Spotlight: E-Consulting

Image courtesy of the University of Florida Spotlight on Consulting Issues:
The Psychology of Consulting With Small Businesses
Steve Gravenkemper, Ph.D.

This is an ongoing series of articles on key consulting psychology topics using a “members-speaking-to-members” format. This Spotlight article explores the world of consulting with small businesses. Three distinguished members of The Society of Consulting Psychology, John Deleray, Eric Summons and Phyllis Watts, offer their perspectives and experience in working with this unique business segment. They deliver fresh and insightful comments on topics such as: the most frequent areas that small businesses seek out the services of consulting psychologists; problems that they feel consulting psychologists can have the greatest positive impact with small businesses; suggestions for marketing services to small businesses and recommendations for consulting psychologists beginning to work with these unique organizations.

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Question 1. What are the most frequent areas that you find yourself consulting with small businesses?

Usually, I work with companies that have experienced dramatic growth over the past several years and are finding that this is impacting their company identity and culture. Typically I work with them to clearly delineate their deeper mission, core values and strategic objectives, then to align their leadership practices and build more effective organizational processes that will support their mission/values/objectives. This takes a long time and is a serious commitment for the company. Most often I work with a company for a two to three year time period. Phyllis Watts

Overall, we help by improving the individual and collective performance of employees in a timely manner at a fair price. The best gauge of helpfulness, however, is what clients say about our work. Feedback tells us that employers like our results-oriented focus and clear description of what we will do and how we will do it. They also appreciate our emphasis on outcomes that contribute to their businesses, being quick to help solve problems, and willingness to support an on-going, helpful relationship.

In general, we consult in the areas of Selection, Performance and Change Management work.

We do a lot of traditional selection work ranging from entry level screening to comprehensive pre-employment or promotional evaluations. The basic question business owners ask is ‘How well will this person do the job?’ Many of our clients, however, want us to become more involved, so we often provide comprehensive services involving job analysis, recruiting, selection, start-up programs and follow-through for the first year of employment. Our overall goal is to help the client achieve the desired performance from the new hire by the end of the first year of employment.

Our performance management work involves both individuals and groups. For instance, we are often asked to help when a valued employee is goes off track. My job is to determine the problem and how to best manage the situation. Usually we do an evaluation of the person’s strengths and weaknesses and then set up a corrective action program. In these situations, most of our work is done in the first 90 days, but we follow up with periodic reviews and coaching as needed for a year. Performance management with groups includes departments, management teams or boards. In this respect, the group is treated as a single entity and our diagnostic work is of the group’s performance. When we determine what is happening, a corrective action plan is developed and implemented. Once again most of our work is completed in a 90-day period with a one-year follow-up to ensure the group continues to perform as expected.

Change management involves both the career or professional development of individuals and the organizational changes our client companies undertake. The majority of our work is with adults in the workplace who are still looking for a suitable career and/or are having problems with what they are doing. This often leads to our establishing employee development programs for these individuals and/or companies. In addition, we continue to help the high school senior or college student determine a general career direction.

For businesses as a whole, we are active as advisors regarding growth plans and/or organizational changes. We generally focus on designing and implementing processes that improve productivity. This work involves strategic planning, conducting surveys, and improving the performance of key individuals and teams. Note too that we are often asked to assist when previous organizational changes have gone awry and corrective action is needed. Eric Summons

Growing employees to fuel company growth: creating personal development plans for employees; encouraging employees to consider their career future; and helping them locate resources to prepare to move to the next level.
Conflict resolution: typically between two persons but sometimes between three or more top managers and sometimes between functional groups.
Employee empowerment: buffering employees from owners/entrepreneurs by listening to owner frustrations and preventing owners from micromanaging.
Operational planning: goal setting and action planning on a project or annual basis as well as re-designing organization structure.
Monitoring progress (“taking the pulse of the organization”): observing employees at all levels during the workday; providing feedback to them; reviewing their development with their managers.
Assessment: standard assessment techniques at all levels.
Team building: facilitating on- and off-site meetings using process consultation, training, and experiential exercises. John Deleray

Question 2. In what ways do you feel that you are most helpful in consulting with small businesses?

