Flawless Consulting, 4th Edition

CHAPTER 18Managing the Meeting for Action

ANYTIME YOU PRESENT a clear and simple picture of the current situation and make your recommendations, you do it in hopes of triggering action. The action could be a decision, further discovery, or learning. It is the moment of truth and high anxiety for the client and the consultant. It is also exciting and fun. Next to that moment at the beginning of the project when the client says “yes,” this is the part of consulting that I enjoy most.

The excitement of the meeting for action is that it holds the promise of some movement. It holds some hope that the energy the client and I have invested in this process will pay off. This is the major agenda—the commitment to act. To step into something new. Even if most of the meeting is spent in understanding the problem or the possibility, the heart of the meeting is the discussion of what to do. This is the way to approach the meeting: as an opportunity to get commitment, not just an opportunity to present data. In this sense, the meeting is not an ending. It is the beginning of the implementation phase that will solve a problem or change the status quo. This chapter is about how to structure and manage any meeting designed to be the beginning of some action.

To flawlessly manage this meeting, you need to attend to the business of this phase:

1. Keep the picture in focus. Keep it simple and straightforward. Use everyday language that is accurate, specific, and nonpunishing.
2. Present personal and ...