The Manager's Pocket Guide to Using Consultants

What Consultants Do

Before we outline the kinds of services an outside consultant can provide to a company or an organization, let’s look at what a consultant considers to be his or her overall responsibility:

1.   Define the problem.

2.   Break it down.

3.   Understand the business context.

4.   Gather and analyze data.

5.   Work with the client team.

6.   Make recommendations.

7.   Implement solutions.

Now let’s go back to the general responsibilities any of these kinds of consultants tackle and get into more detail.

1.   Define the problem. Work with the CEO or senior management team to identify the problem or issue they are facing and the desired goal.

2.   Break it down. Work with the team to break the problem down into distinct parts, assign ...