How do you explain what you do when your title is Business Consultant? Business consulting is a wide-open vague description of so many things one can offer to an organization. It is easy to describe key areas of focus, but the reality is that a business consultant is more than just their specialty area. A good consultant will be able to see the organization three dimensionally and then offer a wider view than the members are able to see on their own. When I engage with a new client my first order of business is to get a deeper understanding of the organizations and leadership process. Understanding how the organization operates is the key to understanding how the process of organizational change will be achieved. Is there alignment between what the stated goal and the followers? Do the followers see the operation of the organization the same way the leaders do? All are key questions to understanding the culture of the organization. A cultural assessment allows for certain organizational attributes to better manifest themselves before you. In other words, if you know what you’re looking for you can find it much quicker. Case in point, a client was losing a large amount of money each month. They knew there were problems but didn’t really know where to look or how to fix it. Through the process of interviews, assessments, and observation it became clear where the bottleneck was. After much coaching and consulting, the final resolve was that a certain member of the team was no longer needed and was dismissed. While we attempted to save the individual the reality was that within 49 days, expenses dropped by 18% and income went up 36%. It was a dramatic shift within the organization and showed that the assessment was spot on. Not only did the client see a shift in expenses and revenues, but also an increase in efficiency in their process. Sometimes organizational change requires a shift in approach and sometimes it requires a shift in staff. Change of this nature has to have the embrace of the leadership and should be explained properly to the staff. Interesting how one change is the difference between profits or large losses.
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Philip A Foster is considered a Thought Leader in Business Operations, Organization and Strategic Leadership. He is a prolific writer, published author and lectures internationally. His most recent e-book “Organization 3.0 – The Evolution of Leadership and Organizational Theories Toward an Open System for the 21st Century” is available exclusively on Amazon. Philip is certified in both Leadership and coaching and serves as Adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN. He is the Founder and CEO of Maximum Change Leadership and Business Consulting, serving clients from around the world. He is a Doctor of Strategic Leadership candidate with emphasis in Strategic Foresight and holds a Master of Art in Organizational Leadership, both from Regent University, Virginia. He can be reached at philip@maximumchange.com