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Title: The Seven Cs of Consulting: Your Complete Blueprint for any Consultancy Assignment by Mick Cope ISBN: 0273645110 Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall Pub. Date: 21 March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent personal distillation of the consulting process
Comment: Overview:
Cope utilizes a structured, yet customizable methodology for this book that provides an action framework for his readers. Here, he presents his viewpoint of the entire consulting process in a distilled, comprehensive model entitled "the Seven Cs framework" that he hopes will benefit readers in their consulting engagements.
The seven Cs of consulting in Cope's framework are:
1.Client: Getting it right from the start
2.Clarify: Understanding the real issues
3.Create: Developing a deliverable solution
4.Change: Working to make things happen
5.Confirm: Measuring the change
6.Continue: Making sure the solution sticks
7.Close: Signing off with style
This book provides a good overview of the field of consulting for both beginning and practiced consultants alike, as it combines theories of consulting, as well as recommendations and tips for best practices in a smooth, comprehensible manner. The client-centered nature of the book also helps reinforce the importance of prioritizing the needs of one's clients, and of nurturing the relationship between consultant and client. For example, Cope suggests that taking the perspective that a client might have about the proposed project is one way to ensure that one operates with a focus on the client. Such suggestions, if put into practice, could help change the way that a consultant sees her or his client. The framework is supposed to be adaptable to individual needs and unique situations, but always provides a focus on the best practices at each stage of the consulting project, and reminds readers that the end of one project can also mean the generation or development of a future-oriented consultant-client relationship.
Structure:
The book can be broken down into four main sections; each section consists of a set of relatively short chapters. This format presents a swift, easy read for both those who finish the book in one sitting, and those who do not have the time or inclination to do so. The brevity of each chapter also allows for easy overviews or referrals to be made, and presents a good starting point for further research into specific areas or ideas, if the reader wishes to investigate a particular topic or idea in greater depth and detail. Key questions included in the Pocket Guide are listed at the end of various sections and chapters in order to provide a succinct point that the reader can make use of in an actual consulting project.
Book Highlights:
Cope has made a brilliant attempt at making the key points of his book easily memorable. Along with using alliteration to make his points attractively memorable, as well as providing clear, useful graphs and charts, he has also included a detachable and foldable Pocket Guide at the end of the book, which lists the seven Cs, a brief description of each, and major points from the various chapters of the book. One fine example of how he makes points from this book memorable and easily comprehensible is through his comparing various types of decision-makers that one might encounter in an organization, to the key characters (King, Queen of Hearts, Knave, Joker and Ace) in a deck of cards.
Readers will also be pleased to note the smooth integration of consulting theory and practice in Cope's framework. Although the book presents a light, digestible read replete with examples of successful and unsuccessful consulting engagements, sections of the book utilize a psychology-textbook approach to portions of the consulting process. For example, he provides a summary of the benefits and detractions of various data collection methods, an overview of the crucial area of data validity, as well as recommendations for successful data analysis.
Cautionary Points:
Although this book provides an excellent synthesis of consulting theory and practice, readers should remember that it still represents the views and recommendations of a single consultant. While his examples and opinions are interesting and deftly expressed, there is not very much research support cited, as this book was not designed for academic purposes. Personally, it even seems that the citations he uses were selected because they seemed to support his theories, instead of having been included on the strength of their research validity or usefulness. This book therefore belongs more in the realm of popular psychology than of research psychology, even though it contains sections on best practices of applied research methods. Indeed, most of the book's bibliography consists of popular psychology and self-help titles. Readers should hence see this book as a general overview of one person's viewpoint and recommendations for the consulting process, and use it as a starting point for further research and investigation into topics or areas of interest.
Review of Appendix Section:
The Appendix of the book presents a practical reference guide to the consulting process. It lists in checklist format all of the key components of the Seven Cs model, providing 49 intervention elements such as "Build", and corresponding change descriptors such as "Have you identified what opportunities exist for further work?". This checklist was designed to assist consultants in asking key questions to themselves and their clients to increase the chances of planning and executing a successful consulting engagement, as well as to assist the development of productive working relationships between both parties.
Conclusion:
Cope presents a comprehensible framework of the consulting process that takes readers from the beginning to the end of consulting engagements, and includes useful examples, graphics and recommendations for best practices in the field. It is written in an easy-to-read style and format, and it combines theory and practice smoothly, hence providing a useful overview of the field and the theories that can be used to drive it. Clever inclusions of a detachable Pocket Guide and a checklist of key questions that a consultant could use for consulting projects make this book a practical tool as well. Readers should bear in mind, however, that this is the expression of one consultant's views and ideas of the consulting process, and therefore be prepared to investigate areas and ideas of personal interest at a deeper level in order to obtain more details of the idea's actual method and merit.
Rating: 5
Summary: Elegant & Useful mix of approaches & tools
Comment: Mick Cope presents a mind-provoking and comprehensive guide for consulting. The book contains a useful mix of elegant approaches and tools. What distinguishes this book from others is it's emphasis on the human-side of consulting, which can be easily overlooked. The book is packed with useful detail and vivid analogies.
Rating: 5
Summary: Learning to Solve Other People's Problems
Comment: Highly recommended. Consultants, including those first venturing into the business of helping solve other people's problems, should definitely read this book. It is an elegant, highly practical blueprint for approaching and solving other people's problems - which is what consulting is all about. Honed by years of experience and thoughtful observation, the book provides a comprehensive guide to making your consulting engagements successful. Even as a relatively seasoned consultant, I found challenging new information and approaches in this book. And the skills will likely translate well to virtually any consulting discipline or assignment. I know they work well in mine, health care.
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Title: The Consultant's Toolkit: High-Impact Questionnaires, Activities and How-to Guides for Diagnosing and Solving Client Problems by Melvin L. Silberman, Mel Silberman ISBN: 0071362614 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade Pub. Date: 19 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used (Second Edition) by Peter Block ISBN: 0787948039 Publisher: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer Pub. Date: 15 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: Getting Started in Consulting by Alan Weiss ISBN: 0471384550 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 15 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Consultant's Quick Start Guide: An Action Plan for Your First Year in Business by Elaine Biech ISBN: 0787956678 Publisher: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer Pub. Date: 09 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Flawless Consulting Fieldbook and Companion : A Guide Understanding Your Expertise by Peter Block, Andrea Markowitz ISBN: 0787948047 Publisher: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer Pub. Date: 22 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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