Download or read book The Consulting Trap written by Chris Hurl and published by Fernwood Publishing. This book was released on 2024-05-13T00:00:00Z with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Consulting Trap does a deep dive into how governments have become hooked on private consultancy firms with dire consequences for democratic decision-making, public accountability and accessible public services. Hurl and Werner contend that firms like McKinsey, Accenture, KPMG and Deloitte increasingly take responsibility for core public services, trapping governments in cycles of dependency. Through orchestrating tax avoidance for the wealthy while engineering austerity for the rest, these firms have created the foundations for the deepening privatization of the public services, further entrenching their power. Drawing on case studies from Canada and around the world, Hurl and Werner investigate how big consultancies leverage social networks, institutionalize relationships, mine and commodify data, and establish policy pipelines that facilitate the quick diffusion of ideas across jurisdictions. Drawing from real world examples, The Consulting Trap offers strategies for how these powerful firms can be resisted using people’s audits, public consultations, access to information requests, and social network analyses.
Download or read book The Conclusion Trap written by Daniel Markovitz and published by . This book was released on 2020-04 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Organizations (and individuals) frequently struggle to make good decisions. They spend money, invest in new technology, and invest enormous amounts of time and effort reorganizing in fruitless efforts to solve thorny problems. Why?Years of training and reinforcement in school and at work, time pressures and deadlines, and inherent psychological biases cause us to jump to conclusions before we even understand the problem we're attempting to solve.This book will help you make better decisions by eliminating that tendency. You'll learn a powerful, four-step process that ensures you will deeply understand a problem before pursuing any given solution: (1) gathering both facts and data, so you can accurately grasp the situation; (2) properly framing the problem, so you can avoid cognitive biases; (3) isolating contributing factors, so you can manage complex situations; (4) finding the root cause, so you can avoid ineffective band-aids.Following this framework enables you to generate insight before you take action. Rather than needlessly hiring more people or spending money on new equipment and technology, you'll be able to identify the bottlenecks, root causes, and structural impediments that create the problems in the first place. It reduces the chronic fire-fighting your organization suffers from, while increasing the likelihood that your problem stays solved.
Download or read book The Meritocracy Trap written by Daniel Markovits and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revolutionary new argument from eminent Yale Law professor Daniel Markovits attacking the false promise of meritocracy It is an axiom of American life that advantage should be earned through ability and effort. Even as the country divides itself at every turn, the meritocratic ideal – that social and economic rewards should follow achievement rather than breeding – reigns supreme. Both Democrats and Republicans insistently repeat meritocratic notions. Meritocracy cuts to the heart of who we are. It sustains the American dream. But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Today, meritocracy has become exactly what it was conceived to resist: a mechanism for the concentration and dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Upward mobility has become a fantasy, and the embattled middle classes are now more likely to sink into the working poor than to rise into the professional elite. At the same time, meritocracy now ensnares even those who manage to claw their way to the top, requiring rich adults to work with crushing intensity, exploiting their expensive educations in order to extract a return. All this is not the result of deviations or retreats from meritocracy but rather stems directly from meritocracy’s successes. This is the radical argument that Daniel Markovits prosecutes with rare force. Markovits is well placed to expose the sham of meritocracy. Having spent his life at elite universities, he knows from the inside the corrosive system we are trapped within. Markovits also knows that, if we understand that meritocratic inequality produces near-universal harm, we can cure it. When The Meritocracy Trap reveals the inner workings of the meritocratic machine, it also illuminates the first steps outward, towards a new world that might once again afford dignity and prosperity to the American people.
Download or read book Humble Consulting written by Edgar H. Schein and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2016-04-04 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consulting in Complex and Changing Times Organizations face challenges today that are too messy and complicated for consultants to simply play doctor: run a few tests, offer a neat diagnosis of the “problem,” and recommend a solution. Edgar Schein argues that consultants have to jettison the old idea of professional distance and work with their clients in a more personal way, emphasizing authentic openness, curiosity, and humility. Schein draws deeply on his own decades of experience, offering over two dozen case studies that illuminate each stage of this humble consulting process. Just as he did with Process Consultation nearly fifty years ago, Schein has once again revolutionized the field, enabling consultants to be more genuinely helpful and vastly more effective.
