- Consulting project success
is as much about building client buy-in
as it is about the quality of your recommendation.
Clients won't always agree with the path you're on.
Client team members may resist the project
even though their senior management
is fully committed to it.
This happens a lot,
especially when cost cutting is involved.
When I worked for a major consulting firm,
we were doing a cost takeout project.
We were going to reduce the workforce by about a third.
How excited do you think the client personnel were
to be assigned to our team
that was going to lay off their colleagues?
There was a lot of conflict that we had to manage.
You'll need to actively build buy-in
and manage conflict throughout the project
if you want your recommendations approved and implemented.
Here are a few thoughts on how to handle a conflict
and build buy-in.
Get senior management to communicate
the rationale for the project and their support of it.
Identify the sources of conflict.
It may be fear of job loss, loss of influence,
the person having a better idea,
or just the inconvenience of the extra workload.
Figure out ways to mitigate these fears
through project work like giving them a very visible role,
incorporating their ideas,
or reducing the amount of work you're asking them to do.
If you try hard to understand the root of the conflict
and resolve it,
you can build commitment from clients
and run a much more successful project.