1 A Consultant by Any Other Name . . .

Some Definitions and Distinctions.

Consulting Skills Preview.

The Promise of Flawless Consultation.

2 Techniques Are Not Enough.

Beyond Content.

The Consultant's Assumptions.

The Consultant's Goals.

Roles Consultants Choose.

Collaboration and the Fear of Holding Hands.

Stating the Client's Involvement––Step by Step.

Checklist # 1. Assessing the Balance of Responsibility.

3 Flawless Consulting.

Being Authentic.

Completing the Requirements of Each Phase.

Results.

Accountability.

The Right to Fail.

4 Contracting Overview.

Contracting––The Concept and the Skill.

Contracting Skills.

Elements of a Contract.

Checklist # 2. Analyzing One of Your Contracts.

Ground Rules for Contracting.

5 The Contracting Meeting.

Who Is the Client?

Navigating the Contracting Meeting.

When You Get Stuck.

The Problem with Saying No.

Contracting Checkpoint.

Checklist #3. Planning a Contracting Meeting.

Selling Your Services––Good Selling Is Good Contracting.

The Meeting As a Model of How You Work.

Closing the Contracting Meeting.

After the Contracting Meeting.

Checklist # 4. Reviewing the Contracting Meeting.

6 The Agonies of Contracting.

Dealing with Low Motivation.

Ceaselsss Negotiation––The Shifting Tide of Your Role.

Some Other Specific Agonies.

The Virtual World.

7 The Internal Consultant.

Important Differences between Internal and Externam Consultants.

Triangles and Rectangles.

8 Understanding Resistance.

The Faces of Resistance.

What Are Clients Resisting When They Are Resisting Us?

Underlying Concerns.

Sometimes It Is Not Resistance.

The Fear and the Wish.

Ogres and Angels.

. . .And Heroics.

9 Dealing with Resistance.

Three Steps.

Don't Take It Personally.

Good Faith Responses.

Consulting with a Stone.

10 From Diagnosis to Discovery.

It Is Still the Relationship That Counts.

The Call to Action.

The Problem Is Not the Problem.

How the Problem Is Being Managed.

Flawless Discovery. 11 Whole System Discovery.

Third-Party Consulting.

Takng a Whole-System Approach.

Putting Whole-System Discovery to Work.

The Payoff.

12 Discovering Gifts, Capacities and Possibilities.

When All Else Fails.

The Power of Positive Deviance.

The Implications for Consulting.

An Example of What Is Working.

13 Get the Picture.

The Steps in Getting the Picture.

A Word about Bias.

Assessing How the Situation Is Being Managed.

The Discovery Interview.

Levels of Analysis.

Your Experience As Data.

Checklist # 5. Planning a Discovery Meeting.

Checklist # 6. Reviewing the Discovery Meeting.

14 Preparing for Feedback.

A Clear Picture May Be Enough.

Condensing the Data.

Some Do's and Don'ts.

Language in Giving the Picture.

Presenting the Picture . . . As Courtroom Drama.

Support and Confrontation.

15 Managing the Meeting for Action.

How to Present the Picture.

Structuring the Meeting.

The Meeting for Action––Step by Step.

A Recap.

Resistance in the Meeting.

Checklist # 7. Planning a Meeting For Action.

When the Group Is at Odds among Themselves.

Checklist # 8. Reviewing the Meeting.

Modeling the Meeting.

16 Implementation.

Choosing Engagement over Installation.

Deciding Doesn't Get It Done.

The Case Against Installation.

Betting on Engagement.

17 Elements of Engagement.

The Meeting Is the Message.

Eight Ways to Engage.

The Point.

Checklist # 9. Preparing for Implementation.

Checklist # 10. Reviewing an Implementation Event.

18 Consultant As Teacher.

The Story.

Assumptions about Motivating Students.

The Reality.

Taking a Consultant's Stance.

The Trip to Washington, DC.

The Choice in the Matter.

19 The Heart of the Matter.

Choosing Learning over Teaching.

Learning As a Social Adventure.

The Struggle Is the Solution.

The Question Is More Important Than the Answer.

Beyond How.

Insight Resides in Moments of Tension.

Capacities Bear More Fruit Than Deficiencies.

We Are Responsible for One Another's Learning.

Culture Changes in the Moment.

If Change Is So Wonderful, Why Don't You Go First?

The Final Question Is One of Faith.
Suggestions for Further Reading.

Acknowledgements.

About the Author.

About Designed Learning.

Index.