APPENDIX 7

WRITING REPORTS

The different reports written by consultants are mentioned in various chapters of the book according to the occasions and purposes that call for them. This appendix reviews the essential principles of writing and producing reports in consulting.

1.Reports in perspective

In most consulting work, written communication complements oral communication, but in some cases the written report will become the main or the only communication channel. In addition to summarizing and conveying information and stimulating the client to act, reports to clients have other important functions. They contribute by their quality and presentation to the impact the consultant makes during the assignment. They also affect the consultant’s general reputation. When the personal contacts between consultant and client are limited (for example, if the client obtains written proposals from several consultants and will select one on the basis of these proposals), persuasion may be a vital feature of a report.

An excellent consulting report meets three basic criteria:

●First, it is reader-friendly. Its structure, style, terminology, arguments used and any other features are selected with regard to the client’s background, needs and preferences. The basic question is: “What sort of report will render the best service to the client and will be easily read and understood by the client?” and not: “What sort of report do we like to produce in our firm?” Obviously, in many cases the client will have no particular preference and will leave the choice to the consultant. Yet the question must be asked, and discussing it directly with the client may be helpful.

●Second, the report should be easy for the consultant to write. Ease of writing leads to ease of reading. In addition, it saves time and money for the client, who is going to pay for the time spent by the consultant on writing, and use his or her own time studying the report. In an extreme case, a poorly drafted report may put off the client and achieve the opposite of what was intended.

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●Third, and most importantly, the aim of every report is to convey a particular message. This message (or purpose) needs to be clarified before the report is drafted. This course of action will help the consultant to structure the report, choose a convenient style, and organize facts and information in support of the message to the client.

As a check, you should ask yourself about the necessity and purpose of any report you intend to produce:

–Why is the report necessary?

–What is its message?

–What will it achieve?

–Is there a better way of achieving this purpose?

–Is now the time for it?

–Who is likely to read it and make use of it?

As a matter of principle, consulting reports should not repeat information obtained from the client or well known to him or her, and general information on the background situation, with the exception of information that directly justifies conclusions or documents the work performed. The essence of information is news. Thus, the information content of reports should consist of:

–facts discovered for the first time by the consultant;

–newly discovered significance of known facts;

–newly found connections between known effects and hitherto unknown causes;

–solutions to the client’s problems, and their justification;

–results achieved and changes made or proposed;

–facts showing to the client that he or she needs to take action, and any other facts commanding the client’s attention.

2.Structuring the report

The contents need to be arranged in the best sequence for the nature and purpose of the report and for the desired reaction to it. This may be difficult. The author may be tempted to describe the whole assignment and the whole analytical and thinking process of the consulting team, but the client is looking for results and proposals that will be tangible improvements to the business. Although the author may hope the reader will start at the beginning and read through to the end, there is no guarantee of this. This is one of the hazards of written communication. Persuasion requires careful build-up through a reasoned sequence which the reader may choose not to follow.

A table of contents is essential (except in very short reports); it is regrettable that many reports do not have one. The best place for the table of contents is at the very beginning of the report, i.e. preceding any introduction, preface, or summary. In some countries (e.g. France) it has been customary to give a table of contents at the very end.

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The whole report should he carefully planned. It will contain certain main ideas and topics, some of which will have subdivisions. It may help to start by producing an outline listing the main points and ideas.

Marshalling the body of a report into a logical structure is aided by having a formal system of numbers and/or letters for main headings, subheadings and so on. The wording after each number may be printed in a different style. A decimal system may be used, as in the example on the left, or numbers and letters, as in the example on the right:

1.	Main heading	I. Main heading
1.1.	Subheading	1. Subheading
1.1.1. Sub-subheading		A. Sub-subheading
		(i) Listed item
		(ii) Listed item

The advantage of such a scheme is that it makes the writer think about priorities and helps him or her determine which topics are genuine subdivisions of others. It promotes the orderly organization of the structure and points the way to economy of layout and avoidance of repetition.

For example, a report covering three subject areas, Buying, Stores and Production, deals with three statements about them: Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations. Which of the three layouts below may be the best?

1.	Findings		1.	Buying	1.	Buying
	1.1	Buying	1.1	Findings	1.1	Findings
	1.2	Stores	1.2	Conclusions	1.2	Conclusions
	1.3	Production	1.3	Recommendations
2.	Conclusions		2.	Stores	2.	Stores
	2.1	Buying	2.1	Findings	2.1	Findings
	2.2	Stores	2.2	Conclusions	2.2	Conclusions
	2.3	Production	2.3	Recommendations
3.	Recommendations		3.	Production	3.	Production
	3.1	Buying	3.1	Findings	3.1	Findings
	3.2	Stores	3.2	Conclusions	3.2	Conclusions
	3.3	Production	3.3	Recommendations
					4.	Recommendations
					4.1	Buying
					4.2	Stores
					4.3	Production

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For any particular report one of these may prove easiest, but if “Findings” tell the client nothing new, there is no point in belabouring them. “Conclusions” usually lead straight into “Recommendations”. It could even be that the whole report can be written as for section 4 in the third column, the recommendations themselves being written so as to make the findings and conclusions quite clear. A consulting report is not a research paper, but carries a practical message that should stimulate and orient action.

