Chapter 10

From Training Order-Taker to Performance Consultant

What Does It Mean to Be a “Consultant” in WLP?

In Training Ain't Performance(chapters 6 and 9), we helped you examine the current role you play and determine if it is more one of a training order-taker or one of a consultant focused on helping clients achieve performance results. Here's a quick way to assess yourself. Place a checkmark beside the description that more accurately fits you:

If you selected A, you are definitely in the training order-taker camp where success is judged by the speed and degree to which a training order is “filled.” If youselected B, you are solidly in the performance-consulting camp where what matters is not what you did but what your performers and the organization accomplished. By assuming the role of “consultant” in the WLP world, you are no longer judged by activity alone, but by the valued accomplishments of your performers. It's a frightening position to occupy. In a sense you become the vehicle by which others arrive at success. But what you do is of immense value to all stakeholders, including you.

The Value Add of Performance Consulting

Examine the list below that presents some statements of the value that you add in assuming a performance-consulting role:

Your role as a consultant in WLP is so much richer than that of training order-taker. It's no wonder the training world is rapidly evolving in this direction.

Revisiting the Competency Areas and Critical Characteristics for Performance Consulting

In Training Ain't Performance(chapter 9, p. 139), we gave you a worksheet listing 16 performance-consulting competency areas. Achieving all of the value add we cited in the previous section requires that you build strong professional competencies to serve your clients most fully. In this Fieldbook we go beyond what we covered in Training Ain't Performance to clarify how each competency, in and of itself, adds value for your client, the performer, the organization, and, as appropriate, the customer. Review these competencies and their value here in Table 10-1. The information in the table serves two purposes: to reinforce your need to build strength in each competency; and to demonstrate to your clients, who are often impatient and want a “quick fix,” that what you do benefits them beyond their current expectation levels.

Table 10-1. Performance-Consulting Competencies and the Value Add

Competency	Value Add
1.  Determine performance improvement projects that are appropriate to tackle	Time and resources are almost always limited. By selecting only those projects that offer the highest potential for improved performance, the consultant helps clients achieve maximum success from the finite resources they possess. By systematically analyzing requests for training and other interventions, the consultant gathers data and evidence on the worth of a project, thus helping avoid wasted effort on low-priority or inappropriate endeavors.
2.  Conduct performance gap analysis	When carefully conducted, the gap analysis should yield concrete evidence and specific data on the desired and current performance levels; factors affecting the gap; and appropriate, economical, feasible, and acceptable solutions and performance interventions. This diagnostic and prescriptive set of activities vastly increases the probability of success. Performance gap analyses also lay the foundation for designing interventions, and they establish criteria for project success and suitable metrics to measure it.
3.  Assess performer characteristics	Performance solutions frequently are selected and developed without taking into account the characteristics, competencies, values, concerns, issues, and constraints of the performers. Accurate assessment of all of these dimensions increases the likelihood that interventions will be tailored to fit the performers. The more closely the interventions match performer's characteristics, the more quickly and accurately the performers will achieve desired results.
4.  Analyze the structures of jobs, task, and content	Nice-to-know and even irrelevant tasks and content often are built unnecessarily into performance improvement interventions. This is called overengineering and is costly and wasteful. Ability to conduct job and task analyses and to analyze content for relevance helps maintain focus on necessary and sufficient development of performance interventions and support without gaps or waste
5.  Analyze the characteristics of a learning/working environment	A context analysis (physical, ergonomic, social, management, cultural, administrative) identifying characteristics of the environment that may facilitate or inhibit performance helps ensure appropriate intervention design. Analysis and identification of facilitating/inhibiting factors can result in avoidance of costly errors and wasted time or can leverage existing environmental elements for smoother implementation.
6.  Write statements of performance intervention outcomes	Clear outcome statements inform all stakeholders of what is to be achieved. The more clear the outcome statement, the higher the probability of attaining it.
7.  Sequence performance intervention outcomes	Creating timelines and time-and-action calendars with identified intervention outcomes helps team members coordinate their activities and provides a schedule of expectations for managers and perfoers. This can decrease costly delays or waiting times. Each player in the project is always aware of what is happening and when outputs are due. This reduces teamwork inefficiencies and conflicts. The consultant makes planning easier.
8.  Specify performance interventions and strategies	This is the logical output of all prior analyses and preparation. Specifications, based on gathered data and information, guide all future activities. A clear set of interventions and strategies facilitates budgetary and project management processes.
9.  Sequence performance improvement activities	The sequence of activities, when well laid out, helps in the planning and management of all development, implementation, and evaluation/monitoring activities. A well-developed sequence increases coordination and decreases time loss. The sequence prompts smooth ordering and marshalling of resources for the project.
10.  Determine resources appropriate for performance improvement activities and help obtain them	Projects often fail because required resources are not accessible. The ability to specify requirements, obtain support for resource acquisition, and make it possible to acquire resources when they are required can contribute enormously to meeting project timelines and attaining project success.
11.  Evaluate performance improvement interventions	Evaluation is a weak area in most performance improvement projects. The consultants design of both a formative and a summative evaluation system offers value in two important ways: —continuous monitoring to ensure performance interventions are being appropriately developed —data gathering to demonstrate performance intervention success (data that can be leveraged to garner support for future projects).
12.  Create a performance improvement implementation plan	The key to successful performance improvement projects is in their implementation. If begun early in a project, implementation planning increases field support, ensures adequate resources and facilities, and decreases last-minute barriers to implementation success. A well-designed implementation plan foresees problems and prepares adequately for contingencies. Last-minute glitches vastly increase costs and produce time delays.
13.  Plan, manage, and monitor performance improvement projects	Generally, instructional designers and trainers are valued for their technical or presentation capabilities. Performance consultants also must be able to analyze, design, and present. But value add derives from a consultants ability to make the project happen. By effectively planning, managing, and monitoring performance improvement projects, he or she helps maximize the investment in analysis and design/development. This is a benefit that enhances the consultants crecredibility and trustworthiness, and helps clients achieve the greatest gains.
14.  Communicate effectively in visual, oral, and written forms	When a project is successful its success must be communicated in the most appropriate ways so that all stakeholders can understand what has been accomplished. This results in both sustained support for the current project and easier acceptance of future projects. Clear communication throughout the project life cycle increases coordination, support, and commitment.
15.  Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal, group process, and consulting skills	Many projects fail or are hampered by poor leadership and teamwork than by lack of talent and resources. Being able to deal with individuals and groups in an empathic manner is a high-value asset. Process consulting skills decrease barriers and open doors. The project flows more smoothly with fewer delays.
16.  Promote performance-consulting and human performance improvement as a major approach to achieving desired results in organizations	By demonstrating both performance improvement results and value-added characteristics of performance consulting, the consultant builds credibility as a professional and provides a high-ROI service to the organization. Promotion of the field rebounds on the promoter. Both gain in the process.

