On a recent trip to Pisa, when I was talking to what (I think) would be the owner of a restaurant in the historic center, I asked, jokingly, when they will straight the Tower. His answer was that "the important thing is not to let the Tower fall".
This response made me think immediately about the business world and the customers who call us when their business is "tilted" in two ways:
- Degree of inclination;
- Problem solving strategy.
With regard to the degree of inclination, our culture is often ignorant of the gaps between reality and our predictions, not taking immediate steps to get back on track. This ignoring of problems, living as if they did not exist, often causes them to get worse, leading companies to high deviations, which in most cases result in their downfall.
Traditionally, it is at this point, pre-fall that companies choose to take action and call "help to hold the Tower". It is at this moment that the competence and seriousness of the consultants is essential, in the definition of a correct problem solving strategy, that contributes positively to the client.
Being called upon to intervene too late what the consultants normally encounter in their analysis is with a set of problems that have become structural and condition the development and results of companies. This situation prioritizes internal problem solving measures (structure, resources, equipment, products, among others), with visible impacts in the medium or long term. Often this view goes against the priorities of corporate managers, who carry the guilt of the difficulties to external factors, and seek solutions with immediate results.
Thus, it is important to have a consensus between administrations and consultants on the strategy to be used for solving problems, analysing the impact of each measure and maintaining the focus that "the important thing is not to let the Tower fall".
On the part of the consultants should be avoided a posture of illusion of the client, as tourists who take photos where they prove to be essential to hold the Tower, but in reality nothing contribute to its maintenance. The consultant should be serious about the real impact of the measures suggested by you and how much the improvement of the company depends on them. On the other hand, seeing he does not have the necessary skills to assist his client in solving his problems, the consultant must intervene in order to be called additional help, which contributes to the Tower not fall.