Steinbeck Warmup

I've done a couple of these around PsychCentral: open my work day with a bit of journaling to warm up. John Steinbeck did this twice—when writing Grapes of Wrath and then again when working on East of Eden. ... Earned the Nobel Prize for Literature, guess it helped. Search on brainpickings for the full 411.

Right now, I'm dealing with a mis-match on a consulting gig. Feeling my breathing ease merely by getting the words out of my head on down on this thread.

Here's the rub: get hired because I pitched a different sort of approach, but now, my different sort of approach is ... well, different!

I'm working with a group to build understanding of a complex abstraction (leadership development) from the inside out. My checkwriter keeps asking about the external evidence they "understand." He also seems to discount their words if he (or I, when he insists) don't "tell" them first.

Had an incident a few days ago. We are planning for the first in-person gathering of the group (the other meetings have been over conference calls). One of the members perfectly described the challenge and expected outcomes. Three days later the ckwriter said, "We need to get them clearer on what the expected results are." I reminded him of this contribution from one of the very members he thinks has to be told (again) what the goals are.

Now I have extra work to transcribe a few minutes of the recording to get this down in writing.

I'm feeling some grief or sadness at the dialing down of my original euphoria for what I have started to call the "romance" of this gig. Don't really like the term "romance" but "fantasy" is not as grounded as I am about this (been consulting for a long time), and "plan" is too concrete and doesn't evoke the inner-ness of my feelings. Maybe "daydream" instead of "romance?"

Comments welcome.

Revu2

I don't pretend to understand the exact situation, there just aren't enough details. But I, too, am a consultant, and I fully understand the problems of a client mis-match. I dealt with a client back in the fall who wanted me to do all this work, which was great, but they didn't want to provide me with any of the information or resources I needed to do the work. They kept saying wasn't what they had on their website enough, and I kept telling them that their website had very limited information and it did not answer any of the questions I needed them to answer for me to be able to write the requested documents. They ended up pausing their contract indefinitely. I would love to continue working with them if they can actually do the "homework" I assigned them, but if they can't be bothered to spend some time thinking about the answers to a few questions, then there is literally nothing I can do. If they ever ask to restart the contract, I may just fire them as clients, unless they agree to the understanding that they have to provide information, I can't make it up. And referring to limited information on a website is not providing the information. (Aside from the fact that the website is in Chinese and I had to use Google translator to even understand it, and that's an imperfect translation due to the nature of automatic translation.)

I just recently almost took on another mis-match client because the size of the contract was so enticing, but it ended up not happening, and ultimately I was thankful for that. And thank goodness I did, because I recently found a much better fitting RFP and if I had taken that other contract I wouldn't have the capacity to take on this RFP.

How long is the contract you have with them? Can you see it through to fruition and then decline any further contracts with them? Is it possible to end the contract? I'm assuming by checkwriter you mean the person who contracted you, so the person you have to make happy? My contracts always specific approach and outcomes, is this person deviating from the approach and outcomes or just always requiring further clarity when something has been fully clarified?

I had a boss like that once who could never accept an explanation and always wanted more detail...like if you told someone to pour a glass of water, he would want instruction down to how to turn the faucet on and how to open the cupboard to remove a glass to use.

I have a client right now that I'm grateful to have but the contract itself is a bit of a pain in the ***. I will keep working with them because they are great to work with, but servicing their contract is not my favorite thing to do at times.

I guess that's the nature of consulting, but also the great thing is that the job is limited, so it's not forever.

Seesaw

Your checkwriter has some large blind spots. I hope you're able to work through/around/with him to help transform the team.

Thanks Seesaw for your post.

How long is the contract you have with them?

Ans: Till we're through, and our dates keeps sliding around for arranging our meetings. Suddenly, last week, Ckwriter seems much more focus on quickening the pace. When we're on a conference call, though, he contradicts me and tells the work group we have all the time it takes. Sigh.

Can you see it through to fruition and then decline any further contracts with them? Is it possible to end the contract?

Ans: Oh, sure. Most of this tension I know from experience can happen.

I'm assuming by checkwriter you mean the person who contracted you, so the person you have to make happy? My contracts always specific approach and outcomes, is this person deviating from the approach and outcomes or just always requiring further clarity when something has been fully clarified?

Ans: Yup, Scope of Work in Place. I applied using an approach they are not fully familiar with, and coming with that approach is a whole host of other differences. I also see we listen differently, and have divergent intuitions of what other people can know or figure out versus need to be explicitly and formally told.

R

Ug! It's just one of those things you have to get through. I hope you have other clients who are more pleasant who you can take some comfort in.