In addition to the added value that the 16 performance-consulting competencies bring to a project and all its stakeholders, the competencies also define the 10 vital characteristics displayed by outstanding performance consultants. Table 10-2 summarizes these characteristics, drawn from Training Ain't Performance(p. 141). As in the previous table, we add here in brief form what value they provide to clients, performers, the organization, customers, and all other direct or indirect stakeholders.

As a performance professional—a performance consultant—you can effect large changes within your organization. These competencies and characteristics are your own personal targets. Keep in mind the added value that each one brings to you and your clients.

An Activity for You

If you have many lower ratings, You have examined the characteristics required of a performance consultant, as presented in Training Ain't Performance(p. 141) and in Table 10-2. Now let's bring things a little closer to home. Do you have the potential to be a good performance consultant? Assess yourself using Worksheet 10-1, but don't do it alone. None of us is the best judge of ourselves. We all require a credible outsider to maintain a balanced view of who we are. So, find a person you trust—a manager, mentor, colleague, client you know to be objective. Together, review the 18 items on the worksheet. For each quality listed there, check the box under the rating that you and your helper believe best describes you. Be sure to listen to the person helping you because your likely inclination will be to score yourself lower than you should. Most competent, skilled professionals underrate their own abilities. High achievers frequently feel that they're “frauds,” pulling the wool over people's eyes. And a rare few of you will overrate yourself. Trust your rating partner.

It doesn't matter if you don't score “Got a Lot of It” on every quality. Few performance professionals do. For most projects you don't have to have all of these qualities at a high level—but of course it's worthwhile to strive for excellence.

