ACTION PLANNING

With action planning, the consulting process

enters the third phase.
This phase includes developing possible
solutions to the problem diagnosed, choosing
among alternative solutions, presenting
proposals to client, and preparing for
implementation of chosen solution by the
client.

 The clients involvement in the action planning

should be even more than in the diagnostic
phase. This is because :
- planning work on possible solutions should only
be undertaken if the client is fully familiar and in
complete agreement with the approach taken.
- Action planning requires the best talent to be
mobilized and all good ideas to be examined.

 - The clients personnel can do a great deal of

design and planning work with back up from
the consultant, thus reducing the cost.
- Participation in action planning generates
commitment.
- action planning provides a new range of
learning opportunities for the client. These
opportunities will be lost if the consultant
were to proceed alone.

 Searching for Possible Solutions :

The client expects the consultant to recommend
the best solution to the problem.
But it is rarely possible to point to an obvious
best solution.
Most problems may have more than one
solution.
The action planning phase therefore starts with a
search for ideas and information on possible
solutions to the problem.

 The objective is to search for all feasible

alternatives and subject them to preliminary
evaluation before starting detailed design and
planning work on one proposal.
Orienting the Search for Solutions :
The main consideration is the nature of the
problem, especially its technical
characteristics, complexity and the degree of
newness.

 The consultant in collaboration with the client

will have to decide whether to direct search
towards commercially available solutions or
towards a new solution.
It is necessary to decide as to how far this
search should go. Should it be limited to the
client organization or should the solution be
searched in outside organizations.

 Using Experience :
In finding ways of improving the clients
situation, the consultant often draws from his
experience.
The purpose is to present to the client the
advice that is state of the art
The consultant must also avoid the temptation
to choose the most comfortable way.

 Creative Thinking :
Creative thinking is the relating of things or
ideas that were previously unrelated.
There are five stages in creative thinking
process :
1. Preparation : Obtaining all the known facts
and restating the problem and the purposes
pursued.

 2. Effort : Divergent thinking to generate multiple

ideas, concepts and approaches. It is important to
note that frustration is often encountered in
effort but more often than not, it will lead to
good ideas.
3. Incubation : Leaving the problems in ones
subconscious mind while one gets on with other
things. This gives opportunities to pick up
additional ideas from what one sees or hears in
the meantime.

 4. Insight : The flash of illumination that gives

an answer and leads to possible solutions of
the problem.
5. Evaluation : Analyzing all the ideas obtained
in all the previous stages so as to find possible
solutions.

Barriers to creative thinking :

Creative thinking is restricted by
- self-imposed barriers
- belief that there is always one right answer
- conformity or giving the expected answer.
- lack of effort and courage to challenge the
obvious.
- evaluating too quickly
- fear of looking foolish.

 Developing and evaluating alternatives :

Preselecting ideas to be pursued : Since it
would be impossible to pursue a large number
of ideas, a preselection must be made.
The selection of ideas must be made in close
collaboration with the client.

 Working on alternatives : After the preselection,

the detailed design, systems development and
planning work should in theory be started on all
alternatives shortlisted.
Work on the ideas may be started in a phased
manner, that is, taking two or three ideas at a
time and working on them upto a certain level.
The other way maybe to start with the idea that
had received the approval of the maximum
number of people.

 Evaluating Alternatives :
When action planning has started, a
preliminary evaluation may be made to
eliminate ideas and reduce the number of
ideas on which the consultant and client will
work.
A comprehensive evaluation is required when
the client finally opts for one particular idea.

 In management consulting, the following

situations prevail :
- alternatives that are ideal by all criteria are
rare. In most cases there is a need to weigh
the positive and negative consequences of
several alternatives.
- the number of criteria is high; certain basic
criteria are met by all the alternatives, and
further criteria have to be examined.

 - some important criteria are difficult, if not

impossible, to quantify.
- the evaluation involves different criteria that
are not directly comparable.
- there is strong subjective element in
evaluation.

 Presenting the action proposal :

When work on action proposals and the
evaluation of alternatives has reached an
advanced stage, the consultant has to consider
the time and form for the presentation to the
client.
This will depend mainly on the type of project
and the working relationships between the
consultant and the clients managerial and
specialist staff.

 The Presentation :
Most consultants prefer to make an oral
presentation backed up by written evidence
and using audiovisual aids to support the case.
The objective of the presentation is to gain the
clients acceptance of the recommendations.
A presentation should not be made unless the
consultant believes that the probability of
acceptance is high.

 The consultants presentation should work

through logical series of steps, building up the
case for recommendations in an effective
manner.
The consultant must be absolutely honest
with the client.
Depending on the circumstances, acceptance
at this point may be in principle only.

 Plans for implementation :

An effective proposal not only mentions what
to implement, but also how to implement.
A plan for implementation should always be
included in the proposal.

 The Decision :
It is the client and not the consultant who
decides what solution will be chosen and
applied.
On no account the client must feel under
duress.

 The decision taken on the consultants

proposal may be the final point of an
assignment, if the client wants to undertake
the work personally.
If the client prefers to involve the consultant in
implementation, the decision will act as the
introduction to the next step.