I have some needy clients and other clients who are just rockstars. Fortunately even my needy clients are pretty great to work with. So far.

Seesaw

Thanks for the comments. They have supported my thinking/feeling. Came to fully 'get' that Ckwriter is trying to grab the steering wheel while I'm supposedly—at considerable costs to them—in the driver's seat!

Working through the J school's "serving people" — how, why, what, who, where, when, how much, how many.

The ones I really care for are how (method & format) and why (philosophy of approach). The rest I can tell my perspective and then move out of the way. I'll keep this insight to myself. A pair of Aces and the rest pip cards.

I also sense that this wrestling for the wheel may be project long, every meeting, every interaction. I'm ready, game face every time.

I can also know that should it get too intense I can offer to fully leave the 'car' and walk home.

R

Friday is a Big Day—I conduct an Open Space exclusively for our team of 15. As I observe myself I wonder what are the optimal levels of suspense or tension pre-day, Day of, and post-day?

I do know some things from long experience. Much of what I'll say will be scripted improvisation, I suppose I can call it that. I know I must start well. I rehearse and refine the first 2 minutes continually.

Not having a sound opening is what sent me into shaky land a week ago when my computer crashed while trying to find their wifi signal. I had to buddy up on Ckwriter's computer. I didn't have space to spread my notes, etc. Made a couple of minor flubs, so managed but it didn't feel stable or confident.

One of the members sent an description of OS to the project leads (me + Ckwriter + one support staff). I'll look at it carefully today and likely will pass it through to the whole team. I didn't send any because we've had a lot of other stuff to deal with, and frankly, I'd prefer to wait for them to experience OS and then talk about it than to read someone else's ideas before experiencing it. I may or may not agree, may or may not do it as described. Sigh.

Much of today is full of printing out needed materials and keeping them organized and in a sensible order.

I have my inner assistant questioning? Am I forgetting something? Is there something I need to bring, create, take?

R

Back last night from an overnight working gig.

Really, really depleted this morning, but something I expected. Even expecting it, to arrive at the feeling of it remains it's own thing.

Along the way, the hotel (Marriott) cannot seem to get my payment right. I've addressed it, my colleague who arranged the room (and paid for it on her credit card) has addressed it twice, I've called this morning, and they are so confused! Checked my pending VISA charges and I'm seeing the wrong amount, double billed!!

Called this morning. No help. Calling someone higher up the chain of command later today. Then as high as it will take.

Alerted my credit card servicing bank and they told me how to engage their conflict resolution services.

Let see, corporations are the great, efficient, etc. assemblages of poeple who do things right! Every organization from schools to government should imitate their stellar example. They care about customer service (at least in their ads)!

Hm, then why have I had such difficulties with ... Hewlett Packard, Virgin Mobile, Marriott, Westinghouse/KitchenAid, and Back of America? I've escalated all the way to the CEO's office with Virgin Mobile and Westinghouse/KA. Brought in my US Representative to help with B o A. Gave up on Hewlett Packard and changed brands. And now getting ready to engage Marriott.

Non of these escalations needed to have happened if the reality exceeded the hype.

Never buy the hype.
R

Hi,

Mr. Steinbeck would on occasion discuss his very busy life. It's all part of getting the head clear to get to the work.

I've taken on moving our local transit system (Metro in Seattle) to Maybe. This is a play on getting to maybe which I think is very good motive. Getting to the City of Yes goes trough the town of Maybe.

I don't have much time. With the limited time I can use, I've started an egroup, thought through an approach, and identified some seemingly simply changes we might get through Maybe to Yes so we experience progress (wins, a term I downgrade because it evokes its polar term: lose).

So I put out an invite to the 6 people who have joined the egroup so far to meet or patch into a video call to talk. No response.

Now, I built the link to the call and sent it further and wider. I'll open the lines tonight and for an hour sit ready and work on related materials for the project.

And again tomorrow night.

Sometimes its more holding the faith and spirit than holding a meeting.

So be it.
R

For a few years I've taken up an-appearing-to-others Quixotic idea of repealing an odious state law. Jokingly I'd say, I'm in till I die or it passes.

Heard the "Well, you are barking up a tree but the game won't come down" sort of comment when the focus was on the City Council and getting a resolution passed calling for a repeal.

In October 2015 the CC passed out a resolution for the repeal 8-1.

Next, onto the State Legislature. "Don't bother, with the Republicans holding the Majority in the Senate it won't get any attention."

The Republicans no longer "hold" the Senate.

A new, radical, Representative has dropped a bill to lift the ban.

The Leader in the Senate organized the original Tenants Union that "inspired" the ban.

