Utilizing Consultants Effectively

In a rapidly changing and dynamic business environment we have to trust and rely on those who specialize in niche areas. 

When looking at outsourcing a specialty service, you have to question the reasons for bringing in an outside resource. Your management team needs to look deeper than, should we outsource our HR or AP/AR. There are many different circumstances in which a consultant can assist your organization. 

The largest failure in hiring a consultant is not what they were hired to consult on, but how the management team uses them. Many times the team will start seeking ways to reinforce their position and strengthen their choices in front of the management team. 

Many times it is not the answers to the questions you ask, but what questions you are not asking that hold the value. In the book How to think like Einstein, Scott Thorpe explains its not just about the answer you are seeking, but the question you may be unaware of. When you get stuck in a bad pattern, continuing the behavior repeatedly only increases the odds you repeat the same negative behavior in the future. 

Many times people, staff and management are unaware that a pattern is negative, until they get a fresh set of eyes to objectively review their patterns. 

So how do you break the ingrained patterns and change behavior in the future? Hire a consultant. This statement assumes that your team is discerning enough to hire the right consultant. The problem with hiring a consultant is that you are the customer and they are serving you, which means they may not give you direct and candid answers. 

I will leave the vetting and choice of a consultant to another article, and will focus on how to effectively use a consultant.   

The topic of what questions to ask has already been broached, and I would like to pursue it further. I have sat in on many meetings with consultants and management teams where 2 or 3 members of the team ask thinly veiled questions to the consultants about an area. They are not seeking new opportunities or procedures, but reinforcement that what they are doing is the best way. This is one method of a peaceful mutiny, if the leader is lost and taking the organization in a bad direction. 

Many times this is not the case, and the CEO or Board is not in the room. It is upper management disputing how to restructure, what price point to set or what avenues to pursue for additional revenue. 

This is a waste of consultant time and a form of low emotional intelligence. This is not a reason to hire a consultant. 

So how can you use a consultant effectively? Ask questions, some you may think you know the answer to already, but the important thing is to listen and think. Let the conversation develop similar to a brainstorming session, keep a positive atmosphere, don't reject or scoff at any question or point brought up. 

A consultant hired by your company is a new opportunity to grow, develop and understand your business and team better. If your company experienced cutbacks over the past few years, you may have lost the benefits of conferences. This can be an opportunity to learn, don't squander the opportunity.

Learn best practices from these specialized consultants and pursue methods of using them as personal mentors and trainers. Use them for what they are, specialists who understand and know the industry.  

China’s Emerging Economy

China’s Emerging Economy

When China starting opening its borders 25 years ago, no one could forecast with certainty how the market would develop.  Every visionary leader sought a way to infiltrate the Chinese market, and eventually the opportunities started to emerge. Joint ventures were soon the answer to the question so many sought. With the correct positioning, firms had the option to enter under direction of a partnership with a government run partner.

These JV’s were and continue to be a highly stipulated transaction with majority ownership going to the Chinese government run entity. Agreement to the JV by the entering firm has several boilerplate requirements, one of them being the demand for transference of intellectual property. This has been a limiting factor for many firms with highly proprietary recipes or patented processes.

While some firms have resisted entrance due to the entrance stipulations, it has been at the expense of market share and profits. While some firms have rejected the terms, their competitors have not slowed in search of additional market share opportunities. Lack of entrance for these companies has then been nothing but a decrease in potential market share in a growing mega power.   

So if the government run companies have access to the knowledge of their partners and all information is transferred and improved by the locals, what restricts the Chinese government from shutting back down on itself and supporting its own needs, then becoming an exporter competing in the JV’s home markets?

Importing patented ideas and technologies is something that has been forced on the partners of the Chinese government. Whether pushed or pulled into the market, firms that have moved into China have experienced exponential growth in an emerging giant. So how have they been able to stop, slow or limit the transfer of information and intellectual property?

At one of my site visits in China, a company that has requested to remain unnamed has done a Greenfield project outside Beijing in an economic growth zone. Purchasing the land and building a market presence has been their major goal. While the manufacturing at this plant is limited, the footprint of their property shows they are poised for a large growth and expansion as the market develops. A spokesman said that they are building trust and following a long-term strategy of relationship development with the local and regional officials.

