The Practice of Professional Consulting

What Do We Mean by “Process”?

First, we need to define what we mean by “process,” then apply it to consulting so we can understand how consultants do their work. Webster’s New University Dictionary defines process as follows:

A succession of actions undertaken to bring about some desired result. A series of gradual changes moving toward some particular end; a forward movement; progression.

With this definition in mind, we can understand consulting as a series of actions and steps that progress from understanding a client’s problem to producing a solution that solves the problem. This may be done by facilitating a process that enables the client to become “self-directed,” as in organization development consulting, or by giving the client ...