1 May, 2019

Ask Nicole: How Can I Convince Clients to Focus on the Process AND the Outcome?

By |2021-08-19T20:32:56-04:00May 1st, 2019|Categories: Consulting|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Have a question you’d like answered? Let me know.

Tammy, a licensed independent clinical social worker and consultant based in the Pacific Northwest, recently sent me a really thoughtful email. Tammy writes:

Hi Nicole, 

First, I just want to thank you for writing your blog, and let you know upfront that this is one of those, “Thank you! I needed to read your website.” kinda emails.

In consulting work, I feel like I’m going to struggle with communicating how design-based thinking and evidence-based decision making (and not necessarily Evidence-Based Programs (EBP)) could be really powerful tools for organizations. Where I live, the agencies that design their own programs are often bootstrapped for cash; and the ones with money will just purchase a curriculum and send their staff to a national training on how to implement that curriculum. To get funding for a lot of things out here, you need to use an EBP. I’m a big fan of evidence-based decision-making processes, but I think most pre-packaged evidence-based programs (at least that I’ve worked with) are like disempowering wet bandaids that never really stick! It seems like most organizations are more willing to pay someone else to train their staff to implement a very structured program that’s already been created than they are to work with someone to design a program that really suits their needs, strengths, and resources (even when they acknowledge they probably would do a better job than the pre-made curriculum!)

So, the question is: how do you help people realize the potential for design-based thinking and evidence-based decision making processes in a non-profit/agency world that has become relatively disempowered in the realm of program design? Have you run into that at all with your consulting work focused on program design? If so, how do you navigate that conversation? 

A few months ago, a prospective client organization came to me about a project opportunity. I had some initial conversations with the client, but I got the sense that what they wanted and what my process is weren’t in alignment.

It was confirmed when the client asked me to further explain one key aspect of my process. The aspect–something that the client initially agreed with and wanted to be included in my proposal–focuses on participatory processes between myself, the staff, and key stakeholders. The client seemed less interested in this aspect and wanted me to tailor my approach to just outcomes.

Over the past year, I’ve developed more of an interest in working with clients to develop, evaluate, and refine their process versus solely focuses on outcomes. So, I knew deep down this wasn’t the project (or the client) for me.

The bulk of my consulting as of late has centered around evaluation, with design thinking included depending on the work scope. I’ve found that clients who’ve hired me to evaluate a specific program have been more rigid in what takes place in our time working together compared to clients that hired me specifically for capacity building purposes that span all of their programs and services.

This comes down to whether the client is focused more on the process or the outcome. Based on my observation, when client organizations are focused solely on outcomes, they’re confined to certain parameters that may be heavily influenced by a funder, things being “evidence-based”, or a deadline. As a result, I have more flexibility with clients that have hired me for building organizational capacity and learning about their programming in a more exploratory manner.

Outcomes center around aspects of a program that led to data that can be reported on, including the number of participants and how they engaged with the program. A more process-centered approach assesses how the program was developed, how it got to where it currently is, and what factors along the way got it there (including staff capacity.)

Ideally, you’d develop a process that addresses both. However, the approach the client wants to take can ultimately decide if you’re going to have a great time partnering with this client or spend most of your time arguing back and forth.

(more…)
3 Apr, 2019

Ask Nicole: How Do I Get Friends and Family to Support My Goals?

By |2021-08-19T20:28:27-04:00April 3rd, 2019|Categories: Consulting|Tags: , |0 Comments

Have a question you’d like to see answered? Let me know.

Last week, I was in Chicago to facilitate an evaluation meeting with one of my Chicago-based clients and to co-facilitate a roundtable discussion with them during the 2019 Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment Conference.

When my flight touched down back in New York, I called my dad to let him know that I’d landed. I do this every time I travel somewhere.

While on the phone I’d mentioned to him that, while sitting in one of the conference sessions, I’d gotten an email from a prospective client interested in engaging me on working with them on a 2-3 year project, and how we’d set up a time for the following week to talk about it so that I could determine whether I’m a good fit for the client.