There's a hearing this morning that I'll watch via video streaming. I've sent my thoughts and materials to my Rep's office and the leading activist group. Both houses are taking it up and there may be the first vote as early as Thursday.

It's enough that "you can't fight government" is an idea that's out there. It's just sad when it's your own circles who buy into it.

No worries, I sing out loud that Civil Rights song, can't let nobody turn me around!
Revu2

Consider always that "you can't fight City Hall may be a rumor started by City Hall." Audre Lorde

I hear you. When I lived in LA I was an advocate for certain causes, and you can absolutely make change happen if you grind away long enough and loud enough. Be the squeaky wheel. I've seen so many individuals I know personally in my life time affect change in their cities by simply standing up and speaking loudly and repeatedly, and getting others to speak up with them. It can be done.

I'm glad you didn't believe the hype. I love that end quote.

2/5

In a special state. Doing research for "what's out there" for a book proposal, eventually. Came across a couple of works that, well, state a big section of what I would have said.

But, if physics is right that solidity is an illusions and most of what's out there is space, then where's the space among these works?

And that's exciting! And concerning?

Any visitors know any works in any field about metanoia ... "a transformative change of heart; especially : a spiritual conversion" but I'm keen to any conversion.

I'm interested in change of mind, fresh thinking. Not always like a genius with the cliche light bulb over their heads.

Where is the language for the "fear of changing your mind"? If I change my mind about what I eat, I'm not longer fitting in with the meal rituals of my family. If given the choice between better health by changing my customary diet vs losing the blended in/home feeling of my family, how do I describe that tug?

Revu2

Playing around words that sound like 'to' and 'do' and mixing and matching. Probably sparked by the word games the Wash. Post publishes every once and a while.

2due - a pair of books ready to return to library.

Too-do - sharing an activity

Toodew - damp morning and no desire to leave bed

Todue - approaching a due date

Toodue - approaching 2 due dates

Revu2

Revu,

I thought you'd enjoy this. I am now dealing with a client who keeps changing the deliverables drastically, so I can't actually get anything done or done with good quality for her. And the she complains about her failures and tries to blame them on me. I had to point out to her yesterday that most of the rejections she was getting were from proposals she created by herself before we started working together. If things don't improve, once I finish this current project with her, I'm going to tell her I'm unavailable for a while.

On top of that, I talked to a prospective client this morning who did not know what she wanted or needed, and when I tried to explain the process to her and how I could help her, she kept interrupting asking "Well, can't you just do this...X or Y...?" And I had to explain why I can't just do X or Y and why the best route would be Z. And then she wanted an expert level consultant (me) for $250 a month, to do around 15 hours a week of work. So that comes out to about $4 an hour. I ended the call telling her that I think she has a great organization but I just don't think it's going to be a good fit. And she was like, yeah, cause we just don't have the money...and I'm like, it's not just that. It's that you don't understand the work that needs to go into this to be successful, you aren't listening to me when I try to tell you the work that needs to be done to do this job, and that is indicative to me of what our working relationship will be like. I give people a sliding scale all the time if I feel like it. But if you're the client from hell you have two options: pay my marked up rate (some people do) or find someone else (they do that too, and I don't cry over it.).

I am a consultant because I refuse to work with people who cause me stress like that. Occasional conflicts are fine. That happens, but when it's an ongoing problem, you're very welcome to find another consultant who will deal with you. And while I say that, I'm sure someone's going to say "well, if you turn away people they'll just go to someone else." But the thing is, my job is to make them money. I have a proven track record of bringing in millions of dollars. So yeah, they can just go to someone else who will charge them less. BUT, I provide expert service that increases their chance of getting funds AND I am more knowledgeable and able to direct them through the process than the other guy. So go to someone else who will treat you worse and charge you less. You'll get what you pay for. And what you put in. Which is nothing.

Seesaw

Yes, Seesaw, I fully understand. $250 for 60 hours a month, pleeeze!!

I happened to see your post a couple of days ago while too busy thinking about a proposal I'm to send in tomorrow. I thought, ooo, a letter! I'll savor it Sunday morning. Which I am doing.

I found a pair of clever articles on client-consultant dynamics ... They're call case studies of client and consultant behaviors. See if you spot yours. I also see shadows of myself in the consultant's list. Closing in on the overworked consultant case study. If I get this next one I'll have enough on my hands for several months.

I suspect fundamentally that too many people have no innate sense of peer-to-peer project cooperation. There's always a clause I place in the Scope of Work where either party can re-open the contract should the need arise. With too many changes I pull it out and say this is beyond the original scope and we're going to have to fix something (more pay or support, or Ideally, let's commit to the work and get it done). Sigh.