Keep up your professional reading on what small
businesses need to be more productive. Eric Summons

Plan what type of things you would like to do with business clients and then research what others have done in similar circumstances. Be able to clearly describe what you can do and how you would do it. Seek out business as opposed to depending on what comes fortuitously. Once you find opportunities to apply your services, the challenge will be for you to perform those services in an effective manner.

If you feel an opportunity is within your competency, but have not actually done the work on your own, ask a colleague experienced with similar situations to review your project prior to and during the engagement. In this regard, prepare an executive summary of the project and its implementation. Develop a step-by-step action plan and keep a project log. Consider all that might go wrong and then take preventative action to minimize mistakes. Once you have completed the project, review your intervention and its results to determine how you might do it more effectively and/or efficiently the next time.

Meanwhile, keep up your professional reading on what small businesses need to be more productive. Much of this material can be found on the Internet. Not only will you get ideas about what other consultants are doing and services you might provide, but it will enrich your understanding of why clients should value your work. Eric Summons

Providing insight and understanding to leaders to help them recognize, value, and emphasize employee development.
Brainstorming new ideas for products/services that will be commercially viable.
Serving as an extension of management—consulting by wandering around.
Investing them with big company practices such as planning, organization, systems thinking, process design, and data-based decision making. John Deleray

In all honesty, helping them to survive, and then to flourish. By the time I’m contacted, it is typical for some crisis to have occurred that is making it difficult for the president to keep things going effectively. Phyllis Watts

Question 3. What suggestions or recommendations would you have for individuals who are interested in beginning to consult with small businesses?

Read Dale Fuqua and Jody Newman’s chapter entitled “The Role of Systems Theory in Consulting Psychology” in Handbook of Organization Consulting Psychology (Jossey-Bass).
Become comfortable with working on their schedule, not yours.
Develop your understanding of the role of small business in society. For example, The Wall Street Journal has a small business column that one can read to learn more about the challenges that small business faces. Small business is the engine that creates jobs in the U.S. Each job represents an investment on the part of the owner/entrepreneur. Small business is the infantry in the global, economic war. John Deleray

It is really important to do thorough initial contracting and a substantive assessment. With small companies, it is essential to contract with the president. Others can be involved as well, but the president will be the person who will sanction and then drive the change process. I have found these individuals to be highly creative in their area of expertise and very devoted to their company. The folks I have worked with (and I’ve been doing this kind of consulting for over 20 years) are psychologically minded in some way. Often they have been in therapy or are not averse to self-reflection or seeing how their behavior is problematic. Phyllis Watts

Plan what type of things you would like to do with business clients and then research what others have done in similar circumstances. Be able to clearly describe what you can do and how you would do it. Image courtesy of the University of Florida Seek out business as opposed to depending on what comes fortuitously. Once you find opportunities to apply your services, the challenge will be for you to perform those services in an effective manner.

Question 4. What are the one or two things you recommend that consulting psychologists not do in working with small businesses?

Make the company your client and make this clear. Phyllis Watts

Do not make the president/CEO of the company your client, make the company your client and make this clear and agreed upon from the outset. Small companies are deeply impacted (positively and negatively) by the personality of the founder. Often people gravitate to the company because of some aspect of the founder’s creative ability. At the same time, typically this person is not a good manager/leader in ways that the company now needs. For effective change to occur, the consultant needs to help this leader see the way their behavior impacts the company currently and then help them to grow skills in a new kind of leadership and/or hire a general manager/COO to manage the company while they continue to provide the creative and strategic direction. Phyllis Watts

Confidence is necessary to be effective in a consulting role, but overconfidence will set you up for failure. Assess situations carefully before deciding how you might want to be involved. Do not go into a business thinking you know the answer before you have identified the problem and how to best handle it.

Do not be afraid to admit that you don’t know, need time to consider what to do, and/or walk away from a situation that you don’t feel you should be involved with. Your autonomy to determine what is right or not right for you to do is very important in providing good service. When in doubt, ask a professional colleague for advice. Eric Summons

Don’t phone home. Clients hate it when you are on their property and they see you in the corner calling in for your messages. Don’t get caught up in their rush to do things. The psychological consultant is typically the counterbalance to the short-term, action-oriented approach of the small business. John Deleray

Question 5. What suggestions do you have for consulting psychologists in successfully marketing consulting services to small businesses?

