With thousands of consulting firms to choose from, how can you discern which few are high performing and high value against the many which are not? We’d like to introduce you to our simple, or perhaps not so simple, equation… i5 > e… that could lead you to enhance your organizational performance and value by 400% or more.
i5 = integrity, intent, insight, ingenuity, and impact
- integrity: Conscientiousness in actions delivered with modesty, void of self-importance. To what extent is the consultant avoiding identifying a diagnosis or tough organizational conversations? Is the consultant proposing non-impactful, billable hours? To what magnitude do you trust the consultant’s intentions?
- intent: Mindset, aim, and/or purpose. What is the intent of the consultant/consulting firm in working with your organization and in doing this work? Do their mission and values align with yours? Is the project simply a means to drive their revenue or is there greater ‘heart’ in the outcomes for the client? What insight does the consultant provide that validates their intent?
- insight: The power to see into the true nature of a situation, gaining perception. To what extent does the consultant share a mastery level grasp of your multi-dimensional landscape, critical success factors, challenge(s), opportunities to accelerate anticipated wins, watch outs, predictable wins, and approach options to align with and attain your strategy and culture? How does the insight differentiate from, and/or contribute to, your strategic direction?
- ingenuity: Introduction of new ideas and actions. How were these innovations originated and executed? Were collaborative or team brainstorm approaches utilized to fuel the client’s ‘ownership’ and pride in its outcomes for sustainability and greater ROI? (Do you believe in silver bullets?) How will the consultant deploy innovative solutions that align with your strategies, culture, and initiatives or do they deploy ‘silver bullets’ to disparate clients? To what degree will the consultant’s approach as well as integrity, intent, insight, and ingenuity be transferred to, and applied by, your team to impact organizational performance?
- impact: A powerful effect something has on a situation, person, or organization. To what degree was the anticipated and agreed upon impact achieved? What revision or rescue was required during the project? What was the feedback from all stakeholder groups? What additional outcomes are likely to result? To what extent will the suggested approach, methodology, and capability transfer be impactfully transferred, positively increasing future ROI?
e = expertise
- expertise: Great skill or knowledge in a particular subject or area.
by Regan MacBain Traub, Kawel LauBach, Nancy Martone & Bruce Nichols, The Human Resource Consortium LLC