I have discussed with several fellow Performance Consultants about our role in providing our business clients data vs. recommending solutions. Depending on who you talk to, there are differing opinions. I'm looking for information or articles that discuss why Performance Consultants should not make "Recommendations" but should present data to our business clients in a way that our clients will understand exactly what needs to get resolved. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

I think this approach assumes that there is a single obvious solution to any situation and that it's obvious from the data. I think people are looking to you for expertise on what data means and the possible choices for resolution. If you are doing all the other things needed to build support and consensus, and manage the change, this is an opportunity to build your credibility.

chris85,

Depends on what the contracting relationship is with the clients. Planning, collecting, and distributing meaningful data is a critically important and under-appreciated skill set. Getting from there to a next step strategy (recommendations) leaves out one essential step....making sense of the data. That is where you can make a real difference.

You might want to consider building in the value added capability to not only collect and present the data...but facilitate the client's process of understanding the data and translating it into a path forward.

The data and the plan belong to the client...help them own it.

Recommend considering Six Sigma as a potential model for use of data to drive recommendations. The ideal solution is to allow data to inform facilitated "solutioning" with the right stakeholders and SMEs.

My own experience these past 20 years is that where it is not so obvious what the problem even is, or what the desired outcome needs to be (research 'wicked problems' on the 'net - you'll see what I mean...!!), or where previous attempts to address performance issues have failed, clients look to consultants for a steer in the right direction, at the very least.

Gary A Williams recommends Six Sigma - I'd say use this with caution (and I'm a certified Six Sigma practitioner!) - the focus is very much on data (great) and process, and there's more to the tricky problems - relationships, regulations, targets, politics, etc etc, and how they work together (or not) to generate the behaviours in people and the system that is the organisation in order to generate poor performance...

And the tools and attitudes/thinking processes needed to navigate this more complex situation are usually missing from most client environments - and figuring all of them out by themselves simply by presenting clear data will either not be sufficient, or quick enough - usually both.

I'd also agree with the strategy of facilitated "solutioning' informed by data - provided you consider people and systems as well as processes. Look at systems thinking tools and dynamic systems modelling as well as behavioural analysis and change and process stuff from Six Sigma...

Happy to point you at specific tools etc if you wish.

Cheers

Martin