Download or read book Avoiding the Continuous Appearance Trap written by Patrick Adams and published by . This book was released on 2021-01-13 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book When to Hire or Not Hire a Consultant written by Linda M. Orr and published by Apress. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When to Hire—or Not Hire—a Consultant:Getting Your Money's Worth from Consulting Relationships is a hands-on, practical guide for anyone thinking about hiring a consultant to set strategy, solve problems, increase profits or revenue, develop new products, open new markets, or improve efficiency. Consulting is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States. According to the U.S. government, there were 719,000 consultants in the U.S. in 2010, and you can expect an additional 274,000 by 2020. Cloaked in “expert” status, consultants might seem to be the answer to many business problems. You call someone in to solve a particular problem or develop new markets, then send them away once the job is done—while reaping the benefits of their expertise. Consultants sometimes do work miracles, but once in a while they wreck a healthy business. And far too often, the benefits gained by calling in consultants disappear far too soon after they leave. Yet as return on investment (ROI) and accountability for results become bigger and bigger issues, business professionals in search of answers to performance or strategy challenges are turning more and more to outside guidance for help. Indeed, few businesses do not use some kind of consultant at some point in their existence. But how can you leverage the skills consultants can bring to the table without adding undue risk to your operations? How can you effectively manage the consultant relationship to get the greatest benefit for the least cost? What metrics can support your decision to hire—or not hire—a consultant? When should you use home-grown talent to solve problems instead? That’s what this book is all about. While there are a multitude of books on how to be a consultant, this is the first to help an executive determine when to hire one. You will learn strategies to decide when a consultant is needed and how to support that decision with hard evidence, how to select the right consultant, how to set clear expectations, and how to know when a consultant is either a valuable resource or a hindrance to the company’s success. The authors of this book bring together two opposing perspectives. Linda Orr has served as a consultant in many companies and situations, while Dave Orr has hired consultants many times. Together, they can help you make the most strategically and financially sound business decisions. This books shows you how to: Work through ROI and other issues to support a decision to hire a consultant. Maximize the benefits consultants can provide. Explore options other than hiring a consultant.
Download or read book Resource ful Consulting written by Karen Izod and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-11 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consultants and practitioners working with change can feel at a loss as to how to help their clients move forward. Organisations get stuck in routine ways even when they have innovations in mind. Consultants get stuck in familiar interventions which no longer prove stimulating or effective. Such challenges to practice can preoccupy and reinforce these stuck positions. Drawing on the authors' experiences of working with the professional development of consultants and change-agents over many years, this book provides an asset-based approach to consulting, where the resources to work at this 'stuckness' come from the way that we think about and use ourselves: our Identity and our Presence. The authors propose that developing capacities to recognise and analyse who we bring into our consulting, and how we bring ourselves is central to resource-ful practice. Without a skill-ful integration of these resources, the potential for change can be compromised. In handbook format, the book is structured in seven sections: Potential Space, Identity, Presence, Role Space, Practice, Change, and Future Developments.
Download or read book How to Use a Consultant in Your Company written by John J. McGonagle and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2002-02-28 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Obtain the Best Consulting Services for Your Business In this chaotic age of new technologies, downsizing, andreengineering, managers and executives are relying more and more onthe consultant. Hiring the right consultants for your company andmaking effective use of them is a vital skill, and yet there hasbeen a lack of guidance on this topic-until now. How to Use a Consultant in Your Company delivers expert advice andpractical guidelines on how to successfully create and manage theclient/consultant relationship-to your advantage. John McGonagleand Carolyn Vella provide up-to-the-minute information on: * Defining your consulting needs * Finding and selecting the right consultants * Managing the paper trail-corporate policies, contractingissues * Working with an individual consultant or an entire firm * Handling disputes, lawsuits, and complaints * Evaluating consultants Including forms and other materials for help in developing formalpolicies, billing procedures, and more that you can adapt to fityour own situation, How to Use a Consultant in Your Company is theone-book-fits-all solution for anyone responsible for getting themost out of their company's consultant.
Download or read book The Consulting Bible written by Alan Weiss and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-02-23 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everything you need to know about building a successful, world-class consulting practice Whether you are a veteran consultant or new to the industry, an entrepreneur or the principal of a small firm, The Consulting Bible tells you absolutely everything you need to know to create and expand a seven-figure independent or boutique consulting practice. Expert author Alan Weiss, who coaches consultants globally and has written more books on solo consulting than anyone in history, shares his expertise comprehensively. Learn and appreciate the origins and evolution of the consulting profession Launch your practice or firm and propel it to top performance Implement your consulting strategies in public and private organizations, large or small, global or domestic Select from the widest variety of consulting methodologies Achieve lasting success in your professional career and personal goals The author is recognized as "one of the most highly regarded independent consultants in America" by the New York Post and "a worldwide expert in executive education" by Success Magazine Whether you're just starting out or looking for the latest trends in modern practice, The Consulting Bible gives you an unparalleled toolset to build a thriving consultancy.
