Perspectives on Consulting

Arun Maira's Perspectives on : "'Change management consulting is one of the most important, and one of the least understood, services provided by management consultancies. Almost everything that a consultant does for a client, whether creating a new strategy or reengineering a process, requires the client's organization to make some kind of change. I will illustrate...'
''Why does change have to take so long?' This question came from a chief executive of a successful company in North America that was faced with new, low-cost competition from international companies. He had sought help in improving his organization's production and distribution capabilities, and he had heard presentations by eight consulting companies. The consultants all agreed that trying to introduce new ways of working would inevitably meet with resistance to change. They said the culture of the company would have to be changed - a complex time-consulting process.'
'We worked with our client on the business challenge of improving operating performance and changing the culture. At the same time, we examined the change models of all the leading academics and consultants and delved into the experience of our own firm with clients all over the world. Together with our client, we developed new thinking, and we customized approaches for their organization. They achieved what they needed: faster change than they had imagined, and sustainable change. They have used their knowledge about creating faster change to improve the performance of several companies they have acquired around the world.'"