My dad commented, “You’re getting up there in the world”, and that he was happy to hear that things were going well with the business and with my clients.

Over the weekend, I celebrated the 3rd year anniversary of me submitting my resignation letter to my former supervisor, with a final employment date of May 31st. I had no problems staying on to help recruit and train my replacement. But the main reason why I wanted more time was so I could prepare myself to tell my dad that I would be leaving to go work for myself.

My dad is in his early sixties and has been with the same company since he was 18, and prior to my mother’s death in 2001, she’d been with her company for 20 years. I was two weeks away from leaving my job when I finally told my dad. He asked a few questions but didn’t say much after that. 2016 was a good year for my business, but things were very rocky the following year to the point where my family was worried for me. By the end of 2017, my business was moving in a more positive direction, and my dad went from checking in on me on a weekly basis to checking in on me whenever I would call home.

For many, this is the context we grew up in: seeing friends and family work for someone else. And when we share that a goal of becoming self-employed (or any goal for that matter), what we’re looking for is support and confirmation that we can do it.

We want to know that the people we have around us support what we do. Friends and family can be well-meaning, but it’s important to understand that not everyone will understand your goals and may not be able to help you achieve them. Especially if they have not had the same experience. But they do want to support your efforts.

In order to get friends and family to support your goals, you have to be clear about the type of support you want from them. In my case,

Initially, I would encourage friends and family to sign up for my newsletter letter or to follow me on my social media platforms. Once I identified the type of support I wanted from them, I slowly stopped doing this and requested instead for their emotional support but also gave them the opportunity to self-select how they want to support me. Emotional support for me includes checking in on me to see how things are going or sharing with others what I’m doing in my business.

Though I prefer emotional support, I’ve had friends hire me for trainings or projects because they were in a position within their organization to do so, and they believed I was a good fit for their needs. Or they’ve referred a prospective client to me.

The other way you can persuade friends and family to support you? Actually doing the work.

(more…)
27 Mar, 2019

Living in the End

By |2021-08-19T20:27:56-04:00March 27th, 2019|Categories: Consulting|Tags: |0 Comments

Overlooking the New York City Skyline in 2016

This weekend, March 31st, I’ll be celebrating an important anniversary: The day I submitted my resignation letter to my former supervisor back in 2016.

I remember the months, weeks, and days leading up to that moment. In fact, on January 1st, I set the intention to move into my consulting business full-time starting June 1st, 2016.

At the time, I didn’t have any clients as I had finished up my client work at the end of 2015 and had no clue where the next client would come from. I just knew that it would happen.

For two years, I had set a deadline for me to leave my job, only for those deadlines to come and go, leaving me increasingly frustrated with myself because I hadn’t met my internal deadline.

I’m not sure why 2016 felt like the time to make the leap, but it just felt right. On New Year’s Day, I had gone to the One World Trade Center Observation Deck. As I looked over the New York City skyline, I felt good about 2016 being the year I would do it. I thought about how it would feel to walk out of my work building for the final time on May 31st, knowing that the next day would be a new journey for me. Again, I didn’t have any clients lined up, though I knew that everything would somehow work itself out.

While I still showed up at my job, I had already mentally checked out of where I was. While I did worry about what would happen if no clients showed up, but I challenged myself to only dwell on the end result and not on how it would all happened.

(more…)
6 Mar, 2019

Ask Nicole: Should I Stop Responding to Requests for Proposals?

By |2021-08-19T20:26:10-04:00March 6th, 2019|Categories: Consulting|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Have a question you’d like answered? Let me know.

Let’s say you go to your dentist because you’re experiencing some tooth pain.

You’ve done your (Google) research to determine what the cause of the pain might be, and have decided that it’s a cavity. You contact your insurance company to see how much it’ll cost to fix the cavity.

You get to your dentist’s office and tell them you need a cavity filling based on what you’ve discovered in your research. Without any questions, the dentist fills the cavity.

A month later, you’re back at the dentist’s office with more tooth pain. That pain ended up being way more than a cavity, and it’s about to cost more to find out what the real cause it. You’re frustrated because you told the dentist that you’re still experiencing tooth pain and the cavity filling didn’t solve the problem.

