Naked (Project) Consulting
January 4th, 2005 by HalDid the title get your attention? It got mine! Naked Consulting is David Schmaltz' latest series of articles in his Compass Newsletter. He's written on the subject in the last three issues. I urge you to have a look. But do yourself a favor, print the newsletter. The articles are just a few pages and well worth your time.
David is the author of the widely acclaimed book on project management The Blind Men and the Elephant. About a year ago Greg Howell and I interviewed him on a teleconference: David Schmaltz Was a Hit! I've also had the pleasure of speaking at the same conference with him. I'll just say it was quite provocative. As was David's comments that led to one of the more important Project e-Tips 017: Produce Coherence Among Project Participants. David has a way of pushing me to the edge of the box (and then some).
So what is in this latest Compass Newsletter? In my opinion David offers one of the most useful descriptions of what consultants can do for you that I've ever read. He calls it Brief Consulting™. "Brief" is an acronym for Belief, Reflect, Inquire, Engage, and Find. David's Brief™ consulting approach is based on five principles:
- The client is always capable of resolving their own difficulty, with a little help from someone as experienced as they are at being stuck with the impossible.
- Confirm what they already know.
- Stuckness is usually the problem.
- Consider preference to proliferate choice.
- Consider anything but that!
Do yourself a favor, read about his consulting approach. From my perspective it's misnamed. I'd call it Brief Coaching. It's an approach any of us can learn. I think I will.
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