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The way to the top can take several paths.
Every business has some type of goal, a benchmark for success. As our eyes are fixed on that goal we must choose the path to get us there. The paths could include increasing revenues, decreasing costs, improving quality, customer, service, or internal processes. The truth is that as we head down whichever path we deem best, external conditions can change to such a degree that we can find ourselves hanging on the brink of disaster with no foothold and seemingly no one to reach out to for help.
Longview Consultants can help.
Our founder, Rich Monsma
Richard Monsma CPA/PFS has over 30 years experience as a CPA and consultant to businesses and not-for-profits. He started with Ernst & Young, was the controller for a major international not-for-profit with an annual revenue growth rate of over 30% and is currently founder and consultant with Longview Consultants in Southern California. He specializes in problem solving and decision making, strategic planning, surveys (SWOT & Customer), strategic benchmarking for privately held companies and provides educational seminars and workshops about these and related subjects for clients, interested parties, and Continuing Education for CPAs. Mr. Monsma is an SBV Recognized Consultant by the SBV Network.
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About Longview Consultants
“When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes reality”
Joe Paterno, legendary Head Football Coach at Penn State University since 1966
At Longview Consultants we work as part of our clients’ team bringing additional resources where the client’s normal team does not have the time, expertise, or is so involved in the day-to-day operations they are unable to analyze and/or plan for solving current problems or determine the future state or next level of driving the company’s value.
Some of our perspectives on successful consulting are:
- The “answer(s)” will emerge during the project,
- No preconceived solutions looking for a problem
- Client employees may have “gut feel” answers which address symptoms without getting to the root causes
- Our consultants are to encourage a collaborative atmosphere and discipline to the project to accomplish the client’s goals recognizing there many perspectives in the organization which when encouraged and heard often lead to more successful problem solving
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- “No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or superhumans to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.” Quote from Peter Drucker
- There are not stereotypical leaders, everyone is unique in their strengths, weaknesses, values, attitudes and personalities
- Every company has its own culture which we don’t try to change, but we work within its context
- The consultant is to support, encourage and supplement the client’s talents and abilities
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- Alignment and Execution must be evaluated between all three main elements of a business
- The Consultants must consider the Company’s
- Strategy
- Processes and systems
- Personnel and other stakeholders
- Companies can have great strategies and personnel, but processes and systems don’t match
- Companies can have great personnel and strategy but be lacking the most effective processes and systems to achieve success,
- Companies can have the right personnel and excellent processes and systems but be lacking a unified long term strategy
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- Always start a project with the current state
- What the client is doing right
- What they are doing wrong
- Determine the current obstacles the company faces, and
- Finally changes necessary to advance.
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- Blame can hinder successful change in consulting situations.
- Often employees want to point the “finger of blame" at others which hinders trust, collaboration, and commitment by all affected parties.
- An open and honest exchange of ideas is required for successful change
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- Use the basic flexible consulting framework
- The consultant must understand the client in terms of a basic company framework
- The framework must be applied to the client with flexibility allowing for the client’s past successes, current state, and future goals, methods, benchmarks and additional learning needed.
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- The value of the consultation process is the “servant leadership” the consultant brings to the process
- The consultant’s main job is to serve the client
- The consultant is not the “hero” of the project
- The consultant’s personal goals and ambitions must be subservient to the client’s goals and ambitions
- The consultant brings together a process, collaboration, understanding, experience, and communication, all which focuses on results
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- Longview Consultants’ goal is to be a trusted advisor to the client
- For the current project
- For additional projects
- With the other trusted advisors of the client
- On an on-going basis assisting in the follow up of the implementation process
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- Be honest with the client when consultant’s biases arise
- Although our consultants should be free of biases, assumptions and beliefs it is almost impossible
- Consultants should recognize and be honest with the client when it happens
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- Every recommendation must be explained in terms of the benefit to the client
- Client must be given the opportunity to understand the reasons behind the recommendation
- Benefits to the client that might come as a result must be enumerated
- Client must be given adequate time to consider the recommendation
- Client must understand the implementation steps as part of the recommendation once accepted
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- It’s the client’s decision whether to follow the advice
- Although difficult the consultant must accept that the implementation decision is with the client who has the final authority
- The consultant must remember that people “do” only what the are ready to “do”
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- Longview Consultants does not take “no’s” personally
- Clients can resist change
- Clients can have personal priorities that interfere with the business decisions, but the consultant should have some clues during the process that implementation may be delayed
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We seek to offer consultancy advice based on over 30 years practical business experience and we don't employ consultants straight out of university who hope to learn about business from you. We believe that if there's any learning to be done, it should be you learning from us.
Our staff is experienced, trained, talented, and highly motivated and very committed to client satisfaction. We also have access to experienced practitioners for joint venture projects through affiliations with others that have specialized industry, technical experience, and/or experience with the flexible framework used by recognized SBV Consultants.
Our clients won’t find that the consultant who sets up a project disappears once the scope is agreed and that a less-experienced member of the team undertakes the work. Client satisfaction is fundamental to the successful completion of our projects. Whether it’s a one-off assignment or part of a long-term relationship, Longview Consultants ensures that the client comes first.
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