But can you really be upset with the dentist? After all, they only gave you a solution based on what you thought the real problem was.

This is how it feels to go through the Request for Proposals (RFP) process. If you’re not familiar with what an RFP is, it’s a document developed by an entity looking for a particular service. In my case, it would be consulting services.

The RFP process can be frustrating, and it’s a process I only participate in if the project sounds interesting (or if I’m interested in the prospect of working with a prospective client). The majority of my clients have not come by way of an RFP process, which pretty much gives you the answer to this month’s Ask Nicole question.

But do I really feel that all consultants should abandon the RPF process? Not really, but I do feel that we need to take nonprofits, foundations, and social service agencies to task on how ridiculous this process is in the hopes that they develop a better process that’s beneficial to everyone. There’s a lot left to be desired about the RFP process, but here are five things that bug me about it:

1) It’s an extremely vague process, focusing more on deliverables rather than being open to identifying what’s needed to get to those deliverables (and also figuring out if the process to get to the deliverables is even feasible within the budget and timeframe identified by the client. Which leads to the point #3).

2) The RFP is designed around what the organization thinks they need. As with the dentist example, if you tell your dentist what you think the solution is, it prevents them from doing a further examination to discover what the underlying needs really are and give you an appropriate diagnosis and treatment. I can’t develop an appropriate proposal for a prospective client just based off of what’s in the RFP without knowing some background information on the organization or program that’s more than likely not listed in the RFP.

3) Clients are weirdly vague about how much all of this is going to cost. If we’re being honest, an organization knows how much they’re willing to budget, but none are upfront about it. They’re either afraid to list it because of the belief that the most talented individual or group will believe the budget is too small, or they think they’ll have the upper hand at negotiations.

( I do not know of anyone willing to apply to a job posting that doesn’t have the annual salary listed. It’s tacky and unethical to deny someone the right to determine whether working for an organization will result in pay equity and livable wages. Plus, we all know an organization will eventually go with the consultant or group that costs the least.)

(more…)
6 Feb, 2019

Ask Nicole: How Can I Stop Potential Clients from Ghosting Me?

By |2021-08-19T20:24:15-04:00February 6th, 2019|Categories: Consulting|Tags: , , |0 Comments

Have a question you’d like for me to answer? Let me know.

I recently got this question from Stacey, an employee in the process of transitioning from her job into self-employment. Stacey writes:

Hi Nicole,

I’ve been building up my business while being full-time at my job, and I’m planning on leaving my employer to move onto working for myself by summer. I’ve built up a solid client base, and while I’m happy I’ve been able to do it, I grow frustrated when I land a solid lead only for them to disappear. I do send emails and call them to follow-up, but I’m met with radio silence. Is there a way to stop potentia clinets from ghosting me? Any suggestions for keeping potential clients engaged enough for me to seal the deal?

Landing a new client is kind of like the dating process. While you’re excited at the prospect of working together, you (and the potential client) are still feeling each other out.

And just when you think everything is good to go, they can disappear without warning.

Of course, it’s frustrating because you’ve invested a lot of time into making it work (including submitting your cover letter and resume, a response to a proposal or work scope, and references, not to mention scheduling a meeting either in person or why phone/video). So you can’t help but feel some kind of way when it doesn’t work out.

The short answer to Stacey’s question is: No, you can’t stop potential clients from ghosting you…but there are some measures you can take so that, regardless of the outcome, you can walk away feeling good about your role in the process.

Here’s the long answer, broken up into two parts: 1) When you seek out an opportunity and 2) When an opportunity comes looking for you:

(more…)

This Is A Custom Widget

This Sliding Bar can be switched on or off in theme options, and can take any widget you throw at it or even fill it with your custom HTML Code. Its perfect for grabbing the attention of your viewers. Choose between 1, 2, 3 or 4 columns, set the background color, widget divider color, activate transparency, a top border or fully disable it on desktop and mobile.
Go to Top