Case Studies of Client Behavior

I [the blog's author, not me :: follow link for originals] have focused on sharing examples of consultant issues and behavior. However, the employees of the hiring firm can have a vital influence on cost. How the employee responds to and works with the consultants can have a direct effect on the consultants' productivity. Because the consultants' time is expensive, the hiring firm should clearly communicate to its employees regarding the importance of responsiveness to the consultants. Please keep this in mind as you review the following case studies. Additionally, you will probably know your existing employee behavior patterns before consultants arrive on the project. Try to head off problems in advance where reasonably possible.

Case Study: The "I Can Figure It Out" Employee

Some employees might resent the fact that a high-dollar consultant is being brought into the project. These employees might strongly feel that they are capable of accomplishing everything the consultant can. Of course, if the consultant does not have extensive experience, the employees might have a point. However, it is the employees' attitude toward the project that can become detrimental.
Sometimes an employee's resentment will become a measure of pride. The employee might spend extra time trying to solve certain problems without seeking help from the consultants. The employee avoids seeking help so as not to be perceived as inferior to the consultant. This is quite inefficient in two ways. First, the consultant might have some direct experience with specific problems that the employee is trying to solve. Second, the cohesiveness of the team suffers because various team members are not working together for the common good of the project.
The fact that certain employees want to solve problems themselves is a good quality. This is a much better situation than an employee who refuses to contribute anything productive. The problem is when the employee does not want to use the best available tools (in this case the availability of an experienced consultant) to help achieve success.

Case Study: "Don't Ask Me, You're the Expert"

This type of behavior in certain employees is quite similar to the issue with the "I can figure it out" employee. The root of this problem is generally resentment.
This employee would relish the opportunity to publicly demonstrate his worth. This employee is quite pleased when the consultant seeks his advice on a particular solution. Occasionally, an employee will respond to the consultant, "Don't ask me. You're the expert." A similar response might be, "I thought we were paying you the big bucks to know this stuff." There is clear resentment in this situation.
A good consultant in this situation will ignore her own pride. You will never win this employee's trust with a fight.

Case Study: The "It's Not My Job" Employee

A project implementation can be quite grueling. Many unexpected challenges can arise. The client needs a hard-working project team that can be flexible. Sometimes a new item of work is identified that really does not seem to fall in anybody's specific project plan. Here is a good time to have a consultant who will roll up his sleeves and not be afraid to get his hands dirty.
If you identify a consultant with this type of behavior, you do not have a team player who is looking after your best interests. More often, this type of behavior is observed of the end client themselves, not by the consultants. Sometimes this is a corporate squabble between different departments. No one wants to take responsibility, and everyone else is always the bad guy. If you fall into this category, please give us all a break and lend a helping hand.

Case Study: The Sniper Employee

The sniper employee is the person who is always looking for something wrong. This employee has characteristics similar to those described in the previous two sections, but this employee is a bigger problem and can be destructive to the project. The sniper makes special effort to undermine the efforts of employees and consultants alike on the implementation. His criticism is clearly not intended to be constructive. Years ago, we worked for a client who assigned to a large project team several employees who would lose their jobs when the implementation finished. The project did finish eventually, but that client spent an extra $300,000 caused by snipers.
If management keeps a hands-on approach to the project, this type of employee will be easily identifiable. This employee is not subtle about his opinions and is on a mission. If your project is forced to depend on information that requires interaction with the sniper, start your efforts as early as possible. This employee will find every excuse in the book as to why he cannot produce the necessary and complete information in a timely fashion.

Case Study: "I'm Too Busy (It's Month-End Close, You Know)"

Many employees can fall into this category during the course of project implementation. These employees are usually required to work full-time on both the project implementation and on their existing jobs. Consultants can become quite unproductive and cost the company money when information is needed that only these employees can provide.
This employee always seems to be too busy. Sometimes, there are legitimate excuses, such as operational requirements for month-end close or for employee new hires. However, as the project progresses, you can determine whether this same employee always seems to have a scheduling conflict or other crisis.
This situation should be viewed as more of a management issue. It is quite likely that the employee is genuinely overloaded with her normal full-time duties. It is also possible that the employee does not have full appreciation for the priority of the ERP implementation project. If the client's management is involved in the project, they should communicate priorities to the employees. Management might need to reshuffle other employees' work assignments to offload the overloaded employee.

Case Studies of Consultant Behavior

This section takes a look at different types of issues that arise when working with consultants. ... In some cases, I have described some recommended approaches to dealing with these issues.