Get involved in the business community, get to know business owners, and meet with business people on an informal basis. Be prepared to present a quick overview of what you do professionally, but spend more time getting to know what the business owner does and/or needs. For example, take business owners or managers to breakfast or lunch, ask them to show you their businesses, and offer suggestions as they discuss problems. When you have an opportunity to do a project, provide them with a clear idea of what you would do, how it would benefit them, and what it will cost them. Then do the work well. Eric Summons

Relate to their success. Relate to the owners’ and employees’ success; relate to the businesses’ success. Identify their strengths, recognize their strengths and successes by talking about them, asking them how the business is doing, etc.
The big opportunity is in expanding your service offering once you get your foot in the door. Continue to market (“We can help you with that.”) once you are in.
Emphasize how you are different. It may be your background, training, niche, or tools you use, but whatever “it” is, keep talking about it in as many ways as possible so that clients and prospects have a strong image of who you are and what you do.Express your enthusiasm for your work and the business. John Deleray

I have typically marketed through the therapeutic community as well as giving talks to business groups. I distinguish myself as not providing quick fixes, as providing tailored interventions designed to fit their specific challenges. I have found that successful small business executives do not want cookie cutter approaches. They founded their business to realize their vision in some area of expertise. The last thing they want is a “one size fits all” consultant. Phyllis Watts

Question 6. What do you like most about consulting with small businesses?

The opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best business minds in the U.S.
Getting to know all the players in the organization and watching them develop across extended periods of time.
Seeing how your contributions lead to improvements in individual and organizational well-being and health. John Deleray

The creative genius of the founder is what I enjoy most about working with small businesses. Usually the founder is a maverick in some way. He or she is not bureaucratic, but rather seeks to creatively partner with me to help them shape the next iteration of their company. As a consultant I am able to use my creative abilities to facilitate deep and substantive changes throughout the company as a whole. This is enormously satisfying for me. Phyllis Watts

What I like best is the opportunity to professionally serve a variety of businesses and people in situations where there is a real need and the results of my work are almost always evident. Small business owners generally appreciate good advice and service and are in a position to act quickly to get things done. Moreover, business owners that are happy with your work will let others know what you can do. Eric Summons

Question 7. What additional suggestions or counsel might you have for colleagues engaged in this type of work?

Do not lose sight of the fact that the number one goal
is the survival of the business. John Deleray

I only work with companies with which I feel that we have a clear values match. I’m not interested in doing “as if” consulting, i.e., “Let’s act as if we really want to change things, when actually we really want things to stay the same.” I let prospective clients know this, refer them to my website so they can learn more about me and my services, then do an initial interview in which we interview each other. I do not charge for this. Through this interview I am able to get a sense of them (and they of me) and to make a preliminary determination about whether or not we make a good match. They are also able to make this determination. I think it is important for consulting psychologists to be clear about the depth of complex skills that we bring to a situation and that we, in an ongoing way, educate our clients about the importance of the psychological realm of life. Image courtesy of the University of Florida

Image courtesy of the University of Florida

I think that it is also important to distinguish consulting psychologists from other business/management consultants. I see myself as an ambassador for psychology and for this incredible discipline, both scientific and practical. So I would suggest that we not shy away from our knowledge or credentials. Phyllis Watts

There are many consulting opportunities in your geographical area even though they might not be evident at first. I have developed a northwest Ohio practice (relatively small market area) with over a 100 corporate clients ranging from small (a few million dollars in sales) to large ($200 million dollars and more) without having to travel more than 25 miles from my office. Eric Summons

Figure out how the business makes money. Dig deep: where is the real competitive advantage that enables the business to prosper? As Michael Porter says, competitive advantage is in the activities that the business does day-in, day-out. This is why it is so important to “consult by wandering around;” you have the opportunity to observe (and help them leverage) the activities that create competitive advantage. Do not lose sight of the fact that the number one goal is the survival of the business. Small businesses flirt with death from time-to-time. Focus on the competencies that will enable them to survive and hang in with them when the going gets tough. John Deleray

*John Deleray, Ph.D.* is the Managing Principal of Deleray & Associates based in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas. His e-mail address is deleray@earthlink.net
	*Phyllis Watts, Ph.D.* is the President of Wild Swan Resources based in Sacramento, California. Her e-mail address is Phyllis@wildswan.com
		*Eric Summons, Ph.D.* is a consulting psychologist based in Toledo, Ohio. His e-mail address is ericjsummons@cs.com

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