Good Consulting Manners

presented by Michael Davis
Bassett Consulting Services, Inc.
10 Pleasant Drive
North Haven, CT 06473-3712
Phone: 203-562-0640
Fax: 203-498-1414
Email: Bassett.Consulting@worldnet.att.net
for CONSUG Meeting in March 1997
at SUGI '22 in San Diego, CA
Why Practice Good Consulting Manners?
  • more cooperation from the client
  • longer engagement with client
  • additional engagements with client
  • greater comfort when working on-site
  • additional assignments from agency

    You Are A Guest -- Not an Employee
  • client is only lending their facilities
  • arrangement is only temporary
  • consultant has only the ability to refuse engagement so accepts working conditions
  • maintain focus on why you accepted engagement

    While in the Office
  • when on-site, think on stage
  • again, remember that you are borrowing use of client's facilities
  • watch where you put your feet
  • try not to slouch
  • learn to make do with small workspace
  • don't leave valuables around

    Project Professional Image
  • dress neatly
  • be pleasant and smile
  • be respectful to client's staff
  • disarm jealousy about money
  • answer SAS, computer questions graciously
  • sleep elsewhere

    Computers and E-Mail
  • be patient about requests to IS staff
  • wait your turn for mainframe initiators
  • single-thread mainframe jobs
  • don't whine about slow computers
  • avoid customizing clinet's PCs
  • use client e-mail only for their business

    Telephone Courtesy
  • give out client's phone number sparingly
  • better: use own pager or voise-mail
  • use your own (or agency's) credit card for long distance calls from client's site
  • consider getting 800 number to call home

    Smart Telephoning
  • excessive phone calls are red flag to clients
  • schedule calls early, late, or at lunch time, when client staff is not watching
  • limiting who has your telephone number minimizes personal calls while on-site

    Shared Telephones
  • ask office mates before placing long call
  • try to keep incoming calls short
  • don't expect others not to listen
  • better: place call from unused office or pay phone
  • take messages for others graciously
  • consider shifting calls to e-mail messages

    Personal Business
  • not on client's time or equipment

    Conclusion
  • remember that clients make it possible for us to make a living doing something we enjoy
  • for those old to SAS but new consulting, make a conscious effort to stop thinking like an employee of the client
  • think of manners not as constraints but as tools to help us achieve our goals as consultants