So what has China been unable to import over the last 25 years? I will make it simple and clarify: the correct answer would be creativity and customer service. So lets look at these two growth opportunities and the obstacles that will have to be overcome.

·      First what is creativity and what can or cannot be transferred?

·      Second, what is customer service and does it matter if they have it?

Creativity in my mind is the ability to come up with an original thought or way of doing or viewing something that has not been applied to the current situation or process.

While Confucius said there is nothing new under the Sun, I would argue that there are new situations brought on by changes in society, in which previous tools and resources have not yet been applied.  This then gives creative opportunities that have not yet been explored. In an emerging economy like China, there are opportunities that have not yet occurred due to the sheer size of the market. If there were no diversity in the world, there would be no variables that require adjustments and creative thoughts. For example the Art of War by Sun Tzu, he applies methodologies of war and strategy to business. Freakinomics challenges the market formation in different lights. These are creative because they are taking an existing tool and using it to view other possible opportunities in different fields. Looking at management styles in communistic, vs. military environments.    

Customer Service, Conrad Hilton was a pioneer in the Hotel Industry taking to a large scale what was once only available at your parent’s home or an intimate Bed and Breakfast.

Listening to a conversation in Chinese (mandarin) you may think that the sender and receiver are infuriated at each other, only to be told that they were expressing their love for each other.

So what is the international definition of customer service?

Is it proud and haughty to think that customer service should operate at the highest possible level? Should international customer service be treated as separate playing fields? Can we demand separate treatment of front line staff that may not understand the intricacies of international cultures? I think if you were Conrad you would say an emphatic, yes!

Can these soft skills be trained and imported? So far after 25 years I would say that unless you are in a geographically international area you should not expect them... while I am an eternal optimist, I do not know that these skill sets can be taught. A colleague said that we could only hope to embrace differences and nurture an environment conducive to creative behavior.

Can our customer service be exported to a country like India? I think the market gave the answer to this temporary solution. People like to hear someone who sound similar to themselves, it gives a feeling of connection and an instant rapport. Would a country then who speaks little to no English, have an opportunity to give customer service across the world? The opportunity to outsource customer service has expired; those firms who wish to develop long-term client service relationships are insourcing and reaping the rewards. If the US will not give customer service to the Chinese and the Chinese have no way of facilitating customer service this becomes a mute point.

The Chinese government has some creativity. This cannot be argued,  but whether it was purposeful or accidental is yet to be determined when they try to replicate and nationalize it. 

The questions now raised and how they will be approached over the next 30 years may determine their sustainability.

Diversity in Business

Diversity in Business

I have read many books on the importance of diversity in the workplace. Not only does it promote creativity, it also provides a means of counteracting group-think. I have had the importance pounded into my brain at every seminar and training session I have attended. Just as we diversify our portfolios, we must also diversify our lives and circles to engage a new perspective.

What is diversity? I have heard it called many things; schools of thought, background, caste, sex, sexual orientation, race and even religion. These can all be true, but one interesting point I have never heard made that I feel may be germane to the conversation is age.

As a society we tend to generally associate gray hairs with wisdom and (Gray Hair = Wisdom?) years of experience. While this may be true, an old Greek proverb says, "Gray hair is a sign of age, not wisdom." While gray hairs do prove life experience they are not proof of good life experiences. The transient guy in the street corner may have gray hair, but you may not want to ask him what the meaning of life is.

So why do we associate gray hair with life experience and wisdom? Maybe it is the remembrance of a great-grandfather giving us sage advice as we sat on his lap as a child. There is something in our past that tells us older people are full of wisdom and certainty. I am not saying to disrespect our elders, but rather not to distinguish someone by their hair color as we don't discriminate against the color of one's skin.     

So then in a group, circle of friends or workplace how do we create diversity? Maybe it starts with an introspective look into our groups, colleagues and work force to see what we are lacking. If everyone in your group is under 30 years old, consider bringing in someone with gray hair. If you are in a group that remembers the great depression, maybe its time to bring in a young face.

Life is about balance and when we can be honest with ourselves and live consciously, we can bring in the balance needed to diversify and promote our organizations.