Table 10-2. Performance-Consulting Competencies and the Value Add

Characteristic	Value Add
1.  Is focused on client need: never loses sight of the primary mission is not swayed by enthusiasms or constraints separates wants and whims from real needs sticks to valued outcomes despite pressures	This tenacity ensures that the client achieves results she or he desires. By separating wants and whims from needs, the end result is of greater value to the client and the organization. The performance consultant provides the steady hand on the tiller against the battering waves of enthusiasm and politics that can throw a project off course.
2.  Is cause conscious, not solution focused: is analytic investigates systematically	Decision making is based on data, hard evidence, and systematic sifting of facts. Solutions are based on cause, not opinion.
3.  Is able to maintain a system perspective: accepts a holistic view anticipates how change in one area affects other areas	Balanced interventions are the result, with all major factors accounted for. Simple solutions, although attractive, rarely result in long-term performance improvement. The system view weaves a tight web of interventions that are mutually supportive.
4.  Is capable of involving others (authority figures, knowledgeable individuals) appropriately stresses complementary skills draws strength from team diversity	Through appropriate involvement of authority at the top, experts to lend credibility and accuracy, and team workers to develop interventions, the consultant maximizes individual and team efficiency.
5.  Is organized, rigorous, and prudent: lets credible data talk	This characteristic builds trust among champions, clients, and other stakeholders, thereby increasing support for the project and smoothing the work. This enhances the belief that the performance interventions will deliver as promised because decisions and actions are based on verifiable data.
6.  Is sensitive to the need to verify perceptions: performs reality checks with reliable people checks interpretations two or three times	By checking and rechecking understandings, the consultant builds support and ensures that the project is on the right track. The investment in “verifying time” is more than compensated for by avoiding misinterpretations of information that lead down the wrong path.
7.  Is able to sort out priorities. focuses on and sticks to business needs avoids the seduction of technology	All projects have the potential to slip off course when new, exciting “discoveries” or events are reported to the client. The consultant's ability to absorb the new information and sustain goal focus ensures that priorities are maintained. Dampening distractions, including technology hype, is a major asset the consultant with this characteristic brings to the project
8.  Is diplomatic and credible: speaks and acts convincingly overcomes resistance without creating animosity	This characteristic takes the edge off of rejection or nonacceptance of nonessential recommendations. It helps maintain direction and support from all sources. It increases smoother implementation of interventions and attainment of performance goals without bitterness
9.  Is generous in giving credit to others: highlights others' accomplishments shares rewards and recognition of success	This essential characteristic builds loyalty to the project and draws out the best from all players.
10.  Is principled but flexible: sticks to the bottom-line goal bends to pressures and constraints without giving up the goal accommodates client wants where and when feasible without losing sight of the desired result	By maintaining a firm, fixed eye on the destination, the consultant can accommodate nondisruptive client desires, thus accomplishing two main goals: —producing valued performance success —satisfying and delighting the client.

Worksheet 10-1: Identifying Your Performance-Consulting Qualities

Instructions: Place a checkmark in the appropriate column to describe the amount of the quality you believe you possess or can develop.

If you have many lower ratings, especially “Haven't Got It and Can't Get It” ones, these should be food for thought—and further self-appraisal. If you find a number of “Haven't Got It, But Can Get It” checkmarks, refer to the final two chapters of this Fieldbook. We have an array of resources for you that can help you “get it.”

Ready? Turn to Worksheet 10-1 and check the appropriate boxes as you and your partner assess your consulting qualities. We'll wait here until you finish the self-assessment and then we'll score and debrief the experience.

Now comes the moment of truth: scoring yourself. If you have rated (or been rated) as “Haven't Got It and Can't Get It” on any of qualities 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, or 18, consider these fatal flaws for performance consulting. Reflect on these responses. If they are truly accurate and you really “can't get it,” it is likely that performance consulting is not for you. Work with or support other performance professionals, or look for other interesting career activities.

If you rated (or were rated) “Haven't Got It But Can Get It” on those same items, keep reading this Fieldbook. Pay special attention to the final two chapters and the Additional Resources section. Seek a mentor to help you develop.

A checkmark in either of those two columns for any other item indicates some restriction in taking on a performance-consulting assignment alone. Work with a colleague to shore up your areas of weakness until you gain strength and confidence. In the meantime, play to your strengths. Notice how many checkmarks you do have in the first two columns. Exploit and continue to build on those qualities.

Am I Doing It Right?

As you move more deeply into the performance-consulting role and build your performance capabilities, it is wise to monitor your efforts with your clients to ensure that you are “doing it right.” Worksheet 10-2 can help you monitor your endeavors. Use it on a regular basis with each project. We have found it useful to sit down with the client and review each item either during a project or at the post-completion debriefing, or as a separate activity. This review invites dialogue, strengthens relationships, and yields useful feedback to help keep you on track.

