Process consultation

"... chronic problems are caused by bad process, not bad people..." - Eric Ries

Being mindful of process leads to greater efficiency and engagement, and yields better results.

When I work as a process consultant, I sit in on a group’s regular meetings and help them reflect -- in the moment -- on how they are conducting their business. It's my goal to help groups skillfully and mindfully achieve their goals, so when they are humming along I stay pretty quiet. When a group runs into trouble, it's my job to help them recognize this, understand what's going on, and quickly work through the issue so they can get back on task. Following Edgar Schein's criteria for success as a process consultant, I am most concerned with being facilitative and helpful.

When I help six engineers shave an hour off their meeting I save the organization six hours of engineering time, I help develop capacity for the future, and I contribute to a better product. Process consultation might seem odd at first, but I have had great success introducing it to NY tech startups.