Solutions can’t solve everything

By Fiona Czerniawska.

The Power of the Placebo was a fascinating BBC documentary on something we’re all familiar with, the placebo effect. The conclusions were anything but familiar, however. It turns out that placebos don’t fool us into thinking we’ll get better: it’s possible for people to take pills they know to be fake, even undergo fake operations, and still experience a positive impact. The placebo effect, the programme argues, comes down to the relationship someone has with their doctor: when a physician spends longer talking to a patient, they’re more likely to respond to treatment.

It’s interesting, then, to think of the parallels in consulting, which is after all a relationship business. The consultant/doctor visits the client/patient in their home/organisation to discuss the issues/symptoms and agree the best solution/course of treatment. In both cases it’s the choice of the right solution/treatment that brings about improvement–I’m not saying that consultants can get away with a dodgy approach anymore than I am about to trash millennia of scientific endeavour.  Presumably, however, the placebo effect is more likely to be felt in long-term cases where it’s difficult to isolate all, or even some, of the causes. While there may be occasions when the consulting solution may be crystal clear, many of the problems clients have are long-standing and caused by a variety of different-but-hard-to-separate causes. Where that’s the case, the client-consultant relationship isn’t just important, but may be critical to success. Communication and cooperation is vital–and not just between the client sponsor and lead partner, but at all levels.

This requires some changes in behaviour. The more experienced and expert a consultant is, the more likely they are to jump quickly to a particular solution–the hit-and-run sales pitch. Clients look for certainty when none exists, and for promises when none should be made. Procurement teams strive to keep the two sides apart, replacing dialogue with confrontation.

We know that speed is of the essence–it’s often the reason why clients turn to consultants to help– but anyone who thinks that solving a complex business issue is the equivalent of popping a pill needs their head examined. In all the talk of solutions and platforms that we hear today, it’s worth remembering that these, however comprehensive and innovative they are, can only ever be part of the treatment.