The Basic Principles of Effective Consulting

This is a very good time for consultants. As corporations have been reorganizing and downsizing, merging and globalizing, the consulting business has been booming.The Basic Principlesof Effective Consulting is about what effective consultants do and how they do it. It provides a step-by-step process that can provide successful outcomes for consultants and their clients. The chapters have plenty of examples and cases of the process used by effective consultants, as cases and examples are one of the best ways to learn the consulting business. Also provided as part of each chapter are short pieces of expert advice by established consultants and users of consulting services. Teachers in business schools will find this book can serve as an excellent supplemental textbook on consulting practices.

Contents: Foreword. Preface. Consultants and Consulting. Establishing Expectations and Goals. Formalizing the Agreement: Proposals and Contracts. Developing a Project Strategy: Diagnosis and Data Collection. Interviewing. Preparing the Feedback/Assessment Report: Moving the Client to Action. Presenting the Findings: Moving From Diagnosis to Commitment to Action. Initiating Action. Ending the Project. Some Final Thoughts: The Basic Principles of Effective Consulting.