A colleague of ours, an individual who has fully integrated the Creative Problem Solving Process into her life, had an opportunity to be a consultant to the consultants. Our colleague was asked to make a proposal to a big box consulting firm to help them innovate in all areas of the organization.
During the preliminary meeting with the potential client, our colleague offered no solutions. She simply asked questions and listened, and listened and asked questions. Her first correspondence with the consulting firm was merely a converged list, taken from her notes, of about thirty questions. All the questions were from the client’s perspective. Each was an expression of a possible desire, phrased as a problem question, using the stems, How to…, In what ways might you…, and What might be all the ways…
It was a classically simple use of the CPS process. Gather data and then use that data and information to construct a list of problem questions. It turns out, as well, that it was a powerful template for running and responding to an initial face to face sales meeting with a prospective client.
The managing director at the big box consulting firm responded to our colleague’s correspondence with the following statement:
“You did for us what we should be doing for our clients.”
She got the job.
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