Change process - the Seven Cs
The consulting process follows a natural flow of expansion and contraction. A one-year contract to manage the merger between two companies; a three-month contract to install a new piece of hardware; a one-day event to take people through a customer care programme; or ten seconds to intervene in a team meeting: all contain a series of meta-level stages that are found in the Seven Cs framework:
Identify and understand the client's needs.
Clarify the root cause or issues to be addressed.
Create a solution to resolve the problem.
Manage the change process.
Confirm that the transition has taken place according to plan.
Ensure that the changes will continue once the project is complete.
Close the project and relationship with the client.
The Seven Cs offer a flexible, grounded and cohesive framework that will help you to manage any change. As a trainer, consultant, vet or account manager you will find a clear use for many of the diagnostic models found in this framework. However, the goal is not to suggest that the process offered in this book must be followed explicitly. Although the argument is made that all effective assignments will contain an element of the seven stages contained within the model, ultimately you must follow a path that matches your competencies and the context of the situation.
The one objective that is explicitly enshrined in the model is that all consulting assignments must result in a process of change. Although many consultants might suggest that they "advise, analyze, counsel, investigate or support", unless something changes then what value have they added? Would you be prepared to pay for a service that didn't result in a change? Although the change might be minimal, if nothing is different once the engagement has been completed, then what was its purpose?
This change can take place on many levels. It might be a physical transformation as in the construction of a new organization, a cognitive shift with the introduction of a new strategic plan, or an emotional change resulting from the resolution of a morale problem. Whatever the level, there must be evidence of some transformation in the client's area. Unless the notion that "consulting equals change" is accepted, any action you take can fall into the bear pit of "so what?" - to what extent did your intervention make a long-lasting difference to the client or end consumer?
In conclusion, if asked to define what I mean by a consulting engagement, my response would be that "it is the delivery of value through sustained change by an objective agent".