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Major improvement	=	10
Considerable improvement	=	7
Some improvement	=	4
No change	=	1
Some deterioration	=	–2
Considerable deterioration	=	–5

The evaluation technique used will be selected with regard to the nature and complexity of the particular case. It may be a simple break-even analysis, cost–benefit analysis, return on investment analysis, linear programming technique, decision analysis, or some other technique. Broader social and environmental consequences of managerial decisions will, as mentioned, be difficult to quantify and compare with economic and financial costs and benefits. Notwithstanding, the number of techniques that attempt to account for these aspects in evaluation models and schemes is growing.

9.3Presenting action proposals to the client

When work on action proposals and the evaluation of alternatives has reached an advanced stage, the consultant has to consider the time and form for the presentation to the client. This will depend mainly on the type of project undertaken and the working relationships between the consultant and the client’s managerial and specialist staff.

In long and complex assignments, involving strategic issues and costly investment or other measures, the client’s staff is usually very much involved and keeps the senior management informed about progress. The consultant submits progress reports and seeks further guidance from the client at several points during the assignment, so the presentation of final proposals does not bring up anything completely new. Essentially, information that the client has had from previous reports and other contacts with the consultant is summarized, confirmed and presented for approval.

In other cases, the reporting which has preceded the presentation of proposals may have been limited. The scope of the assignment may not require reporting and discussions at each step; or, in assignments that will affect some vested interests (e.g. reorganizations), the client does not want to hold many meetings and have information circulated before the solutions have been defined and thoroughly examined by a restricted managerial group. Hence the need for a well-prepared presentation which, in the latter case, may convey completely new information to a number of people.

The presentation

Most consultants prefer to make an oral presentation backed up by written evidence and using audiovisual aids to support the case. The consultant may make

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an oral presentation, introducing documentation that will be left with the client, to be followed by another meeting once the client has examined the proposal in more detail. Alternatively, the client may prefer to receive the proposal in writing first and arrange a presentation meeting after having read the proposal.

The objective of the presentation is, of course, to obtain the client’s acceptance of the recommendations. The degree of persuasion will depend on many factors and must be anticipated, prepared for and built into the presentation. The presentation meeting is held between the consulting team (including the supervisor), the client and those members of the staff chosen to attend. The client’s liaison officer and other staff specialists may have an important role to play. Having taken part in the project they will be aware of the key issues and know many details. They can usually be expected to be completely in favour of the recommendations. If they are not, the consultant should be aware of their different views or reservations, and explain to the client why he or she is making the proposals despite some disagreement among the client’s staff.

The consultant’s presentation should work through a logical series of steps, building up the case for the recommendations in an effective manner, so that the client should have little or no hesitation in accepting them. A presentation should not be made unless the consultant believes that the probability of acceptance is high.

The presentation should not overwhelm decision-makers in the client organization with analytical details, or try to impress them by techniques that are normally the specialist’s domain. However, the techniques used in evaluation should be described. A clear picture of all solutions that have been envisaged should be given and the choice proposed by the consultant justified. The consultant must be absolutely honest with the client, especially when explaining:

●the risks involved (the solution has never been used before; some employees will probably be against it; the real investment and/or operating costs may be higher than foreseen);

●the conditions that the client must create and maintain (discipline is needed in recording primary data; maintenance has to be improved; some members of senior management must be transferred);

●the tasks that could not be completed (the search for potential partners could not cover all countries; some evaluation criteria had to be ignored because of lack of data or time);

●the future perspectives (the solution proposed does or does not anticipate future developments such as capacity expansion, automation, transfer to affiliated companies, more stringent environmental protection norms).

Depending on circumstances, acceptance at this point may be in principle only. There may be an agreed intention, but the final decision may be contingent on a detailed study of the written proposals by the client, on consultations with important shareholders or on the recommendations being explained to and accepted by employees’ representatives.

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Where there have to be further presentations to representatives of trade unions, staff associations or other stakeholder groups, the client takes on the role of persuader and negotiator. Under no circumstances should the consultant take this on alone. He or she should, of course, be ready to back up the client and help to organize whatever explanatory campaign is necessary – and should strongly advise against trying to get everything over at one mass meeting.

Plans for implementation

One section is often missing from action proposals presented to clients: a realistic and feasible plan for the implementation of the proposals. The client receives a static picture, describing the new project or scheme as it should look when implemented. Yet there may be a long way to go to achieve this desired condition, and several different paths may be available. Moreover, the planning of stages and activities to put the new scheme into effect can reveal further problems and needs, allowing the proposal to be further improved before the final version is implemented.

Thus an effective action proposal shows not only what to implement but also how to do it. A plan for implementation should be included in the proposal. The client and the consultant can agree that this plan will be a global one, leaving the details to a later stage, immediately preceding each step towards implementation.

The decision

It is the client and not the consultant who decides what solution will be chosen and applied. On no account should the client feel that he or she must follow the consultant’s choice in order not to upset the whole scheme. A client who feels that a solution was imposed on him or her will not be very active during the implementation phase, and will take the first opportunity to put the blame on the consultant if matters do not work out as expected.

The client’s decision on the consultant’s proposal is subject to the same influences as any other management decision. The number of important decisions that are determined by emotional rather than rational criteria is surprisingly high. Furthermore, the client’s conception of rationality may differ from the consultant’s conception, especially if their cultural backgrounds are not the same.

It is essential that the consultant is aware of the client’s personal preferences, and of cultural and other factors affecting decision-making in the client organization. This awareness helps him or her to avoid proposals that will not be accepted, and to recognize again that consulting is much more than presenting technically perfect solutions: it also involves earning confidence and explaining to the client and the staff so that they will accept rational measures as their personal choices.

The decision taken on the consultant’s proposals may be the final point of an assignment, if the client wants to undertake the work personally. If the client prefers to involve the consultant in implementation, the decision will act as an introduction to the next step.

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1See, e.g., J. G. Rawlinson: Creative thinking and brainstorming (Farnborough, Hampshire, Gower, 1981), and various publications by Edward de Bono.

2E. de Bono: Lateral thinking: A textbook of creativity (Harmondsworth, Middlesex, Penguin, 1977).

3A. F. Osborn: Applied imagination (New York, Charles Scribner & Sons, 1957).

4E. de Bono: Six thinking hats: An essential approach to business management from the creator of lateral thinking (New York, Bowker, Ingram, 1987).

5See G. Nadler and S. Hibino: Breakthrough thinking: The seven principles of creative problem solving (Rocklin, CA, Prima Publishing, 1994).

6See R. L. Bencin: “How to keep creative juices flowing”, in International Management (Sutton, Surrey), July 1983.

7See Nadler and Hibino, op. cit., Ch. 6.

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