| Where
to go next?
By
Evan Wise, Managing Director of Management One
Wander into the local bookstore and mosey over to the
business section? You will find hundreds of titles and
ideas on how to grow your business. You can find everything
to help you easily make more money from becoming a Zen
Businessman to get rich quick schemes with no money
down. There are new fads coming on line all the time
from Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma to Kaizen, MBO
and the ever-popular MBWA (management by walking around).
Need better customer service or quality control? There
are books promising to teach that too.
Add
to the list of book titles to help a businessman succeed
are the hundreds of consultants and management trainers
professing the use of these fads. Just as most of the
management tools don’t work to make success easier,
faster or greater, many of these consultants don’t
bring the results that are promised either. How do you
know which one can help your business?
RULE
1: There is no free lunch. Buying a book or paying a
consultant does not insure success. You must insure
success. A good consultant can steer you in the right
direction and help you work more effectively. You still
must do the work.
A
consultant or a book should be an investment like any
other investment with a positive ROI. What is the cost
and what does it bring to your bottom line? When implementing
tools that are the old stand-bys like strategic planning,
pay for performance, cycle time reduction or the newer
six-sigma, lean manufacturing and other management methods,
often success is never measured in dollars and cents!
RULE 2: In choosing a method to improve your company,
find a way to measure success.
Success
demands a long-term horizon. Success with any business
process is a marathon and not a sprint. A consultant
or trainer can teach a “willing” student
how to use a tool relatively quickly depending on the
complexity of the process. The paradox is that the more
complicated the process, the less likely it is to succeed.
Once the businessman knows how to use the tool, there
is no guarantee that he will.
RULE
3: Find a process that is proven and simple.
The
effort required to move the information from the brain
to the heart is huge. Without that patience, the tool
will become another management book on the shelf. Assume
that the top person finally learns the new process and
believes in it. Then he must live the process every
day to convince the organization of his commitment.
Then the entire organization must be taught how to use
it. Then someone must work with the entire organization
to get them to believe in using the process. The simpler
the process, the easier and more assured success will
be.
Finally
the payback starts to hit the bottom line.
A
book on management may cost $30 but a consultant will
cost thousands. The value of a management consultant
over a book is that he is hired to assure implementation.
RULE
4: Find a consultant that is with you for the long haul.
An
organization needs a consistent and effective method
to evaluate changes and identify those that will work
for the organization.
Once
a company can accomplish this, they must have a process
to implement the changes needed. Make the right changes
and the business grows. No changes and no improvement.
The wrong changes and….
We
have found many times over that implementing a change
in the way a business operates takes at lease 9 months
to a year. Without that commitment to a new tool or
process, you are better off buying the book, reading
it and putting it on the shelf where it won’t
get in the way of your progress. To make real progress,
grow your business, develop your people and get a very
positive ROI on your investment, choose a consultant
that is committed to your company.
Hiring
the right consulting firm can have tremendous benefits
to your company and its bottom line.
A
billboard in Atlanta states, “What really matters
never changes.” Often we just need to be reminded
of the fundamentals and how to use them. For most businesses,
success is not in technology or gimmicks or even the
latest management fads. Success lies in people and getting
them to work together to manage change, solve problems
and grow your business.
Go
back to the office and chances are there may be a consultant
or two waiting to lure you into their latest method
for reaching the top. Follow these four rules to help
you find the consultant that is right for your company.
Oh, then ask about the price.
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