How do you achieve win-win outcomes with clients and stakeholders?

As an advisor, it's our duty to help the client. Seek to understand what their objectives are and propose a scope of work to make that reality come true. Nearly every client engagement should be a win-win, even if it's a disappointing situation where the client is trying to prevent further loss or pain.

Know the difference in services. In broad strokes it’s like this: Advising is when you know the answer. Coaching is when they know the answer. Mentoring is when they are the answer. Consulting is when you’ll do the work regardless of where the answer comes from.

In my experience as a consultant, I observed that speaking to different groups within the client organization gives a holistic view. This holistic view is helpful to unearth problems that do not appear obvious. Every group has a different perspective, and it helps to listen to each patiently and then go back to the drawing board to list the as-is flow and the problems there-in.

In our research, we have studied successful projects for over 25 years and what we learnt is that clients go into any projects with a set of expectations. Expectations about their requirements, situation and the way the see what the solution is or the approach to get things done. As the client is not the expert, sometimes these expectations are not the best way forward. So you as the vendor/consultant you are the expert not the client and the first step is to understand those expectations and work on replacing them with reality.

Often the best level of understanding comes from asking the 'dumb' questions. Miscommunication is easy when people are making assumptions. Asking the simple questions and confirming those assumptions leads to better communication.

I have noticed that most clients respond first to how you make the solution fit within their story of success then on how this is going to add value and last on how it actually works in details

I learned long ago to understand the driving motivations of the person (or people) I'm working with so that any proposals I may pitch will speak directly to their priorities. As a consultant, I look for solutions. But the buy-in comes when my solutions speak directly to the needs of the stakeholders.

In 1990 I managed to not only identify the anatomy of 'Objectives' in such a way as to incorporate & define Benefits & Values in Objectives but also developed an automated solution. I produced a generic model which simplifies the 1st level of decision making to answers the question: How do we define our Goals & reduce our risks? By finding the link between Benefits & Values & using needs & wants with the Values I show how a SWOT analysis can actually produce a workable solution to reduce risks.

I have observed that the people on the ground are interested to know the features of the solution and how the solution actually solves the problem that they face. However, the decision makers in the client organization would look at the return on investment. It would be worthwhile to put some numbers to measurable outcomes like "the solution can bring down the staff cost by 30% and errors by 80%" or "the staff productivity improves by 40%" or "the client dropout rates come down by 50%" etc.

If you have a client that will tell you the truth about your services, listen to them. Truth is the key word there. If it’s not the truth, it’s whining.

Collaboration lies at the heart of my approach to consulting. Inclusivity and consensus (whenever possible) are core values. A collaborative approach achieves the best possible results. Working closely with others in a cross-functional team that is well aligned with leadership is the best way to serve the company and its customers.

To build trust I use a 2 - 3 hour Goal setting session which brings the 5 CxOs together to fully define their: a) 1 Purpose Statement; their 4 Benefit Statements and their appropriate 11 Value Propositions b) Using each manager's perception of their individual needs and wants in the 4 benefit quadrants a SWOT analysis will reveal the risks. This should take no longer than 1-3 hours. Hence feed back is almost instantaneous c) This establishes the priorities which the CxOs & their middle management can start to focus their attention on identifying what Measures (aka KPIs & PIs) they need to prevent the risks from damaging their business

Solution building is an iterative process. Speaking separately to different teams within the client organization brings different perspectives. In my experience, speaking to operations team would bring to the fore the real day-to-day issues and would help bring some realism to the solution. Speaking to product team would bring out their vision to the solution while speaking to the business would add the return on investment and cost considerations to the solution. Such a solution would meet the principles of feasibility, viability and desirability.

As a consultant, I have frequently found myself in the middle of negotiation between stakeholders and groups. If we understand the driving motivations for each of the interested parties, we can help facilitate a constructive dialog that results in a compromise everyone can live with. In some cases, we have to invent novel documentation to lay out the details. Compromise is a major aspect of building products, so it's important to keep communications around these agreements as clear as possible.

Conflicting views are common when there are different groups with their own perspective on the problem and the solution. Reasoning out with the data that I gather during the discovery phase helps arrive at consensus.

Once the CxOs agree to their 16 goals no compromise is needed. The use of the Measures enable the CFO to produce a high level cost benefit analysis statement which can then be used to develop an initial budget to fund the future development of the enterprise

Regular reporting is a standard operating procedure as a consultant. In that reporting we must demonstrate our contributions, showing the net positive outcomes we've promised our clients. Frequently soliciting feedback on our reports or updates helps ensure the client is getting what they need to evaluate progress.

Once the Objectives blueprint has been accepted middle management can (using the prioritised Values and Measures) begin to develop their business knowledge model. In 1990 I developed a generic Knowledge Model (KM) with 23 Fundamental Entities and over 230 secondary entities to kick start this process. Using the Measures helps to focus managements attention on the important issues thus avoiding lengthy delays going down irrelevant 'rabbit holes'. This then will deliver a KM (3-4 weeks) which will help the CxOs develop their 5 generic Strategies and necessary tactics. A full integrated Proof of Concept (aka Strategic Plan) is passed on the the CIO for further development.

Win-win outcomes are highly desirable in any consulting engagements, however, they aren't possible without firm trust. This trust can be built by prioritizing the clients' needs before ours (low Self-Orientation) while exhibiting Reliability and Credibility, and building Intimacy. In pursuing this trust equation, we set the stage for effective negotiation and communication. It enables us to genuinely understand their needs and perspectives, leading to highly satisfying and value-adding solutions. These trust-anchored strategies are essential for fruitful cooperation, enabling us to navigate to win-win outcomes.

Pay more attention to emotions instead of facts. People are more reluctant to accpect facts since they are not always rational during negotiations. And they will feel more noticed and being taken care of when you start your talk with feelings. And people are more willling to take advices when they feel in the condition that they feel more comfortable. Remember, if all parties participating in the negotaitons are rational and reasonable, they will get a win-win situation without any external help. But in reality, it is definitly not the case. This is why we are needed and how we are supposted to behave.