Behavioral Changes

When someone cuts us off in traffic we don't act in a way that is abnormal to our conditioning. We have a response ready to go that has been ingrained in us long before we could drive.The first time someone cut us off we responded as we saw someone else do or as we think is appropriate. While current state of mind and the outlook on the day can increase or diminish these responses they have been programmed in us. 
So how do we get past these ingrained actions and create newer and better responses?

• Acknowledge the programming
• Understand why we do what we do
• Make a conscious effort to change the behaviour
• Continue to improve the behavior and outcomes 

While these may seem like simple steps you can do in a day or a week. It is not quite that simple. These traits or scripts have been written deep into the gray matter of our minds. Some experts believe that we can form new habits in 7 days while others maintain it can take up to 30.

Pick a habit that you currently have, something easy, like what do you do when you get home from work. What do you do in the morning. Take an easy example and try these simple steps out for 30 days.

Were you able to change the behavior, why or why not? What triggers did you find that made you feel safe or at peace when you did them? What made you uncomfortable? Now go a little deeper and try to remember why these new or different actions resulted in these feelings?

People have frames in their minds that create who they are and the way they see. When you can identify why you can or cannot change a behavior, you can begin to understand the why.

Discount Requests

While we may not notice them, we are surrounded by negotiation opportunities every day. I was on a shopping trip recently with a friend at a large box retailer. As guys we found what we needed rather quickly and proceeded to the checkout. At the register I asked the employee if there were any discounts that she would be able to give me for our purchases. She said no one had ever asked her that before and called for a manager. The manager seemed lost when I restated my question to him.

Remember just asking for a discount isn't necessarily the end goal. What you are trying to do is improve your buying experience and give the retailer an opportunity to make a lasting impression. I have heard and read many stories from employees who have the discount question asked of them often. Many times it is rudely stated and results in a lose-lose situation for the store and employee and the customer.

Common courtesy and respect cannot be lost when attempting this form of negotiation tactic. You can reach a win-win situation without getting what you originally asked for. Respectfully inquiring or demanding a discount due to the economy/weather/horoscope are entirely different approaches and will result in completely different outcomes.

Be polite, courteous and kind! You are not trying to make a hard sell, you are asking for something that you dont necessarily deserve.

I was given the first discount this manager had ever given due to following the rules of negotiation and not being demanding.

With these in mind try them on your next shopping trip. 

Negotiation from Academia to Practice

The Professor walks in the quite and relatively small classroom and starts once again to try to undo 16 years of training. The Professor is thin of medium height with salt and pepper hair cut in military fashion. Though medium height, he commands respect and the attention of all who are in the same room with him. We are now in week 8 of 16 and we are facing the same problem we faced 8 weeks ago.

In theory we are supposed to challenge everything presented to us and make no assumptions, however that is turning out to be a harder feat than first expected. Via questions we are supposed to diplomatically question him and everything he assigns us. Over the last 16 years of our life we have been taught to obey authority figures, the penalty of our disobedience shame or even jail. How do we now overcome that to become critical thinking individuals who can respectfully challenge the forces in our lives?

My class mates speak out of how they utilize in their lives the skills learned in this classroom. Yet when we are placed in this environment, it is as if our brains are placed in a vacuum and nothing said applies to us or what we are currently doing.

How do my odd interactions with an overqualified professor intertwine with negotiation? Many argue that everything is a negotiation http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=153954  and that the key is not understanding what is negotiable, but rather what negotiation style fits your personality and skill set.

The classroom is a factitious expression of the educational system, and is an inhibitor of true education. We are restricted to the depth of cultivation the instructor perceives will push us to the point of learning without compromising positive reviews on the FCQ's.

How do we transform into better negotiators? Trying to gain the larger promotion or the cheaper vehicle... With an unlimited supply of negotiation tactics how do determine the right one to learn? The one that seems to be effective, or the most reasonable or perhaps the one that resonates in a corner of our soul? Everyone has a PowerPoint or ten point program on how to best accomplish your negotiation successfully. In my opinion these are all bogus, strategists and arbitrators stumble upon a winning strategy, name it and think it will work in your life somehow.

How do we contrive a workable process that can help us solve our everyday issues? Is there one solution for all of your problems? Is Effective Questioning (http://www.coachingforchange.com/pub10.html) the antidote for our inefficacy's?