The seven simple questions in the worksheet give a quick check on the quality and correctness of your work. They also offer the opportunity to make course corrections in your dealings with your client. Where you've answered “no” to a question, give some thought to appropriate corrective actions that you can take to improve your efforts. Remember that client feedback also gives you feed forward.

Handling Inquiries

As a training group, you probably receive inquiries and requests for services from a variety of people. You sort these requests into higher and lower priorities, decide what you can deliver, and follow up to respond in one way or another to the person who contacted you. As a WLP organization, however, you suddenly may find that you're inundated with a much broader array of inquiries or requests. It is essential that you and your team handle each of these inquiries systematically and professionally. Worksheet 10-3 can help you document each initial contact. Use it or a modified version every time you receive an inquiry or request for services.

Worksheet 10-2: Am I Doing It Right?

Instructions: Check “yes” or “no” or each of the following questions. Briefly describe actions you can take to correct a “no” score or to heighten your performance on “yes” items.

This tracking sheet not only helps you document inquiries and requests, but also forms a database that you and your WLP team can review. Over time, the nature of the inquiries or requests will help shape your team's orientation and will serve as a base for resource planning and budgeting.

Conducting the Initial Interview

You are preparing for the initial interview with the potential client. What should you do? What should you keep in mind? And what do you do during the interview? Are there specific actions to take after the interview? These are the questions this section of the Fieldbook addresses.

Worksheet 10-3: WLP Support Inquiry/Request Tracking Sheet

Instructions: Each time you receive an inquiry about or a request for your WLP support services, complete this worksheet. Keep it in your files.

The Purpose of the Initial Interview

As a performance consultant you have two main purposes for the interview:

You have to keep these two purposes uppermost in your mind. Everyone's time is valuable—including your own. The interview must be friendly, professional, and productive for both the client and you. Remember that most of your clients see you as the training person or group, so you have to reset their perceptions and expectations.

The Length of the Interview

The length of the interview should be commensurate with the potential of the project. Here are some recommendations:

Your Appearance and Image

This is a touchy subject. How you dress, style your hair, or speak is a personal matter that has little to do with competence. But as a performance consultant, you know that appearance and image count…sometimes a lot. Here are some simple, straightforward guidelines to follow:

What You Should Learn from the Interview

At the interview you want to learn some very specific things:

In brief, you should come away from the interview with a clear understanding of what the client is looking for, who exactly represents the client, how much authority the client's representatives each have, what the size and scope of the project is (including the financial aspect), and what the client's expectations are concerning you.

What You Should Do at the Interview

The interview is more than a conversation. Here are some things to do—or avoid—during the initial interview:

At the end of the interview, ask the client to listen as you review what you have heard to verify that both of you are on the same wavelength. Check with your client to make sure that she or he has learned enough about you to make a decision about your appropriateness for the project. Review these key elements:

Closing the Interview

The interview is coming to an end. If you sense that the potential client wishes to engage your services, give some general information on how you feel you both should proceed next. Ask if he or she would like to go ahead with the project. Offer to send a statement of understanding or a proposal (which we deal with next) outlining tasks, timelines, and the budget if appropriate.

If the client is anxious to get started and makes a verbal commitment, state that you, too, want to go ahead with the project. Be careful about agreeing to timelines and costs. Be extremely tentative. Again, state that you will send correspondence confirming exactly what you can and will do, in what timeframe, and at what costs.

If you and your client decide that a proposal is required before any decision can be made, indicate that you will submit a brief but very specific proposal. Obtain the following clarifications:

Shake hands (if appropriate) at the end of the interview. Thank the client for her or his time and interest in meeting with you, and be sure to leave a business card.

Get the letter of understanding or proposal in by the deadline. If no deadline was set, create one very close to the initial interview, and submit the document before your memory of key issues fades.

Speaking of proposals, we can now move on to the next section that deals with them.

Mastering the Proposal Process

From inquiry/request to interview to proposal—that's the normal sequence, although in performance consulting, you soon discover that very little occurs “normally.” Nevertheless, most projects, at some point, do call for a proposal in one form or another. How do you prepare one with maximum impact and minimum pain? That's what this section will help you accomplish.

What Is a Proposal and Why Is It Necessary?

A proposal is simply a written document that describes the performance-consulting assignment you are proposing to undertake. It applies equally to internal and external performance professionals. It spells out exactly what you will do if you and your team get the green light. The proposal includes the timeframe of your performance and the costs associated with your services.

