Onsite Consults Provide Direction and Bring Change

I had the absolute pleasure of spending three days with The Nellis Group in Burke, Virginia, outside of Washington DC. This was an onsite consult, to evaluate the effectiveness of their team, their structure, and their systems.

Many people ask how they would know if they needed an onsite consult. One of the benefits of an onsite consult is that the consultant can look at your business from a "helicopter view" - as a part of that team yourself, you often are unable to have an unbiased perspective on what's going on and how to improve it.

Another benefit of an onsite consult is reorganizing roles and job descriptions on the team. In Jim Collins' book, Good to Great, he talks about having "the right people on the bus" and then having those people "in the right seats on the bus." A great consultant will be able to identify if you have the right people, and whether they're in the roles that give the team the most efficiency and the individuals the most personal satisfaction.

I took the time while at The Nellis Group to share the DISC profile of individual team members, and elaborated on how the personality types are different and what that means in terms of daily interaction. Most people are operating off the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have done unto you. If you're ready to take that to the next level, practice the Platinum Rule: treat others as they want to be treated.

Recommendations follow the consult, in all areas that were agreed upon to discuss. It's up to you to choose what you'll implement. In one case, a team I consulted only did one item on the multi-page list of recommendations within the first thirty days, and it was one of the most minor of suggestions. In another case, the team took my recommendations to heart and had implemented every item on the list within 90 days of my visit.

I've always heard that change won't happen until the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change. If you're willing to invest in having a consultant, be willing to do what it takes to make the changes.