The Consultant’s Playbook Chapter 4 – Act. In this Chapter you will learn about delivery following three well-managed steps: Initiation, Delivery, and Ending.

Not all engagements go further than the Advise stage, but for those that do, this chapter discusses the process of taking the recommendations from the Advise stage and putting them into practice through delivery.

The three elements of Act, are Initiate, Solutions Delivery and End.

The Initiate step sets the mood for the rest of the engagement, it describes the set up for successful delivery of the solution and how to begin to nurture the relationship between yourself and the client. Clients are looking for an early signal that the consultant can deliver and this chapter aids in focusing on understanding culture, structure, and stakeholders and goes on to assist your thinking that if things do not go to plan you need to adapt. The Initiate step comprises three linked but distinct activities that set solid foundations and help you achieve this aim:

• Consulting onboarding – performing necessary activities that align you to the client’s ways of working.
• Client onboarding – setting up your own systems and process to help you manage the engagement.
• Delivery set-up – setting up project mechanisms to help you manage your solutions delivery.

Lastly, in this step you consider what key performance indicators (KPIs) to use to measure the success of the engagement.

The second step, Solutions Delivery, is the key to both a successful engagement and a happy client. It is the combination of skills, knowledge, and experience that you bring, which builds into an effective delivery. The primary objective of the Solutions Delivery step is to deliver sustainable change through providing the agreed solution and this book focuses on the following five common elements that occur across any type of successful delivery:

• High-performance delivery behaviours – manifesting key behaviours to continually highlight effectiveness and value as a consultant.
• Delivery management – putting in place processes and systems to manage and deliver against the plan to ensure successful change across the whole organisation.
• Dealing with problems – managing and keeping away from common consultant hazards.
• Client management – setting up mechanisms to maximise the value of the relationship for both parties.
• Building relationships – proactive methods to increase closeness and trust on-site.

The End of an assignment has a significant effect on the perception of success. To leave a good impression, you must ensure that the delivery has been accepted and that you have made good on all promises. You should be clear on the value that has been added by the engagement and that success has been measured against the KPIs set up in the initial part of the engagement. A good ending is planned, it should never be a surprise that the engagement has finished. What you do at the end should be considered at the beginning. The activities in the End step, therefore, mirror the activities in the Initiate steps and include one final activity to ensure that work continues. The four activities are:

• Delivery breakdown – to ensure products are delivered and value is realised.
• Consultant offboarding – to collect and summarise your own information for future use.
• Client offboarding – to leave the client with the best possible experience and a clear end to the engagement.
• Planning for your next engagement – either with the existing client or with new ones.