After the initial interview in which the client and you discussed needs and generally defined the project, your next step takes the form of a proposal. This is almost always standard operating procedure. It finalizes the agreement by tying all the loose ends together and forms the basis for a contract. Whether you are an internal or an external consultant, a clear proposal is one of the hallmarks of a performance professional. If well written, it tends to increase the client's confidence in your ability to successfully produce.

What Do Proposals Look Like and What Should They Contain?

For the type of consulting you will most likely be doing, letter proposals are usually sufficient. A letter proposal is just like any other letter, except that it contains all the elements that lead to a clear understanding of the consulting assignment. In writing proposals, bear these tips in mind:

Your proposals will vary in length, depending on the project and what the client's expectations are. In general, proposals should contain the sections described below, but it is quite okay to delete one or more of the sections or add a heading or two, as your performance-consulting assignments dictate. Keep in mind that the following headers are elements that are found in most proposals. At least initially, follow this model quite closely.

An Opening

An opening is just a simple statement that you are writing to submit your ideas for the project under discussion. Refer to your client meeting and to the client's request for this proposal. A paragraph should suffice, although you may want to handle this in a very short cover letter and make the proposal a separate document.

Background and Understanding of Need

In this section you describe the background of the consulting situation, the nature of the problem or opportunity, your client's assumptions, and other general facts about the case. A single page is usually enough for this section.

The purpose of this part of the proposal is to reassure the client that you have a good understanding of the background of the situation and the need. If in the initial meeting you suspected there might be causes of the problem (other than those expressed by the client) that should be investigated or needs that have not been identified, it's important to address these. For example, if the client's analysis of the situation has led her or him to conclude that a training program is needed to overcome the problem, and you have reason to believe there may be other critical factors affecting the situation (perhaps unclear expectations, lack of feedback, lack of performance standards), your concerns should be expressed, with due caution. If the cause of the problem turns out to be different or greater than what your client suspected, the solution and implementation will have to vary as well. You have a responsibility to convince the client that these causes have to be explored before you write an official proposal. This means some form of front-end analysis is desirable. Remember: It is important to build and maintain a positive and open communication bond with your client from the outset.

Objectives

This half-page section, presented in bullet-point format, should be a precise statement of the objectives of the consulting engagement—what exactly your client will learn or receive as a result of your work.

Deliverables

You may be wondering what the deliverables are in this context. In brief, they are the finished products your client will receive. Here you describe—very succinctly—what the finished products will be (for example, documents, reports, training programs, job aids, policy and procedure manuals). These may be tentative at this point if you have not yet done front-end work.

Methodology

State what methods you will be using to accomplish the objectives. If several methods are possible, list them and explain why you selected the method you did. This is particularly important if your client is unfamiliar with performance consulting and expects design and development to start immediately.

There is a tendency in this section to use highly technical language. Avoid it unless your client also possesses technical expertise and vocabulary. Done in a concise manner—and that is the way it should be—a half-page to a full page should be sufficient.

Potential Problems

This section is optional but vital if you foresee potential problems—anything that could limit or detract from achieving the objectives. Documenting these here should prompt the client to reduce the possibility of their occurrence. It also serves as a safeguard if unavoidable problems cause delays, increased costs, or inability to do the assignment as originally described.

Schedule

This section may be as simple as stating a deadline date for the deliverables or as complex as a full-blown timeline detailing the project from commencement through follow-up. Use your own judgment based on the complexity of the assignment. When in doubt, include more details. Be careful with project management software. The outputs can sometimes confuse more than clarify.

Cost and Payment Information

Cost information should contain both fees (if your group bills clients) and expenses (if they apply). Payment information should include how much you expect to receive and when you would like to receive it. Bear in mind that most performance-consulting projects have a startup fee followed by payments at established intervals. Your payment schedule should be laid out so that the client can budget accordingly. Organizational guidelines prevail here.

Capabilities and Resources

In this section include a concise statement of your capabilities, previous clients, and similar problems you have handled. Be sure to include bios of yourself and others who likely will have key roles on the project. Make them short; a paragraph or two for each is fine. Also devote a paragraph in this section to your WLP organization. Share its key features and accomplishments with your potential client.

Authorization to Proceed

This is an optional section that enables you to convert a proposal into an agreement. It should include a statement indicating that signing below authorizes you and your team to proceed with the consulting assignment. Add space for the client's signature, title, and the date.

