I don’t do long reports
When I wrap up a consultancy gig I never deliver a long wordy report. Supposedly one is supposed to do that, at least according to the line of thinking championed by the big consultancy firms and more old skool consultants.
In my view these massive reports don’t deliver any value what so ever. I can understand there are those who see them as “something to show for hiring a consultant”, but a 140 pager is not it! It’s just smoke and mirrors.
I prefer finishing an assignment with either a focused conference call or a short face-to-face meeting. In it I share my findings, proposed solutions and ideas with the client. Clean, clear and instantly understandable.
Any questions my client’s have can be answered right away. No time is lost on distributing a report, having people read it, provide feedback, meet to discuss next steps etc.
Instead we go straight to the core of whatever issue it is we have worked on. The momentum the project has gained is carried over in to these meetings and in to actually actioning the findings. (At most I will write down a few notes and bullet points of my findings to act above all as agenda for the meeting.)
Results - Now there’s something to show for bringing in a fresh pair of eyes!
