The Seven Cs of Consulting: The definitive guide to the consulting process (2nd Edition)

321 Pages·2003·1.37 MB·English

by  Mick Cope

The Seven Cs
of Consulting
In an increasingly competitive world, we believe it’s quality of
thinking that will give you the edge – an idea that opens new
doors, a technique that solves a problem, or an insight that
simply makes sense of it all. The more you know, the smarter
and faster you can go.
That’s why we work with the best minds in business and finance
to bring cutting-edge thinking and best learning practice to a
global market.
Under a range of leading imprints, including Financial Times
Prentice Hall, we create world-class print publications and
electronic products bringing our readers knowledge, skills and
understanding which can be applied whether studying or at work.
To find out more about our business publications, or tell us
about the books you’d like to find, you can visit us at
www.business-minds.com
For other Pearson Education publications, visit
www.pearsoned-ema.com
The Seven Cs
of Consulting
The definitive guide to the consulting process
Mick Cope
An imprint ofPearson Education
London • New York • San Francisco • Toronto • Sydney • Tokyo • Singapore
Hong Kong • Cape Town • Madrid • Amsterdam • Munich • Paris • Milan
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
Head Office
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
London Office:
128 Long Acre, London WC2E 9AN
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.business-minds.com
First published in Great Britain in 2003
© Pearson Education Limited 2003
The right of Mick Cope to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 0 273 66333 X
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
ACIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the Publishers or a
licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 4LP. This book may not be
lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or
cover other than that in which it is published, without the prior consent of the Publishers.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed by Sue Lamble
Typeset by Northern Phototypesetting Co Ltd, Bolton
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford & King’s Lynn
The Publishers’ policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.
About the author
Mick Copeis founder of WizOz – a network-based organization that seeks
to help people and businesses optimize their potential. WizOz offers a range
of different products and services, all of which are based around the ideas
outlined his books. More information on WizOz can be found on his
website at www.wizoz.co.uk
As an author Mick Cope has published seven books: Leading the Organisation
to Learn; Seven Cs of Consulting; Know Your Value? Value What You Know; Lead
Yourself; Float-You; Personal Networking; and Collaborative Coaching. He has a
number of goals in life. The simple one is to live a life of personal freedom
where he is able to think, feel and behave according to his values and not
succumb to the demands of others. The more challenging one is to help
1,000 people achieve the same in their life.
He would love any feedback on any concepts offered in this book. Contact
him at [email protected]

Seven Cs training programmes
Since this book was first publishedmany people have been trained in the
Seven Cs and have seen business performance improve. Feedback from del-
egates and users includes many examples of how the training programmes
have been used, including how they have:
(cid:2) driven up the level of project success from the current 20 per cent;
(cid:2) clarified a major bid, thus saving £500k;
(cid:2) created a cross business language that will facilitate more effective team
working and knowledge management;
(cid:2) enhanced the sales consultants’ ability to manage the client in a more
professional manner and helps to differentiate consultants from
competitors;
(cid:2) created a client-centric perspective in managers previously centred on
their own departmental interests;
(cid:2) supported the migration from commodity to added-value sales;
(cid:2) helped migration up the decision-making tree;
(cid:2) enabled the consultant to discuss change issues with the client that
would previously have been left as assumptions;
(cid:2) helped clients understand the necessity of tackling the human aspects
of change as well as the process, structural and system factors;
(cid:2) ensured companies only take on work that is valuable for the business
as a whole;
(cid:2) provided a consistent house style for the delivery of a broad range of
otherwise quite different consulting services;
As a network organization, WizOz is always keen to meet with people or
organizations that would like to deliver the Seven Cs. If you have the desire
and capability to develop a working partnership with WizOz, please drop us
a line via the website.
For more information on the 7Cs training programme visit
www.wizoz.co.uk

Contents
Preface to the Second Edition/ xii
Preface to the First Edition/ xvi
About the reader/ xviii
Acknowledgements/ xxii
1 The need for sticky change / 1
Repressive forces/ 3
Reinforcing forces/ 5
2 The Seven Cs framework / 8
Rapid mapping / 10
Spiral build / 14
3 Stage one: Client / 18
Three-legged stool / 20
Head–heart negotiation / 23
Trust index / 27
Push–pull relationship / 31
MPH client mapping / 35
OUTCOME testing / 44
Change ladder / 47
Compound contracting / 77
4 Stage two: Clarify / 85
Diagnosis / 86
Phase mapping / 101
Shadow dancing / 103