Robert K Taylor Explains Why Consulting is More Than Just Giving Advice
There’s more to consulting than pointing out the mistakes people make and giving them advice. It’s more of a collaborative effort that aims at finding problems, diagnosing them, and providing practical solutions to the managers. But it doesn’t stop there. A good consultant doesn’t just give advice — they also help the management implement these proposed solutions and changes.
Robert K Taylor is a former public adjuster turned professional consultant from Sanger, California. He believes that to be a successful consultant, one has to provide a comprehensive solution that not only discovers issues but also shares information to facilitate the learning process and improve organizational efficiency.
Provide Information
When an organization is facing a problem such as low productivity, high turnover, or plummeting revenue, it seeks a consultant to help resolve that problem. According to former public adjuster Robert K Taylor, the first step the successful consultant has to do is find as much information as they can about the causes of the problem.
This is an involved process that takes time, resources, and expertise. The consultant might collect that information through market surveys, attitude studies, analyzing the organizational structure of the company, as well as performing cost studies. Once the consultant has all the information they need, it’s time to present that information to the client. In some cases, many clients are happy with that information, although they don’t know what to do with it. So, it’s up for the consultant to suggest solutions to the problem at hand.
Solve Problems
It’s fair to say that the consultant’s job isn’t an easy one. They’re often asked to solve difficult problems that the CEO of the company can’t sort out. That’s what makes consultancy so challenging. But as former public adjuster Robert K Taylor, points out, if the problem was easy to solve, there would be no need for consultants in the first place.
As a consultant, your job doesn’t end by outlining the problem or providing information. You are also tasked with coming up with solutions for that issue. That’s not always as easy as it sounds. Often the problem presented to the consultant to solve is not the real problem at all. It’s just a part of a bigger issue that goes deep into the organizational structure of the corporation. This requires more digging and research.
Offer Diagnosis
When the consultant finds that they’re dealing with a big problem that encompasses more than one department in the company, that’s when their diagnostic skills come into play, says Robert K Taylor. But there are times when even those skills are no match to the hurdles they encounter. For example, some managers might be less than forthcoming or hesitate to cooperate with the consultant in uncovering the cause of the issue. This is true if the manager believes that they have to do with that issue and would take the blame for it.
But that’s just part of the consultant’s job. They have to be relentless and unwavering in their resolve to get to the bottom of the real problem. That’s the only way they can provide a clear and accurate diagnosis of the issue. A good consultant will try to enlist the members of the organization to be a part of analyzing and diagnosing the problem as well. This cooperation is crucial for the success of this process and ensures that the information the consultant submits to the top managers reflects the actual situation on the ground.
Recommend Actions
According to former public adjuster Robert K Taylor, once the consultant gathers all the information, gets to the root of the problem, and makes a full diagnosis, they present all of this data in a comprehensive report. But this is more than just a report that details the consultant’s findings. It should also include what types of action the consultant recommends.
Finding out what the problem is and what causes it is only half the solution. A successful consultant also details a proposed course of action for the client to follow. It’s important that these recommended actions are both doable and closely related to the original issue the consultant was hired to resolve. Sometimes the consultant will continue to work with the management to help implement those changes.