Case Study: The Prima Donna Consultant

The prima donna consultant is usually a quite knowledgeable consultant. The problem with this consultant is that he has forgotten that he puts his pants on one leg at a time just like every other human. When dealing with a prima donna consultant, closely review the responses of other team members. For a period of time, the superior performance and knowledge of the prima donna might outweigh the negative impact on surrounding team members.
There is a difference between solid self-confidence and downright arrogance. The prima donna most certainly will cause damage at some point on the project in terms of how he has affected other consultants or employees. Instead of continuing to utilize the prima donna, you are likely better off long-term with an energetic and hard-working consultant even if this other consultant might have less product knowledge. Use the prima donna to your advantage, but do not let your luck run out.
Long-term, you are usually better off sending this guy to the exit. Do not worry if the door hits him on the way out. His ego cannot be bruised easily anyway.

Case Study: The Worn-Out Consultant

The worn-out consultant can feel drained for any of a number of reasons. Perhaps the consultant has been traveling for several consecutive projects. Moreover, long work hours on your project will likely become necessary at certain stages of the project. This can be quite tiring both physically and mentally. There is a positive way to view this consultant. If she has been involved in a number a high-energy projects, each requiring travel, she might have demonstrated commitment to help other clients succeed. This same type of commitment might see you through to a successful project finish as well. Moreover, her experience level might be high if she has been involved in several projects.
What you must assess is whether this consultant is merely tired or is experiencing genuine burnout. A burned-out consultant might not make it to the finish line. However, if she truly has the skill set, she might be worth the risk of retaining on the project. A reduction in productivity here is probably not a result of a poor character trait.

Case Study: The Quick-and-Dirty Consultant

The quick-and-dirty consultant becomes identified as someone who finishes quickly but often due to being less concerned with quality. This activity is actually to the delight of some fixed price consulting managers. You do not often have to worry about scope creep with this person. You simply need to watch out for sloppiness and insufficient software testing. Also, you do have to worry about whether you are obtaining the best long-term solutions.
This consultant is probably a risk to your project depending on the degree to which he makes haphazard decisions. Try to observe the consultant closely. If he is simply trying to hurry up so that he moves on to the next project, make sure that he first puts closure to your needs and requirements.

Case Study: The Turf-Protecting Consultant

The turf-protecting consultant causes many of the same negative side effects as the prima donna consultant discussed earlier. However, this consultant is likely not as good as the prima donna, so your leash should be short.
The turf protector is a threatened consultant. Often, he is threatened by the presence of other good consultants. He is worried that someone will be better than him, which will cause him to lose his job or position.
Sometimes, he has become a product of his company's consulting environment. There are some recognized (particularly larger) consulting organizations out there that instruct their people to avoid sharing information with consultants from other firms even though they work on the same project. These consultants and their consulting firm have lost track of a valuable lesson. The lesson is that the client is paying them big dollars to help this project become a success.
Do not belabor the point by keeping this consultant and focusing on all the investment you have placed in the consultant over the course of the project. You will be surprised how quickly a good team-playing consultant can come in and get up to speed. The other team members will benefit from a change as well.
Note that the end client has to look closely sometimes to observe this behavior between different consulting firms. Do not become detached to what is happening under your own roof. Stay in close touch with your team members.
The turf protector cannot be rehabilitated (or at least, you should not spend the future time and money to attempt the rehabilitation). This is a character flaw deep within the consultant. His best therapy is if you help him out of the door as soon as possible.
If the turf-protecting consultant is actually a product of a turf-protecting consulting firm, you have already lost a great deal of money, but you do not know it yet. Go find someone who will remember that you are the client and your needs must be first and foremost on the agenda of the project team.

Case Study: The Consultant Afraid of Mistakes

No employee or consultant is perfect. Clearly, you do not want to pay big dollars to a consulting firm where its consultants continually make mistakes and poor decisions. However, much of your implementation involves solving problems and evaluating alternatives. The best consultants are willing to explore multiple solution alternatives. However, they should not be afraid of an occasional mistake. The only real problem is if the consultants fail to acknowledge and correct their mistakes. Overall, these consultants can be productive team members. They might simply need a little encouragement now and then.

Case Study: The Consultant Afraid to Disagree

Somewhat related to the previous consultant is the consultant who is afraid to disagree. You are paying big dollars for consultants to provide quality solutions. At the end of the day, you are better off if you have been able to select solutions based on multiple potential options.
Some consultants do not want to disrupt other team members by suggesting that better, alternative solutions could exist because this is challenging someone else's solution. Similarly, they might be afraid because they do not have the confidence that their solutions could be any better.
Issues such as this are always a balancing act. Communicating a disagreement does not have to imply that you are condoning disagreeable behavior. The focus should be on providing the best solution and not looking negatively at the team members who suggested less optimal solutions. Encourage creative thinking. Encourage different solutions if necessary but still maintain the importance of rallying the team to one solution at the end of the day.
Quite frankly, a consultant needs to be willing to tell the client things that the client does not care to hear. It is in a client's best interests to review its processes from a fresh and different perspective. If the consultant believes an existing business process is inefficient, he is doing the client a disservice by not communicating his recommendation.

