For professional advice; understand how consultants and advisers operate and how they charge; define your requirements and specify the job to be done; select the consultants that are right for you; go out to tender; draw up contracts; keep track of the work; deal effectively with problems; develop successful working and partnering relationships.
This book is perfect for anyone who needs to use contractors, consultants or other professional advisers, whatever their business. Acknowledged expert Harold Lewis uses his experience on both sides of the business relationship and explains the whole process. The first book to deal with this subject so comprehensively, Using and Choosing Consultants & Advisers gives best practice advice that can immediately be put into effect; doesn't take sides on client-consultancy issues but offers a balanced view; helps clients get into the mind of consultants, showing them how consultancy works from the inside; is addressed to businesses/non-commercial groups as well as individuals. The valuable advice it contains will be useful not just for new businesses, but also for established firms seeking to strengthen and extend their contracting skills. Written in a crisp, accessible and businesslike style, the book contains numerous examples and checklists as well as case studies of good and bad practice. This book will help you avoid mistakes and pitfalls, save time, money and effort, and make the process of working with consultants really worthwhile.
This unique book is a practical guide to help businesses, organizations and individuals make the best use of consultants and advisers. It will help them get the best value from the experts they hire, and offers a wealth of inside information that clients cannot usually obtain. Written in a crisp, accessible style, the book distils the author's in-depth experience of both sides of the business relationship. It covers the whole process of working with consultants, including: identifying the need for external advice, understanding how consultants operate and calculate their fees, specifying the job to be done, selecting the right experts, going out to tender, drawing up contracts, managing contract risks, keeping track of the work, resolving problems, developing successful professional and partnering relationships. As well as examples and checklists, the book includes case studies of good and bad practice, and personal viewpoints from various professionals that offer pointers for less experienced clients. It will help any client avoid mistakes and pitfalls, save time, money and effort, and make the process of working with consultants really worthwhile.
USA. Compilation of essays comprising a guide to successful recruitment, human relations and results in using management consultants - considers the consultant's role in organization development, diagnosing problems, training and human resources development, etc., and discusses evaluation techniques with respect to the consulting process. Bibliography pp. 267 to 273, diagrams, graphs and statistical tables.
This timely guide offers advice on how to recognize the need for organizational change, communicate the vision, prepare for structural change, and address emotional responses to downsizing.
New topics covered in this edition include: e-business consulting; consulting in knowledge management; total quality management; corporate governance; social role and responsibility of business; company transformation and renewal; and public administration.
Maximize Your Return on Expertise Research shows a high proportion of consultants fail to deliver results on time, on budget, and on target. Rare is the project that exceeds your expectations. But help is here. The Executive's Guide to Consultants explains how to ensure that every project delivers measurable benefits every time. This book will help you find experts, invest wisely, accelerate change, and achieve your most important goals by tapping into the genius of others. The Executive's Guide to Consultants contains breakthrough ideas covered by no other book, including: Sophisticated new contract structures that maximize your ROI Essential methods for reducing project risk Cutting-edge techniques for making change stick after the consultant leaves You will also learn to: Spot "chameleons" and other low-quality consultants who peddle tired ideas and deliver disappointing outcomes Get better results faster, while lowering fees Find the ideal consultant, coach, agency, or advisor for your precise situation Enforce accountability with outside experts and your own internal team Imagine if you could collect the wisdom of dozens of the country's top CEOs, combine it with the experience of a hall-of-fame consultant, and add a bucketful of unconventional thinking. You'd have The Executive's Guide to Consultants. Easy to read and packed with examples, checklists, templates, and guidelines, this book is the ultimate toolkit for maximizing your ROI from outside experts. Get extraordinary results from every consultant you hire "An extraordinary book. Clear, comprehensive, and eminently readable, it is THE book on how you can extract true business value from outside experts." -- Scott Cotherman, Chairman, TBWA\WorldHealth, subsidiary of Omnicom Group, Inc. "This is the Master Class for those who are smart, innovative, ahead of the pack, and who intend to stay that way. If you're not yet in that league, you should read this book twice." -- Alan Weiss, author, Million Dollar Consulting and The Consulting Bible "A terrific guidebook, with much of the advice equally applicable in managing your organization's internal talent. It's an easy, engaging read with a wealth of insights and detailed action steps--I highly recommend it." -- Brian Walker, President and CEO, Herman Miller, Inc. "A powerful antidote to the strained relationship between consultants and clients." -- Garry Ridge, CEO, WD-40 Company "This book shows you how to make your consultants' work stick. No more major investments in experts or programs that evaporate after only a few months or years." -- De Lyle Bloomquist, President, Tata Global Chemicals "Fields's messages are delivered in the way that all executives would like our outside resources to do it: capably, with straight talk and incredible insight." -- Ralph Scozzafava, Chairman and CEO, Furniture Brands
Turn your business dreams into profitable reality with this straightforward guide to setting up and running an online business. It walks you step-by step through the entire process, from researching the market and designing your Web site, to marketing your product online and trading securely. Whether you’re starting out or looking to expand an existing business online, this up to- date book provides you with all the support and expert advice you need to successfully build your own online empire.
Finally, the book that all professionals frustrated with fleeting client loyalty and relentless price pressure have waited for—the first in-depth, guide to developing lasting client relationships. Millions of people in this country earn their livings by serving clients, and their numbers are growing every day. Unfortunately, far too few develop the skills and strategies needed to rise to the top in a world where clients have almost unlimited access to information and expertise. Clients for Life sets forth a comprehensive framework for how professionals in all fields can develop breakthrough relationships with their clients and enjoy enduring client loyalty. Supported by more than 100 case studies and wisdom gleaned from interviews with dozens of leading CEOs and prominent business advisors, Clients for Life identifies what clients really want and lays out the core qualities that distinguish the client advisor—an irreplaceable resource—from the expert for hire, a tradable commodity. Readers will learn, for example, to develop selfless independence, which tempers complete emotional, intellectual, and financial independence with a powerful commitment to client needs; to become deep generalists and overcome the narrow perspective caused by specialization; to systematically build lifelong trust; and to cultivate the power of synthesis—big-picture thinking—that is so highly valued by clients. Portraits of history's most famously successful advisors, including Machiavelli, Sir Thomas More, and J. P. Morgan, underscore these timeless qualities that modern professionals need to develop to excel in today's competitive environment.
Every year the demand for consultants of all kinds increases, as organisations become leaner and more compact and outsourcing more commonplace. This fully revised new edition provides essential information and practical step by step guidance on starting and developing a successful consulting practice. It contains expert advice on the process of consultancy in terms of marketing and selling activities and how to conduct assignments. Also covered is how to run a consultancy as a business, including setting up, business planning, record and administrative systems and legal, taxation and insurance considerations. Essential reading for the would-be consultant, it has much to offer the established practitioner too.