Exhibit 10-1 summarizes the key elements generally included in a performance-consulting proposal. Use its outline as a template for your initial proposal writing.

The first proposal you write will be tough. After that, it's a breeze. Why? Because some sections are standard, such as Capabilities and Resources. Other sections, such as schedules and cost and payment information, are “boilerplate”—you plug in relevant information that pertains to the project in question. Here are a few more points worth noting about the value and use of proposals:

Exhibit 10-1: Proposal Template

Preparing Project Reports

One of the seemingly not-so-fun parts of performance consulting is the preparation and delivery of reports. But clients usually require them. If they are spending the money, time, and resources, at some point they will demand that reports be submitted. So let's tackle the topic of report writing. By the end of this discussion, you'll have useful tools and guidelines for producing those project reports on your own.

Some Advantages of Report Writing

Before being turned off by this aspect of performance consulting, examine some of the ways you benefit by preparing these reports:

Why Write a Report?

You write the project report for lots of reasons:

What Types of Reports Are Required?

These are the two types of reports that most usually are requested:

Other reports you may find yourself working on are

Who Writes the Reports?

If you are the primary performance consultant and “doer” on the project, you generally are responsible for writing the reports. You can, however, ask for assistance or even assign other people to write specific sections, such as

Don't be shy about asking various people to contribute. But also know that you will have to edit what they write and pull it all together into a consistent style and format.

How Should the Report Be Written?

Here are a few tips about the style and appearance of your reports:

What Should the Report Include?

Each report has its own set of requirements. For most interim reports, the format in Exhibit 10-2 works well.

Interim reports have one purpose: to keep the client informed and up-to-date. Keep them short. Unless you have a long and complex project, your interim reports should run from three to 10 pages plus appendixes.

Final or major reports are a different matter. According to the size and scope of the project, a major report could run from a few pages to several hundred. Most performance-consulting reports, when required, are brief. An analysis of our last 20 projects shows that we had

Exhibit 10-2: Interim Report Template

Exhibit 10-3 is a sample template outline for a performance-consulting final report. It can be applied or easily adapted for most projects.

As to appendixes, the general rule is, if an item breaks the flow of the report and cannot be placed in a succinct table or figure, place it in an appendix. Often, appendixes are more voluminous than the body of the report.

In closing our discussion of final reports, we want to remind you that their dual purpose is to document what you and your team accomplished and to inform the client and stakeholders as succinctly but specifically as possible what they received for the money, resources, time, and effort invested.

Making Presentations

A major part of performance consulting is making presentations. Why? For almost the same reasons as writing reports: to document; to inform; to summarize; to lay out alternatives; to build support; to justify, report, synthesize, and clarify; and to inspire, convince, and sell the human performance improvement approach.

Two critical differences between reports and presentations are these:

As a performance consultant your three main purposes for making live or virtual oral presentations are

Sometimes more than one purpose guides a presentation. Regardless of purpose, use the checklist in Worksheet 10-4 for all of your presentations. It helps you build a portrait of your audience, decide on your timing, and verify the environment before creating your presentation.

Generally, presentations in the human performance improvement domain contain four main sections. Variations abound, of course, but if you and your WLP team are relatively new to the field, the presentation plan contained in Exhibit 10-4 may prove helpful.

Exhibit 10-3: Final Report Template

Worksheet 10-4: Presentation Checklist

Instructions: Use this checklist to prepare for your presentation. Check off each task as you complete it.

Presentations are both challenges and opportunities for you as a performance consultant. They give you the opportunity to display what you have done, can do, and believe in as a performance professional. Well-organized and -delivered presentations can do a great deal to make your performance-consulting projects flow more smoothly as your reputation and that of your WLP team grows.

An Activity for Your WLP Team

Take the content of this entire chapter to your team. Review all key points and study the worksheets and exhibits. Select and, if needed, adapt all those that appear valuable to exploit. Make decisions on what to do and how to act moving forward.

Exhibit 10-4: Presentation Plan

Chapter Summary

What a large chapter, and what a vast subject! Becoming a performance consultant is far more challenging than taking training orders. It's significantly more strategic. It makes greater demands on you. It also offers immense rewards for both you and your organization. In this chapter

Although this appears so demanding, it really is a natural extension of what you currently do. Yes, it requires stretching and growing, but it's enormously worthwhile for you and your organization. Both of you benefit. The payoff will endure long into the future.

While all of this is still fresh in your mind, turn to the next chapter. It focuses on the performance consultant-client relationship. It's the companion chapter to this one.