So Jack - do you only take work which you can act collaboratively? I'd
say that many consultants care mostly if they can get work 1st; then worry
about the nature of the working relationship.
By the way, I am the one who posted the first threee questions you refered
to.
...to which I replied:
Bill, thanks for your note. You ask:
>So Jack - do you only take work which you can act collaboratively?
Obviously not. But the key is, to contract with your principal (client)
as to just what exactly is expected of the consultant, and what the client
must do to assure that the agreed upon outcomes are arrived at. It's
simple customer-supplier dialogue in which the customer agrees to specific
behaviors to enable delivery by the supplier.
>I'd
>say that many consultants care mostly if they can get work 1st; then
>worry about the nature of the working relationship.
I wouldn't disagree with you, Bill, but I consider that to be an
unfortunate state of affairs. From my perspective, the nature of the
working relationship IS WHAT I OFFER, and if that's not included in the
job, I have no business being there, regardless of how much I need the
work. This is not to say that I - or anyone else, for that matter - is
always successful on the job in fulfilling that piece. And I fully
acknowledge, as I did in my original message, that the client does not
always stand fast to the bargain once the consultant is engaged. But I
like to think I will always try to contract with the client in accordance
with my principles, which is what I identified as the ethics of the
situation.
If your point is that we don't always act ethically, I agree. That was
why I referred to Bellman, who speaks of this quite eloquently and
realistically. His clear description of the pitfalls we face helped me
accept my own shortcomings even while inspiring me to overcome them.
>By the way, I am the one who posted the first threee questions you
>refered to.
Well, I was referring to John's question, which I think the consultant
also needs to be able to answer:
>o Or, perhaps less pointedly, and with a naive stare: what is it that you
>think that I bring to the table other than the ability to follow
>instructions?
If you originally posted that question, my hat's off to you, and please
accept my apologies for incorrect attribution.
Bill, I'd like to post this correspondence to the list, if that's OK with
you. Please let me know.
Today (May 20) Bill responded:
Jack:
Thanks for your reply!
As a full time internal and wanna-be someday full time external
consultant, I find it helpful to continue to look at the issue of
consulting ethics. As my dad always said, easy to say, harder to do. He
was speaking volumes when it comes to client-consultant agreement. The
client very often says they will act collaboratively, but really don't
have the time nor inclination to act that way.
Your principle centered approach is super and one all consultants should
adopt. Bellman and Block are my 2 heroes in the consulting arena,
especially when it comes to the nature of what we do.
Yes, it was John who wrote on the questions you refer to (...naive
stare...)
Feel free to post this and the previous messages.
All the best.
--Jack Hirschfeld Do figures of authority just shoot you down? jack@his.com Is life in the business world a drag?
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>