I own a small store with three part-time employees and can't afford expensive consultants. What can you do for me?
I developed the QuickCheck service just to meet the needs of small businesses.  QuickCheck is a service we provide on days when we are not involved in larger projects. I reduce my hourly rate, come into your place of business during normal working hours, do a short planning session through casual conversations that can occur between customer visits. I look at your business from the perspective of your customers, and send you a report on our findings and recommendations. I usually find areas to be improved that will more than pay for the service.
My own experiences with Strategic Planners suggest I need to find the right planner for my company. Is this true?
It may be true with many planners who have rigid methods. By offering a complete planning facilitation service, I can always shorten some areas of analysis and move the planning process what we call “emergency mode”.  I do this when the organization has a serious and threatening situation, and they need to get a quick solution into place. The benefit of my method is that an “emergency mode” plan can make an effective starting plan when the crisis is resolved.
I've worked with consultants in the past who looked at my business and simply tried to sell me more consulting services. Do Time-Slice planners do this?
My strategic planning method puts you in the drivers seat regarding the planning decisions. If the planning process determines the need for additional services that are within our area of expertise, we will certainly offer to help. We might also recommend the services of another consultant. In most cases, we have recommended the business develop their own core competencies.
Do you only work with technology companies?
No. I have applied proven Strategic Planning techniques to the high-tech environment because these services were important during the rapid buildup of the Internet technology . Our planning methodologies work well in any business environment.
Do you require the planning be done away from the place of business?
No. Many planners require an off-site location to prevent distractions. This was a common practice when companies had extensive planning budgets. I find that effective planning can be done in the company conference room as long as the managers make a commitment to avoid all daily distractions except emergencies.
When should I involve a Strategic Planner in my business?
The best time to introduce Strategic Planning is when business is good and you have the time to think about the direction of the company. It is helpful to have the resources to do effective analysis. The most common time to introduce Strategic Planning is when the business environment has changed and the company managers need to respond to those changes. This is why I commonly use an emergency mode of planning to get the company back on track before introducing a full Strategic Plan.
You seem to prefer a long-term approach to Strategic Planning and yet you provide a one-day service. Why?
There are many reasons for this. First; there is a demand for one-day planning services and I need to meet the demands of our customers. Second; I realize that about half of the business owners and managers are in a personality style that has little patience for doing a full strategic plan. Third; there are times in the business environment when it is necessary to go into emergency mode and fix serious short-term problems before moving into long-term planning. Last; I provide the service, but I do not call it Strategic Planning.
Many planners are very rigid and force me to adjust to their style, are you flexible enough to tailor your methods to my business?  
We believe that we are flexible. Although we use most Strategic Planning tools with every company, I usually adjust the time spent in each area to meet the needs of individual companies and their circumstances. I also use "emergency mode" planning when it is appropriate for a particular company.
You will work with me on a monthly basis to develop my Strategic Plan. When do the monthly visits end?
This is an excellent question. Monthly visits are normally used when business is good and the company wants to develop a complete plan for their future. This is only an average and is dependant on the dynamic nature of the business environment. Once the plan has been developed and is being followed by the company, I usually recommend a follow-up planning session every six months, or when the environment changes enough to warrant updates to the plan. I recommend to most companies that we come in annually to help them revise their plan for the year.
If you work with us to develop a strategic plan, how much of the work is done by you and how much work is done by my management team?
For the best results using my method of Strategic Planning, I prefer that your management team do most of the thinking about their own environment. I am often asked to assemble and edit the written plans developed by the managers.
What is Organizational Behavior?
Organizational Behavior is the study of the structure of organizations and the interactions of people within a group setting. I often describe it as an evolution of the old discipline of Industrial Engineering with Sociology and Psychology thrown in.
What qualifies a person to consult in the behavior of organizations?
There are college major programs in Organizational Behavior and the more progressive colleges include a significant amount of the training in their schools of business management. I received training in Organizational Behavior as part of both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in business management. I have also applied this training in both small and large organizational structures in the development of strategic plans and conflict resolution. People with degrees in the subject are usually found in human resources departments, but I feel the best practitioners are those like myself who received our training as part of an overall management program. This tends to give us an ability to better understand how an organizational structure fits into the overall operation of a company.
Are there any legal, ethical, or privacy issues In utilizing Personality Assessment?
Not really, but there can be some problems with how it is used. There are no issues when it is used to help facilitate effective communications, because it simply involves an interpretation of information being provided by the other person. Written test can be a different matter.  One of the dangers of a written test is that it tends to create a snapshot of the person's personality. This is normally not a problem, but I have seen very rare cases where written tests were administered to people who were experiencing a family crisis, and the results indicated they were having difficulty with stress, which was assumed to be coming from their work responsibilities. The individuals were either demoted or released from employment, because of the inappropriate use of the testing results. I do not recommend this kind of testing or follow-up.
How can Personality Assessment be used to lower turbulence in a team?
