Client Centered Consulting

1. Client Centered Consulting Tom Battin Director of IT Consulting

2. What is the nonprofit context? • Organizational culture • Passion for mission (values driven) • Atmosphere of scarcity • Bias towards informality, participation and consensus • Organizational structure • Dual bottom lines: financial and mission • Program outcomes are difficult to assess • Governing body has both oversight and supporting roles • Third party funding • Individual • Mixed skill levels of staff • Participation of volunteers

3. What are the aspects of technology projects that affect consulting? • Technology context • Solutions are not always clear or known • There are many potential points of failure • Technology is constantly changing and is often untested • Marketing of technology is external • Staff issues • Staff need to have an understanding of systems and be ready to learn • Need to be able to plan on multiple levels • Need to operate with a high level of fear • Organizational issues • Skeptical of technology and technical people • Demand for product driven results • Technology gap between techies and staff • Reliance on casual data to drive decisions

4. What is client centered consulting? • Client dimensions • Focus on client’s world and language • Maintain the confidence and control of clients • Meet client’s needs at each stage. • Consultant dimensions • Focus on your conditions for success • Maintain an open and honest dialogue • Insure a joint work relationship • Infrastructure dimensions • Understand the business and its challenges • Decide your service priorities • Establish a department identity

5. Consulting Process Ending Entry Contracting Intervention Data Gathering Action Decision © 2000 Barry B. Grossman

6. Entry • Process: • Identify context • Understand problem • Gather work relationship information • Assess client readiness • Outcome: Go/no go decision • Product: Hope

7. Contracting Client Contract Consultant Knowledge of organization Knowledge of Process, skills, and experience Collaboration © 2000 Barry B. Grossman

8. Contracting • Process: • Define situation and goals • Agree on work tasks • Define work relationship & style • Draft work plan, timeline, and resources • Outcome: Project clarity • Product: Written agreement

9. Data-Gathering • Process: • Define model for collecting data • Collect information from people, research, and observation • Distill and organize data • Outcome: Problem identified • Product: Data based evidence

10. Model of IT systems

11. Action Decision • Process: • Present problems with data to support • Identify alternatives • Review possible actions • Outcome: Select intervention • Product: Plan of intervention

12. Intervention • Process: Carry out agreed activities • Outcome: Improved performance • Product: Changes in operation

13. Ending • Process: • Purpose and plan • Contract review • Evaluation/indicators of success • Next steps • Outcome: Closure • Product: Follow-up and new work relationship

14. Client Resistance • What is resistance? • Phases in the resistance cycle • Recognize • Report • Respond

15. © 2000 Barry B. Grossman

16. Resistance is the client’s response to loss of confidence and control © 2000 Barry B. Grossman

17. Questions and Comments