Download or read book Smart People Should Build Things written by Andrew Yang and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Andrew Yang, the founder of Venture for America, offers a unique solution to our country’s economic and social problems—our smart people should be building things. Smart People Should Build Things offers a stark picture of the current culture and a revolutionary model that will redirect a generation of ambitious young people to the critical job of innovating and building new businesses. As the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, Andrew Yang places top college graduates in start-ups for two years in emerging U.S. cities to generate job growth and train the next generation of entrepreneurs. He knows firsthand how our current view of education is broken. Many college graduates aspire to finance, consulting, law school, grad school, or medical school out of a vague desire for additional status and progress rather than from a genuine passion or fit. In Smart People Should Build Things, this self-described “recovering lawyer” and entrepreneur weaves together a compelling narrative of success stories (including his own), offering observations about the flow of talent in the United States and explanations of why current trends are leading to economic distress and cultural decline. He also presents recommendations for both policy makers and job seekers to make entrepreneurship more realistic and achievable.
Download or read book Steam written by Jacob (Jake) Myron and published by Dorrance Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Steam heating systems come in many varieties and sizes. Steam systems need regular maintenance, or small problems will occur. When the small problems are not addressed, they will cause other small problems to arise. A large steam heating system with scores of small problems will not heat properly and fuel consumption can increase dramatically, but worst of all, the banging in these systems, as my mentor would say, is like the ‘hammers of hell.’” Jacob (Jake) Myron wrote this book as an easy-to-understand self-help guide for those in the occupation dealing with steam systems. He feels a huge gratitude to this industry, and he shares his over forty years of successful experience in this book to give something back to his beloved profession and colleagues.
Download or read book The Consulting Engineer written by and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Advancing Into Temp Contract and Consulting Jobs written by Jimmy Moore and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2000-09 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique book brings you, at last, the easiest, no-risk, step-by-step process for beginning and promoting your own consulting business. This remarkable technique harnesses the full power found in a natural progression: moving from Temp to Contractor to Consultant. Jimmy’s amazing personal experience will empower you to move through all three phases comfortably.
Download or read book Value Based Fees written by Alan Weiss and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-11-03 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this thoroughly revised edition of his classic book, Alan Weiss shows how consulting fees are dependent on only two things: value provided in the perception of the buyer and the intent of the buyer and the consultant to act ethically. Many consultants, however, fail to understand that perceived value is the basis of the fee, or that they must translate the importance of their advice into long-term gains for the client in the client's perception. Still others fail to have the courage and the belief system that support the high value delivered to clients, thereby reducing fees to a level commensurate with the consultant's own low self-esteem. Ultimately, says Weiss, consultants, not clients, are the main cause of low consulting fees.
Download or read book The Academic Consultant Connection written by Robert Granford Wright and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book How to Manage Student Consulting Projects written by Joseph R. Weintraub and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-25 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to Manage Student Consulting Projects describes the key principles and tools needed by project advisors to manage student consulting projects in an academic setting. The authors highlight different approaches for managing student consulting teams and offer strategies that project advisors can use to improve project performance. The book also provides information for program administrators and deans, as well as project managers in non-academic settings, to help in the development and running of project-based learning.
Download or read book Successful Independent Consulting Relationships That Focus on Mutual Benefit written by Johanna Rothman and published by Practical Ink. This book was released on 2023-04-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is Independent Consulting Your Next Role? You've been successful inside organizations, and now it's time to extend that success to potential clients. But you don't want to be a smarmy marketer. Instead, you'd like your clients to ask for you by name. Look no further. This practical guide to building your "consulting engine" and creating systems for your business has everything you need to become a successful independent consultant. You'll learn how to: - Assess your value so you can choose which problems to solve for your ideal clients. - Attract clients with continual content marketing. - Create relationships with people across the client organization and with other consultants - Set reasonable fees. - Create and manage your intellectual property. - Learn from the engagement to reassess your value. And much more. As you consult, you can assess and change your business model for the flexibility you need for your business. Buy this book to start now. Become a successful independent consultant on your terms.