Case Study: The Consultant Who Can't Accept Poor Client Decisions

If a consultant is really effective and has good experience, she will attempt to convince the client to alter certain business decisions throughout the project. Most projects finish with at least one solution that a well-experienced consultant would say was not the best decision. What the consultants must remember is that they are not paid to make the final decision. They are paid to provide alternatives and produce solutions. It is the client's job to make the final decision on the various alternatives.
The consultant does not have to live with a decision long-term even if she believes it is the wrong one. It can be important in these situations for the consultant to document her concerns and communicate these to the client. This is actually a good consulting trait when she feels strongly that a decision is not in the best interests of the client. However, at the end of the day, the consultant must realize that she does not get a vote. If she has communicated her concern clearly, that is all she should do. At that point, encourage her to get over it. Encourage her to continue to communicate her concerns as long as they are with a productive and team-oriented attitude.
In fact, this is actually an aspect that attracts many people into consulting. Consider the situation where you work for a company that has made several "bad" decisions. At least, these decisions seem horribly bad in your sight. If you must work for this company for the next 20 years, you will always be reminded of the less than optimal decisions you've watched your company make. However, if you are a consultant, you get to leave the project when it is over. If the client's decisions were truly poor, you do not have to live with them!

Case Study: The Consultant Who Is Never Wrong

The consultant who is never wrong can be quite an irritant. This consultant manifests herself in various ways. She might be a prima donna. She is likely to exhibit similar tendencies to the "Turf-Protecting Consultant" and the "Consultant Who Can't Accept Poor Client Decisions" (discussed earlier in this chapter).
This consultant has an underlying lack of reality. Try to encourage her to not feel threatened when alternative solutions are sometimes accepted. Alternative solutions do not imply a lack of respect or consideration for this consultant's contributions to the project. Separately, encourage her to admit a mistake on a particular project issue privately. This will be a struggle for the consultant who is never wrong. But, when she admits a mistake, say something such as, "Thank you. That demonstrates maturity. This subject is over because I really do not care who made the mistake. I simply want team members who are focused on results and not on whether they will receive blame. We have too much work to do to worry about whether we have made an occasional mistake." By saying that the subject is over, and you have subtly indicated that this consultant's value to the project is not diminished in your mind.

Case Study: The "Reinvent the Wheel" Consultant

This type of consultant is actually someone who tends to over-engineer a solution. This consultant is actually a good person to have on your project team. However, he requires some checks and balances. The advantage of this consultant is that he is quality driven. He wants his client to know that it has received the best solution.
What the client must do and what the consulting managers must do is evaluate when a good solution is good enough. There are certainly times when the absolute best alternative is needed, and you will be glad this consultant was around. However, there are times when you must clearly communicate that a simple solution is sufficient.
Try not to stifle this consultant's creativity; he will hit a home run for you sometimes. At the same time, remind him that you are paying the bills and that you will be truly satisfied with his performance using the less than optimal solution.

Case Study: Good Consultant, Wrong Firm Syndrome

Occasionally, you will observe an excellent consultant who seems to be working for the wrong firm. Perhaps the firm is not meeting her needs in some way. Perhaps the consultant is unhappy with the ethical standards and practices of the firm. Perhaps the consultant has a specialized skill that really does not offer a clear career path within the consulting firm.
As an end-client, you need this consultant to remain with your project until you obtain completion. Unfortunately, you do not have much leverage. If you sense that a consultant is unhappy with her firm, try to maintain open communication with her. Encourage her to stick with you through the end of the project. Encourage her that you will provide an excellent reference for her at her future clients based on her willingness to sacrifice her needs for the good of your project.

Case Study: The 40-Hour Max Consultant

The demands of consulting consist of periods of time on a project requiring long hours. In this section, I am not referring to the consultant who has worked long hours for an extended period of time and then suddenly refuses to do so. I am not referring to any consultant who establishes his normal workweek at 40 hours. I am referring to the consultant who will never go the extra mile for your project when you have a special time of need.
If the consultant typically produces good work, all is not lost. This is probably not a reason to send the consultant packing. However, it will cause some pains at certain times in your project. Ensure that you have other project team members who have obtained some of the skill sets of this consultant. That way, you have an alternative if extra hours are truly needed. Quite honestly, if a consultant falls within this category, he might not remain a consultant long-term. He really needs to return to a "normal" desk job. This situation is unusual in consulting.

