PRESENTING THE PICTURE . . . AS COURTROOM DRAMA

If you can view a consulting project as a process in search of the best decision, you can view the consultant and client as taking different roles commonly found in a courtroom. Most of these roles are negative examples of what not to do. I apologize for this. But you see these roles played out so often in offices, conference rooms, and production areas that they are worth mentioning. None but the last role really serves the consultant well, though I admit some do have a certain appeal.

Consultant as Judge

You are there to interpret the law, or interpret corporate policy, or tell the client when he is out of line. When a client makes a mistake, the consultant judge decides what the penalty should be by influencing that manager’s performance appraisal next time around. Because judges sit higher than the rest of us, people fear them and don’t come to see them voluntarily. The only ones really comfortable with judges are other judges (sometimes called top management).