Everything depends on priorities, weights, balance and purposes; a scheme of marshalling helps to sort these out.

Appendices are useful for taking out of the body of a report detailed descriptions, listings, tables, charts, diagrams, etc. that would break up the continuity of reading and would be difficult to fit in. The body of the report is essentially for reading and quick examination of summary data. Appendices can include items which, though they make a contribution, require more lengthy examination. It does not help to make a case if the reader is suddenly confronted with several pages of closely tabulated figures. Small tables or diagrams, however, are not disturbing. They break the text monotony, convey selected or summarized information, and should be maintained in the main text.

Acknowledgements have to be made, especially in final assignment reports. This will require tact. If names are mentioned there must be no omissions: every genuine helper likes to see his or her name on the list. At the same time, to include someone who has been more of a hindrance than a help – and knows it – may cause mixed feelings all round. If the list would be too long, it is better to leave it out and settle for general thanks and the remark that “it would be an impossible task to mention everyone who …”.

3.Drafting the report

Executives are flooded with reports, and hate long and badly written ones. It is useful, therefore, to observe certain principles, which have been summarized in box A1.

If there is enough time, the first complete draft should be put aside for a day or two, after which anything wrong is more easily seen and revised. When it looks right to the author, someone else should read it. An operating consultant’s draft will normally be read by the project manager or supervisor, who will often see things that a less experienced consultant would miss. There are, however, some dangers at this point: any report can always be improved, and the temptation to work on it until it is “perfect” may be hard to resist. As with most things, there is a point of diminishing returns.

When drafting the report, the consultant may find that the outline chosen originally is not the best one. There is no point in sticking to an inconvenient outline. However, if the client agreed to that outline beforehand, he or she should also be asked to agree to a modified outline to avoid a possible misunderstanding.

If the report is a collective piece of work and the co-authors are known to have different personal styles, final editing should be foreseen. Consistency and homogeneity (of style, layout, terminology, length of sections, etc.) are key characteristics of excellent reports.

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Box A1 Principles of clear writing

1.Keep the report as short as possible.

2.Consider your reader, his or her outlook and experience.

3.Write to express, not to impress.

4.Write naturally: style that flows smoothly and does not draw attention to itself is the most effective.

5.Try to keep sentences short; vary their length but keep the average around 20 words.

6.Avoid clumsy sentences and carefully blend short and long words.

7.Use familiar words, avoiding rare or far-fetched ones.

8.Avoid jargon unless it is sure to be familiar to the reader and you know what it means.

9.Avoid unnecessary words that give an impression of padding.

10.Use terms the reader can picture: call a crane a crane, not “a lifting facility”.

11.Put action into your verbs; use the force of the active voice; use the passive voice to vary the style.

12.Keep every item of a report relevant to the purpose.

13.Ensure that the contents include all the points necessary to the purpose.

14.Keep a proper balance, giving space and emphasis to each item according to its importance.

15.Keep a serious “tone” as befits a serious purpose; do not tempt the reader to read between the lines; if you do you are at the mercy of his or her imagination.

16.Be careful in the use of numbers: figures tend to draw attention to themselves; decide when absolute values have more significance than percentages and ratios, and vice versa; when quoting figures from other sources, be exact; when estimating, consider the order of accuracy and round off.

17.If you quote from other sources give precise and complete references.

Source: Some of the principles are adapted from R. Gunning; The technique of clear writing (New York, McGraw-Hill, 1952).

4.Typing and printing the report

The report should look professional in every respect. Its cover and binding should give an excellent impression without looking luxurious. Inside, the layout of the text should allow a generous margin for binding and notes made by the reader, be impeccably printed on a laser printer or similar, and free from extraneous marks and alterations. Any graphs, charts and diagrams should be well drawn and in every respect up to the standard of the typescript.

The consulting firm may have its own standard format that not only distinguishes its reports but responds to requirements for filing and control in its reports library. Within the covers, the body of the report may also have a standard

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layout for division and subdivision of the contents, which can be used if it is not in conflict with the purpose and spirit of a particular report.

The final draft prepared for reproduction should leave the secretary in no doubt as to precisely what is required. The author should take the trouble to lay out the text as it should appear in the final version. The author is also completely responsible for reading the report once more before transmission to the client and ensuring that no mistakes remain.

The production of reports has been greatly improved by judicious use of word processing. At present, most consultants prepare their reports, or their inputs to collective reports, on their personal computers, often directly at clients’ premises. All contributors must then strictly adhere to a common format set by the firm. Corrections and amendments can be made easily by the report author or editor.

A client may wish to receive an electronic version of the report in addition to, or instead of, printed copies. Systems compatibility should be kept in mind because conversions of documents are not always flawless.

** *

Useful guidance on report-writing and editing in English is provided in B. Minto:

The Minto pyramid principle: Logic in writing, thinking and problem solving

(London, Minto International, 3rd ed., 1996), excerpts of which are in the Journal of Management Consulting (Milwaukee, WI), May 1998, Nov. 1998 and May 1999. See also: The Economist Style Guide (London, The Economist Books, 2001).

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