Consulting Journal: Techniques - One client or two?

Techniques: One client or two?

by David Blakey

Do you have one client, or are there actually two?

[Monday 4 February 2002]

When you have one client, you effectively have at least two clients. You have been engaged by an organization, and you have been engaged by a person within that organization, whom I shall call your contact. You will usually have to satisfy both of these clients.

Sometimes this can be difficult. The main problem can be that the organization and the contact have different views and different approaches. In short, you may have been engaged by a contact who is a square peg in the round hole of the organization. As a consultant, you should be able to handle this situation, but first you must know that the situation exists. To avoid any surprises later in your assignment, you may find it useful to answer the following questions after your initial meeting with the client.

Trust

Does the organization generally trust people to get on and do their jobs
If so, does your contact work this way?

If you work for an organization that generally “micro-manages”, then a person within it who actually trusts other people and who delegates work to them will usually cope. Often, these people will be admired by their peers, although the strength of the culture within the organization to micro-manage will prevent these weaker managers from emulating the stronger ones.

The danger to your assignment can arise from an organization that has a culture of trust and a contact who micro-manages. It is more difficult to satisfy both of them when the organization wants to know the “big picture” and your contact wants all the detail. Ensure that your terms of reference are specific on the level of detail required by all your reporting. Get them changed if they are not.

Motivation

Does the organization have an upbeat, enthusiastic attitude towards its people and their goals?
Is this reflected by your contact?

You should avoid having your report influenced by a negative contact. If your contact is not motivated, it will be difficult for you to keep your reports focused on the good things that the organization can achieve rather than on the bad things that have occurred in the past.

If you encounter a negative contact in a positive organization, then get a strong positive focus established early. Make sure also that you establish communication with other people higher in the organization than your contact, so that you can keep positive messages flowing. This can help you to avoid the situation of a contact who insists on having all positive reports re-written so that they have a negative slant.

Expertise

Is the organization well-informed and expert in its field of business?
Is your contact knowledgeable?

You may have a contact who is well-informed and knowledgeable within an organization that is generally not. This can create problems unless you ensure that your contact understands that your reports will have to include information that the contact already knows. Actually, it is common for these contacts to engage consultants so that the consultants can present information to the organization that the contact already knows. You may be a useful way for your contact to get the organization to see sense.

The major danger to your assignment is if the organization is strongly knowledge-based and if your contact is strongly resistant to this. Find out if this is the case and take steps to protect your assignment.

Change

Is the organization always looking for new ideas and trying to improve what it does?
Is your contact open to new ideas and improvements?

Any consulting assignment is about change. It may be seeking change, recommending change or implementing change. If your assignment is not about change, then there is little point in doing the assignment. Assignments that are not about change are usually “post mortem” investigations on why some previously attempted change failed. If you're happy doing this kind of introspective, unproductive assignment, that's your decision.

Sometimes, an organization may want change and your contact may be resistant to change. Sometimes, the initiative for change may come from your contact and be resisted by the organization. You must find out which situation you face.

In the first instance, your reports may be “watered down” by your contact before they are passed on to the organization.

In the second, your contact may cause the rejection of your recommendations by presenting them too forcibly within a resistant culture.

You must be able to influence the behaviour of your contact in either case.

Focus

Is the organization's focus on short term operational change or on long-term strategic change?
Does your contact share this focus?

If the organization and your contact have the same focus, make sure that you know what it is. You can work out the focus from the organization's terms of reference and from your first meeting with your contact.

If the organization's focus is strategic, watch out for your contact talking about a need for some short-term recommendations. You may be able to incorporate both, through a change to your terms of reference. If you can't, then you must reinforce the strategic nature of your assignment and get your contact's agreement to it.

If the organization's focus is operational, watch out for your contact talking about a longer term view. Your contact may be correct, but you must make sure that you can get changes made to your terms of reference to include a strategic view as well as the original short term focus. If you cannot get those changes made, then you will have to emphasize to your contact that you will only be able to work on the short term outlook.

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