We tend to interact with other people in our own style because that is what is natural and understandable. We use verbal queues to categorize people all the time, but not in a uniform or structured manner. We might label another person as difficult, demanding, unfocused, or fun. This can be dangerous in business because we tend to consider ourselves as being normal and assess others relative to ourselves. Personality Assessment tools allow for a more accurate way to evaluate the personality style of another person from the standpoint of four different normal behaviors and not just our own. This allows us to be much more constructive and uniform in our assessment.
Our human resource person give us a test and tell us about our styles. It didn't help reduce conflict in our company. Is your program different?
It is hard to say if our program is different without knowing more about what your company did. One failing of these kinds of programs is that they tend to focus on the test and in how people are different. I prefer to spend time explaining why there are different styles, why it is important to understand another person's style, and how to best present information to them. I find it best to spend a lot of time working on exercises that actually put Personality Assessment concepts to work, but that is missing in most programs I have seen.
Our computer people and our sales team are always in conflict. Can your Organizational Behavior consulting make them get along?
This is a classic problem in many organizations. We can usually help them get along better, but removing the turbulence usually creates a more dangerous situation. It is more important to address the root cause of the conflict.  Most good sales people are optimistic, outgoing, and controlling people who expect everyone to have similar behaviors.  Most good computer people are brooding, protective, and introspective anticipators of doom. These are opposing forces within any organization. I have been successful in helping the two types of teams to understand, tolerate, and appreciate their differences. I find it more effective to manage conflict than to manage the side effects of removing it from the organization.
You have real issues with something you call groupthink? What is it?
Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when certain organizational relationships develop. It is most common in teams with a leader who has a strong personality and manages to avoid conflict. It results in a team going down a slippery slope of decision making. I am reluctant to spend much time discussing this without first looking at the organization and discussing it in person. Most organizations are inflicted with groupthink because people naturally gravitate toward behaviors that create this malady. I have never seen an organization that was able to diagnose groupthink within itself.
Aren't you overstating the hazards of groupthink?
I believe I am understating the effects of groupthink. In my seminar on Groupthink, I present a situation where a team inflicted with groupthink made a terrible decision that killed over 50,000 people and injured 500,000 more. These were intelligent and deliberate people who were ashamed of their decision once it was taken out of the context of the Groupthink environment. This is a very sobering seminar. The removal of groupthink is often the first step in turning a company around and back toward profitability. Groupthink is preventable.
You sound as if you feel there should be conflict in organizations. Is that correct?
A certain amount of healthy conflict is good for an organization.  Conflict is the existence of conflicting opinions.  Unfortunately, most managers go to great lengths to suppress conflict. Healthy conflict helps promote creativity and keeps the business running. Managing to avoid conflict tends to create a company that fails to recognize many opportunities. The job of a consultant is to help manage the conflict and to understand when it has reached an unhealthy form of turbulence.
Can you remove groupthink from my organization?
I have ways to help eradicate groupthink. After determining that groupthink has entered the organization, it is necessary to immediately introduce a treatment that will help to break down the effects of this organizational malady. The treatment method I use will tend to also help to train members of the organization on how to keep groupthink to a minimum. The most difficult aspect of dealing with groupthink is in getting the company leader to recognize it is affecting the decisions of the management team.
If you come in to evaluate my business, do I have to hire you to implement your recommendations?
No. I may offer to work with you on some issues, but you are free to follow through with anyone you wish. Most of my recommendations are things you should do yourself.
How much will my business be disrupted during your evaluation?
My evaluation service is designed to only require a few minutes with a few employees in order to get their input on a few business issues. Although the time may vary with the type of business, I generally don’t take any more time than a typical coffee break.
I built my company from the ground up. Why should I use a consultant?
You should be congratulated for building a successful business. You have already done better than most. Successful companies go through various growth stages. I still recommend that I take a look to see if there are factors that might be slowing the growth in your company. It usually requires an outside influence to identify these issues.
A few years ago I hired a consultant who was pushy and tried to take over my company. Will you do that?
No. I look at a variety of things in the company and only make recommendations. The decision to implement any suggestion rests with the business owner, which is as it should be.
My company has facilities throughout the United States and we have an office in the area served by Time-Slice, can you be used to provide a report of the conditions at one of my remote offices and verify it conforms to my standards?
Yes, I can work with your field office to provide our report to your home office, or we can use your standard checklist.
Do you go through my accounting records the way an auditor might?
No. A finance and accounting evaluation is not part of my service. Most companies don’t like having their financials reviewed so I stay away from that very specialized area.
Are your findings confidential?
Yes, I respect the privacy of my clients and neither use your business name or any information about your specific business.
We don’t do business on the Internet, why should we be involved in Internet Marketing or have a web page?
The Internet is a way of life for many of your customers or potential customers. Internet marketing can be used to develop communications either outbound to your customer, or in both directions . It can be used to tell about your business or to introduce new products or services.