Success in Consulting

Do you regularly reflect on the value you bring to your client? The act of reflection is something experienced consultants, both internal and external, consistently do in their practice. This article examines the ways in which Certified Performance Technologists (CPTs) define and recognize the success of their efforts, but most importantly, how they learn from engagements that do not always end with the desired outcome. You will hear from CPTs across several industries in their own words about what strategies they have employed to continue to improve their skill sets.     

Increasing Efficiency: A Process-Oriented Approach Originally published in 1993, PIQ 6.4

Increasingly, customer satisfaction and business success depends as much on speed and timing as it does on the cost and quality of the goods we produce or the sendees we render. As such, doing things faster is becoming just as important as doing them better and cheaper. Increased efficiency, however, will not be attained simply by imploring employees to work harder or by increasing employee workloads. Increased efficiency can only be accomplished through the systematic analysis and reengineering of our work processes, including the elimination or minimization of all associated non-value adding process steps. DO•CA•TIM, a seven-step methodology for systematically identifying and eliminating or minimizing non-value adding process steps, is presented. The methodology is appropriate for analyzing and improving the execution of any human task; it is equally applicable to the rendering of services and the production of products.     

Performance Technologist Preparation: The Role of Leadership Theory Originally published in 1995, PIQ 8.4

This article explores the unique positioning of leadership theory and literature as a unifying and informing discipline for the preparation of performance technologists. Although the role of leadership could be emphasized in any of the settings in which performance technologists become skilled, university departments of educational leadership seem especially suited for programs with this emphasis. A sample course activity is shared and linked to the building of leadership skills. The purpose of this article is to describe the importance of leadership as an informing and unifying discipline for the preparation of performance technologists and to explore the impact of this orientation on performance technologist preparation.