to make the best, most profitable recommendations.
4. Incorrect connections.
Not recognizing the value of identifying and connecting with the right players is like playing cards with a partial deck. For example, consultants all too often misunderstand the inner workings of an organization by serving only the top level. The failure is in not realizing the importance of those who are most responsible for the front line work. If you miscalculate here, you will throw out the entire solution algorithm.
5. Tunnel vision.
Adjust your lens. It is essential to see the whole picture, which includes processes and people. Once you have identified all of the relevant components and dynamics, you can begin to map out how things fit together and begin working to formulate successful solutions.
6. Lack of Value.
No one will care about your accomplishment list, your perfectly crafted proposals, or how articulate and persuasive you are if all you have to offer is a repackaging of what they already knew. It is about adding value and offering real solutions for your bread.
7. Bad fit.
Like any successful relationship, it takes two… and not just any two. There needs to be a complementary adjustment to achieve the agreed results. Not all consultants are multifunctional. If an organization needs someone who understands the implementation of cutting-edge technology in the public space, they probably don’t want someone who has a perfect track record in the field of private non-profit healthcare services, but absolutely no technical progress.
8. Bad communication.
This can be a real killer. Your communication must be clear and relevant. You must be an expert listener and be able to have an open and helpful dialogue. Be quick with responses, reports, and comments to all of the appropriate players. And you need to be able to articulate pain, goals, and solutions.
9. Carelessness.
This should be a given, but unfortunately it is not. You must respect the client by coming to meetings prepared, being organized, communicating clearly, arriving on time, interacting respectfully and promptly, and making sure to keep your promises. If you don’t pay attention to details, it will show.
10. Lack of integrity.
Credibility, trust, and respect are important in all healthy relationships. By ignoring the importance and impact of integrity, you risk failure. You cannot be dishonest, manipulative, deceitful, abusive or negligent and expect to be rewarded. There is only one guardian of your reputation: you!
