Lumpkin & Associates: Choosing A Consultant

Lumpkin & Associates
P.O. Box 1246
305 N. Section Street
Fairhope, AL 36533
Phone: (251) 928 - 1736
Fax: (251) 928 - 3710

Choosing A Consultant

A good consultant will approach your problem the same way a good doctor would treat the disease rather than the symptom. First, they will work up a case history, which consists of getting a clear picture of what is happening in your organization. There will also be a need for a better understanding of what you want to have happen in your organization. After clarification of what you have and what you want, and examination is helpful to objectively make sure that the symptoms fit the diagnosis and that exactly the right problem is treated.

Once the examination is complete a clear treatment plan should be presented including an outline of the specific results of the examination, and a step by step process recommended for correction of the problem or accomplishment of the task.

More and more people are using consulting expertise to help them anticipate and avoid problems rather than waiting for the problems to occur and then reacting once the problem is in full swing. Our consulting practice focuses on a wide variety of areas including building strategies, planning assessing competencies for success, building teams, and personal coaching for management from broad of directors to line supervisors.

Your consultant is not a magician or conjurer of secret solutions. Rather, the consultant can explain the nature of the situation and clearly show you step by step the way to your goal. Recommendations may be solving a problem or preventing one. Problems are simply a difference between what you have and what you want.

There are more than 80,000 consultants in North America. They have specialized and general practices. We offer these suggestions in finding the right consultant:

Choose a consultant who can demonstrate a clear understanding of your situation before beginning a solution.
Choose a consultant who has the background and actual hands on management experience to solve a problem.
Investigate the reputation of the consultant by talking with others and checking references.
Choose a consultant that does not find ways to create "Mutual Dependance."
Choose a consultant that lets you manage the consultant process.
Choose a consultant that can teach you and your people how to solve problems they find.
Choose a consultant that will stay on the problem at hand.
Choose a consultant that will let you and your people participate to any degree you wish in the work proposed.
Choose a consultant that is recognized as a subject matter expert in the area of need.
Choose a consultant that is able to help you solve your problem.

At Lumpkin & Associates we adhere to strict code of ethics. If you think Lumpkin & Associates can help, contact us for more information.