Our Core Consulting Principles

Before accepting any consulting assignment, we ask ourselves three simple questions:

  • Is it purposeful (will it really change anything)?
  • Is it pragmatic (will the change improve work performance)?
  • Can we be accountable (will our efforts provide good ROI)?

There's no way to answer these questions without a flexible, open mind. It requires a healthy distrust of preconceptions and premature interpretations in favor of an evidence-based approach. That means swearing off fads, cookie-cutter methodologies, pop psychology tools that simplistically categorize people, and dogmatic, feel-good panaceas that raise hope but not results.

Instead of entering with other people's prefab tools in our bag, we're guided by eight core principles that we consider contemporary consulting best practices. We make these principles transparent to prospective clients to ensure we're working their needs, not ours.

  1. Functionality—transferability of learning and performance gains to the actual workplace is our primary measure of success.
  2. Leverage—the goal is maximum performance gains at minimum cost. We work first where it matters most, doing as much as necessary, but as little as possible.
  3. Field Theory—we evaluate planned change on the basis of how it impacts the whole organization, not just an individual, department, or group.
  4. Bracketing—we assess situations without preconception, bias, or dependence on pat tools, instruments, models, or pet theories.
  5. Collaboration—we partner with clients to enhance and better use their knowledge, skills, and processes, and don't act like experts there to fix everything.
  6. Accountability—measures of success are precisely defined, actually measured, and made clear to the client.
  7. Humanism—we won't corroborate in treating people as objects, capital, or assets, as it's not only dehumanizing, but also counterproductive in the final analysis.
  8. Responsible Progress—if an effort isn't working, we say so and reevaluate objectives. It's unethical to charge good money when there's little chance for lasting change.