Consulting That Matters ― A Handbook for Scholars and Practitioners

Each year, thousands of consulting contracts are awarded by organizations to experts who help them with challenges involving people, processes, technologies, goals, resource allocation, decision making, problem solving, and more. These experts – consultants – diagnose problems, recommend solutions, facilitate interventions, and evaluate outcomes that are often related to human communication. Some consultants are academicians skilled in both doing and interpreting research for clients; others are practitioners with little use for research and theory. Driving all of the ideas showcased in Consulting That Matters: A Handbook for Scholars and Practitioners is the premise that sound theory and research are critical to consulting success, and should be the blueprints for successful organizational transformation. Thus, this book is for all types of consultants, including the very best who are at the top of their games and those who believe theory and research belong in ivory towers, not business settings. Featuring a «who’s who» of preeminent communication scholars/consultants, each author shares frameworks, strategies, and examples from their own diverse experiences, all grounded in rich, substantive theory and research. The volume offers even the most skilled and experienced consultants a range of alternative approaches, paradigms, and competencies to build their credibility and make them more valuable to their clients in a dynamic, ever-evolving business climate.

Jennifer H. Waldeck (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara) is Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Strategic and Corporate Communication at Chapman University. She has published over 50 books, research articles, and chapters. Over the past 25 years, she has provided consulting services in the automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, education, financial services, and real estate sectors.

David R. Seibold (PhD, Michigan State University) is Professor and Vice Chair of Technology Management (College of Engineering), Professor of Communication by courtesy (Division of Social Sciences), and Director of the Graduate Program in Management Practice, at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Author of more than 140 books, articles and chapters, he has consulted widely for nearly 40 years with corporations, new ventures, health care systems, and nonprofit organizations.