Case Study: The Great Attitude, Hard-Working, but Wrong Experience Consultant

Generally, a consultant without sufficient experience should be sent home. After all, the client is paying top dollar to obtain outside consulting experience. However, sometimes you encounter a hard-working consultant with a great attitude but insufficient experience.
These situations should be judged on a case-by-case basis. You are likely to pay more long-term based on the inexperienced decisions made by this consultant. Even if you like the consultant, be prepared to make a change.
On the other hand, you might want to take a chance with this consultant. This is a difficult situation. If this consultant is a quick learner, you might benefit long-term. The team-working attitude and hard-working approach are character traits that should not be overlooked. This person is going to be a great consultant one day. You have to judge whether he is ready to be a good enough consultant now.

Case Study: The Wrong Experience Consultant and Deceitful About It Also

Beware of this person. Some consultants will say anything on a resume and in an interview just to get the job. Then, when they get the job, they will actually be very hard-working to learn the job so that they can earn their stay. These folks are sometimes hard to identify during the interview process. Checking past client references is one of your best bets.
However, now that your project has begun, you might observe that the consultant was not forthcoming with her true Oracle Applications experience in a particular product area. If you conclude that the consultant was deceitful, cut your losses now. No matter how hard she works to demonstrate her value, she cannot be trusted. Perhaps you have heard the old saying, "Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me."

Case Study: The Legitimate Family Crisis

When you engaged your consultants, you probably had carefully laid out assignments on your project plan. Sometimes, legitimate family crises occur, and a consultant must leave the project for a short term. Unfortunately, this is the real world, and this consultant might need your understanding and support just as your own employees will.
Your best preparation for this type of activity involves items discussed earlier in the project: weekly status reports and peer client involvement at all levels of the project.

Case Study: The Continual Crisis Consultant

How do you know whether a consultant is simply having a string of bad luck or is an unstable person in general? Many times, you do not know because you have not had years to get to know this person as an employee. You might have only known him briefly as a consultant. Your sympathy and flexibility are admirable for a human who really is a good person but is having a string of bad luck. The problem is that you have a project with real deadlines. It might be tough making a decision to change your selection to a replacement consultant, but it might be necessary for you to complete the job before the deadlines. I do not suggest a lack of compassion for this person. However, I suggest that you do not sacrifice your entire project wondering and waiting for these crises to end. If you feel this person's substandard productivity or high level of absences will truly sacrifice the positive results of the rest of the team, you need to let this consultant go.

Case Study: Overbooked Consultant

The overbooked consultant is often the consultant who cannot say, "No." This consultant might be working on several projects for several different clients at once. Every time an existing or new client contacts this consultant, she readily agrees to accept the extra work. Although some people can successfully manage multiple part-time consulting assignments simultaneously, the overbooked consultant cannot. This consultant cannot manage her own workload. This consultant will likely not be reliable at critical times during your project.

Case Study: Consultant Looking for First U.S. Experience

This consultant is a person who is new to the United States. A consultant new to the U.S. can have his advantages. Many times, he is hard-working and can be obtained for extremely cheap billing rates. The hiring firm must recognize that this consultant is often high-maintenance. Note here that I am not referring to consultants who have had experience with several U.S. projects.
This consultant might bring some skills to your project that can be put to productive use. For instance, he might be quite effective using PL/SQL. However, if his communication skills are poor, this will require a high level of maintenance by the client or project managers. When managed correctly, you can obtain good return on your lower-cost investment. When not managed correctly, you will spend much more than you might have expected.

Case Study: Contract Programmers Who Think They Are Consultants

Contract programmers are difficult to identify during the interview process. Contract programmers are often successful software developers. They can be skilled in the full cycle of design, development, testing, and documentation of software systems. They are capable of playing important roles on your project implementation.
The problem occurs when a contract programmer believes she is also a consultant. A good consultant can review several business issues and present alternatives to the client. An effective functional consultant must clearly understand more than the technology being used for the solution. Some contract programmers are capable of becoming excellent consultants. As a hiring firm, you should look closely at the consultant's background. You will need key team members who can understand your different business decisions.
This group of programmers is quite confident in their abilities. They can be quite convincing in describing their abilities. If you are unsure about a person, check out her references carefully. Try to determine whether this person is really a consultant or just a contract programmer in disguise.
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Merry travels,
Revu2

Oh man, that was awesome! Thank you for sharing. My clients generally fall into the "month-end" problem. They just don't want to or are maybe too busy to invest the time to do their part of the work. Or they want me to do it all and don't want to be part of a team. But I typically vet them before I become a consultant for them, so it's typically not a real problem. Just an irritation with client interviews. Yes, I interview people before I take them on.

