Frequently Asked Questions

We have performed most paid services, including the Total Business Review, for firms from one to ninety individuals. Our entire consulting practice is built on knowing the differences between firms of different sizes. If you have only two employees, we can help you at the current stage and tell you what is coming next. If you have sixty people, we know your unique issues. We even know when it is time to move to a smaller size.

Our smallest consulting package is the “Single Issue” package under PAID SERVICES. Unfortunately, we don't work on an hourly basis. This is how we limit our client base in a manner that allows us to do effective work for the clients we do have.

We can’t, in many cases, until we’ve worked with you on-site. That’s why many programs require that. But once we have--or if the program doesn’t require it--the working relationship is quite effective. Of our client base, 80% are in the US, 15% are in Canada, and the remainder are scattered throughout Latin America and Europe. Nashville is just our base of operations, but hire us because you think we know what we're doing and not because we're close. In fact, if there’s a management consulting firm nearer to you that has the same experience in serving firms like yours, it would make more sense to hire them.

In all engagements, what follows the on-site portion is termed the “unlimited remote implementation” period, and it means just what it says. That includes phone calls and emails, usually initiated by you when there's something you want help with, but sometimes from us if we feel like you're avoiding us or may have lost some momentum.

Our approach is not like that of a coach, prodding you to make weekly progress. There are much better (and cheaper) sources for that, and we can refer you to coaches who specialize in this industry, even. But our work is more “issues-based.” If you are facing a particular hurdle, we'll create an engagement, assess the situation, give you our best solution, and then answer questions as you implement it. So to answer the question specifically, a month may pass before we touch base or we may communicate by email or phone several times in one week.

Obviously you (or your staff) could attend one of our seminars, roundtables, or conferences. Another option is to do a "checkup" on site again, typically priced at 60-70% of the full program. Yet another option is to just describe what you need and we'll craft a specific engagement, whether it's done on-site or remotely.

We won’t work hard to make this happen simply because that requires time that we could have been spending on clients (instead of prospecting). We'll spend as much time as you like answering questions by phone or email to give you a comfort level with how we’ll approach working for you. We’ll also supply dozens of references (once we know you are seriously interested). And of course there’s lots of valuable (and free) material on this website that will provide insight into how we think.

There are two things, really. The first is that we’ve developed some pretty unique processes that help us surface the issues and then solve them quickly and more reliably. These center around measuring your firm’s performance, crafting a positioning that gives you power in the marketplace, putting systems in place that move you from a deadline-driven firm to a profit-driven one, and structuring roles well for each individual (with some pretty fascinating scientific research underlying it). Besides those very specific things, we’ve been doing it for a long time with hundreds of clients. We're not a good fit for most firms, though, and it's always a good idea to explore working with Tim Williams, Ron Baker, Joe Grant, Rick Gould, Tony Mikes, Dave Wood, Henry Corona, Mike Carlton, Robb High, Stuart Sanders, Sheila Campbell, Brent Hodgins, Shel Perkins, Ilise Benun, Emily Cohen, Pam Bryan, RaShelle Westcott, and some other competitors who will soon remind me that I've left them off the list! Be thorough in looking for a consultant--some of these are very good indeed.

In some cases it would, particularly if there are no questions about what needs to be done. Where we’d strongly urge you to hire us first would be in areas like positioning and staffing, as decisions you make here are more difficult to reverse should that be necessary. Other areas are fine to work on first, like systems issues.

We are thought leaders in this field, and our energy is expended in ways that maintain that position. Stated otherwise, our main deliverable is insightful analysis and transforming advice. The focus is not on long reports, and in fact our recommendations are short and concise...and then expanded where that would be helpful. If any particular issue cannot be addressed in a few pages, your advisor isn't working hard enough to help you concentrate on the salient points, or s/he is hiding behind toner on chunks of trees.

Nope. It’s too much work. It guts the essence of the recommendations. It’s giving away our work. And if this is important, you may be too skeptical to benefit from a client relationship. We’d recommend that you read everything that interests you here to get a feel for how we think and work with clients.

All services are prepaid and there are no refunds.

David C. Baker does all the consulting. More about his background here.

Certainly! We can supply references for most services, and especially the Total Business Review (where most firms start). The only services we can't supply references for would be ones that are by definition confidential (valuations, ownership transfers, etc.). Under each service offering, you’ll see the specific answer to that question under the “Details” heading.

Our work is not a panacea. What clients appreciate the most, though, is an outside perspective on how they are really doing (without pulling any punches), or how to accomplish something without reinventing the wheel. They realize that change is still dependent on them, but they want to be pointed in the right direction based on what has been successful for other firms. We will never know as much about your firm as you do, but we will likely know more about your firm than any other consultant that works with you.