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Should Your Company Consider a Consultant?

As our family’s chief cook, I pay attention to recipes and cooking tips. Recently an article caught my attention because of both its recipes and the offbeat ways they were prepared. These included: a magical way to prepare tortillas using your clothes iron, cooking road kill on your car’s carburetor and, a real crowd-pleaser, dishwasher fish.

By BOB ROSNER

http://www.startupjournal.com/columnists/newventure/20040220-nva.html

In the hands of a talented chef, I guess, irons, engines and dishwashers can be effective. But most of us are better off sticking to the tools designed for the job. It is no different with hiring consultants. The more we pick a person with the right experience, the less likely we are to get burned. The tips below should help you decide both if you need a consultant and how to get the most out of one. For more, check out Mariam Naficy’s "The Fast Track" (Broadway, 1997).

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Do you need a fresh perspective? Quality guru Ed Deming said that true innovations seldom come from within an organization. "Outside eyes" are often needed to take an organization to the next level. Therefore, perspective is probably the single most important thing a consultant can bring to you and your organization. You shouldn’t be surprised when your consultant provides insight; you should expect it.

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Can a consultant provide specific data or expertise? You pay a premium with most consultants, at least in theory, because they have been "there and done that." So it is important to screen your consultant at the front end to be sure the person has had experience with organizations going through the same challenges as yours. The last thing you want to do is pay your consultant for on-the-job training.

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Can a consultant deliver your bad news? Many organizations use consultants to do the dirty work during layoffs or cost cutting. Although it is important not to abdicate your decision making, there can be a value in having the hired gun take some of the heat when there is a tough decision to be made.

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Can a consultant change your organization? Effective consultants should be able to outline a specific plan to get you from where you are to where you need to be. Don’t be shy: Ask the consultant to outline the process your organization will need to follow and be sure that it’s specifically tailored to your company, not one-size-fits-all.

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Can a consultant help you rise above company politics? No company is immune from politics — especially when trying to implement change. A consultant can — and should — offer suggestions that aren’t tainted by territorialism, history or political alliances.

The beauty of cooking dinner on your engine is that by the time you arrive at your destination, the meal is ready. Pick your consultants carefully and you won’t end up as road kill.

— Mr. Rosner is the author of Working Wounded, http://www.workingwounded.com/ a Web site and internationally syndicated column. He’s also the co-author of "The Boss’s Survival Guide" (McGraw-Hill, 2001) with Allan Halcrow and Alan S. Levins.

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