The tenth volume in the Research on Management Consulting series—Client–Consultant Collaboration: Coping with Complexity and Change—draws on papers presented at the Academy of Management’s Management Consulting Division International Conference on this theme in Copenhagen, Denmark in June 2007. The volume presents twelve chapters that explore a broad range of questions and concerns that illustrate the scope and complexity of the consultant–client relationship. The chapters illustrate the richness and excitement that takes place not only in research on consulting but also in its application as the various empirical analyses of consulting in practice portray.

A Washington Post Bestseller Not all collaboration is smart. Make sure you do it right. Professional service firms face a serious challenge. Their clients increasingly need them to solve complex problems—everything from regulatory compliance to cybersecurity, the kinds of problems that only teams of multidisciplinary experts can tackle. Yet most firms have carved up their highly specialized, professional experts into narrowly defined practice areas, and collaborating across these silos is often messy, risky, and expensive. Unless you know why you’re collaborating and how to do it effectively, it may not be smart at all. That’s especially true for partners who have built their reputations and client rosters independently, not by working with peers. In Smart Collaboration, Heidi K. Gardner shows that firms earn higher margins, inspire greater client loyalty, attract and retain the best talent, and gain a competitive edge when specialists collaborate across functional boundaries. Gardner, a former McKinsey consultant and Harvard Business School professor now lecturing at Harvard Law School, has spent over a decade conducting in-depth studies of numerous global professional service firms. Her research with clients and the empirical results of her studies demonstrate clearly and convincingly that collaboration pays, for both professionals and their firms. But Gardner also offers powerful prescriptions for how leaders can foster collaboration, move to higher-margin work, increase client satisfaction, improve lateral hiring, decrease enterprise risk, engage workers to contribute their utmost, break down silos, and boost their bottom line. With case studies and real-world insights, Smart Collaboration delivers an authoritative case for the value of collaboration to today’s professionals, their firms, and their clients and shows you exactly how to achieve it.

CEO Barry Halton is beginning to think he's not cut out to carry a company from ordinary to extraordinary. After a great start-up, his second company has hit an all-too-familiar wall.Frustrated and discouraged, he runs into an old friend who introduces him to The Collaborative Way(R), a way of working together that not only builds a great place to work but also generates the competitive advantage Barry is looking for.Three years after that chance encounter, the result is a dramatic change in Barry's leadership and in the leadership throughout his company-a tremendous growth in collaboration that's moving the company forward in a powerful and inspiring way.

Collaborative Consultation in Mental Health: Guidelines for the New Consultant offers a practical guide for professionals working ‘indirectly’ with clients through consultation with staff. As resources become more scarce in public services and a greater number of people seek mental health interventions, professionals are increasingly called upon to consult with practitioners who conduct face-to-face work with clients. This book provides an essential guide for those who are interested in developing their consultation competence. This book introduces the reader to the principles of a collaborative approach to consultation with practitioners, teams and agencies working in health, education, social care and mental health. The book takes the reader step-by-step through the collaborative consultation process, from preparing and setting up the context for consultation through to communicating effectively to build cooperative partnerships, and evaluating consultation outcomes. Collaborative Consultation in Mental Health guides the consultant in how to apply and develop these principles and practices within group consultation and also addresses common dilemmas and challenges consultants encounter. Collaborative Consultation in Mental Health will appeal to both new and experienced consultants working with adults, children, older people, people with intellectual disabilities and families across a range of contexts.

New topics covered in this edition include: e-business consulting; consulting in knowledge management; total quality management; corporate governance; social role and responsibility of business; company transformation and renewal; and public administration.

Presenting an innovative framework for tailoring cognitive-behavioral interventions to each client's needs, this accessible book is packed with practical pointers and sample dialogues. Step by step, the authors show how to collaborate with clients to develop and test conceptualizations that illuminate personal strengths as well as problems, and that deepen in explanatory power as treatment progresses. An extended case illustration demonstrates the three-stage conceptualization process over the entire course of therapy with a multiproblem client. The approach emphasizes building resilience and coping while decreasing psychological distress. Special features include self-assessment checklists and learning exercises to help therapists build their conceptualization skills.