As for me, yes, many of those qualities apply. I can be afraid to disagree, even when I know my disagreement will get us better results. I also was guilty of overbooking myself slightly. But that was strategic and now I'm past the crunch time and can better schedule. And I ended up with huge contract that is making my year. I also have trouble accepting when my clients make poor decisions. Worse, I don't like being blamed for those decisions that they made.

Very informative though. Always good to look at patterns in our behavior and see how we can improve. Kind of being aware of this helps me to stop the problem behavior.

I think things will be okay with my problem child client. We just went through some growing pains. It happens.

I'm a little between a rock and a hard place in looking at new clients. I want quality clients, not just people who want to hire me to do a fast and dirty job that won't get results. That reflects poorly on me. I know a lot of consultants don't have the luxury of turning away a client, but honestly, those clients cost the consultant more in the end than they bring in to the client. I want a reference from every single client I complete a project with. Even if they have feedback for how I can improve, I want them to also feel like working with me was a good experience.

Seesaw

Happy V. Day to all.

Working through a bit of "under the weather" feeling for the last several days. Going especially slow on stuff. Day by day a little healthier.

Part of this is from running my first Open Space in a couple of years in a hotel. Hotel air may not be the healthiest. Both running the event and managing the attentions of over a dozen folks drained me from the solar plexus out rather than the muscles out. A type of unraveling feeling.

I have 4 more of these planned and I'm guessing ahead that I'll have to block off several days post event to rewind, as it were.

Briefer warm up as what I need to get to is quite clear in my mind, so ...

On to the page,
Revu2

There's this Joan Didion quote from her Paris Review interview:

Quote:

What's so hard about that first sentence is that you're stuck with it. Everything else is going to flow out of that sentence. And by the time you've laid down the first two sentences, your options are all gone.

I'm feeling this right now. The pre-write is so seedy like the head of a sunflower. Once I make that first choice and commit: landscape or portrait?

Then, outline format or narrative? Nothing's on the page yet and all the juicy fun is drained.

But, there's always rewrites and fresh projects to dream about,
Revu2

It's a little past 5:30 PM. I have 5 hours to do maybe half a page of drafting. Already know what it's going to say and roughly how it should look.

What is hanging this up?

I'm composing a transitional document. After I release it to my merry team, much of my work for facilitating will transfer from me to members of the team for the first hour of our 2-hour conference calls from here on out.

I'm sure they can handle it, and probably do a better job than I. (Than me? Grammar Judges, we need an opinion!)

So, I'll cue up some soothing music, lite a candle, open the file, and drift thru it till it's done. Then blow out the candle, turn off the music.

And Sigh.

No repeats, no going back to before.

[It's done, took 40 minutes. No candle but nice classical trio.]

Still have miles to go before I rest,
Miles to go before I rest,*

RevuToo

Do you think Robert Frost would have minded?

Ah, geez. Getting down to pushing the Go! (send) button and things are getting weird. Came to realize that my core teammates don't listen the same way as I do to the flow of discussion. They seem to not credit spoken words as having much meaning. This is surprising as we spend several hours on a conference call once or twice a month. When it comes to decision time I find myself rewinding and replaying several moments across several of these conversations to remind them of where the edges and boundaries are and what is already in play in the minds of the meeting group.

The rub at the moment is releasing an invitation. The core 3 (c3) of us discussed and agreed: we send to the full team with a one week window for responses, after that we "own" getting it to final and out into the world.

They saw my draft to the full team, wrote or said nothing about it. The window opened for changes, some were suggested, the window closed. I wove in the suggestions and sent what I thought was a near-final draft for what I thought would be proof-reading.

Oh, noooo! They came back with whole sections in complex abstract language, big chunks of text suggested by the full team were gone, and several simply worded lines were now titles for academic papers!

What happened? What's going on?

So, now I'm patiently recapping the verbal discussions and textual suggestions and getting them back in play.

All of this is delaying and adds to chances for more confusion (I thought this was still in; oh, I thought we'd agreed to remove it ... )

If anyone knows a blog or pdf on the intuitive side of teamwork, please share. This is knowing a suggestion is semi-committed to if there's no speaking up during a discussion, and if later someone wants to make changes they have to go back to the group that was in discussion in the first place, etc.

This is related to what Myers-Briggs calls the Perception/Judgment scale and intuiting how this has meaning for engagement in ones group. I note this for further work at a later time.

Now to de-ice the sidewalks.

Revu2