Harman Dean Practical UK consultancy, clear guidance

Harman Dean

Practical UK consultancy, clear guidance

Latest Articles

Who Actually Turns Up: Closing the Distance Between the Pitch Team and the Delivery Team
Consultancy & Advisory

Who Actually Turns Up: Closing the Distance Between the Pitch Team and the Delivery Team

The names in a consultancy proposal are often the reason a UK client signs — yet they are not always the people who do the work. This article sets out the questions to ask before signature, the substitution terms worth drafting, and a simple delivery log that records who contributed what once the engagement is under way.
The Assurance Memo: Stress-Testing a Consultant’s Recommendation Without Duplicating the Work
Consultancy & Advisory

The Assurance Memo: Stress-Testing a Consultant’s Recommendation Without Duplicating the Work

Independent reassurance does not require a parallel consultancy project. This guide explains how UK clients can commission a narrow assurance memo, what evidence the original adviser should expose, and how to challenge a recommendation in a way that strengthens rather than destabilises the work.
Before the Adviser Leaves: A Close-Out Discipline for UK Consultancy Projects
Consultancy & Advisory

Before the Adviser Leaves: A Close-Out Discipline for UK Consultancy Projects

UK clients often concentrate on the kick-off and the final report, yet the closing conversation is where a consultancy investment is either secured or slowly eroded. A deliberate close-out gives the client a clearer record of what has changed, what remains fragile and what internal capability now exists.
The Evidence of Place: Choosing a Setting for a Consultancy Diagnostic
Consultancy & Advisory

The Evidence of Place: Choosing a Setting for a Consultancy Diagnostic

A diagnostic can take place in a meeting room, on a factory floor, or through a screen share. Each setting changes what an adviser can see and what a client is tempted to present. This guide sets out how UK businesses can choose the format deliberately, set workable boundaries and avoid a polished but shallow picture.
Machine-Assisted Work, Human Accountability: Signing Off Consultancy Outputs Built With AI
Business Essentials

Machine-Assisted Work, Human Accountability: Signing Off Consultancy Outputs Built With AI

AI tools are now a routine part of how consultancy work is drafted, researched and modelled. For UK clients, the question is no longer whether they were used, but whether the output can be relied upon and who answers for it. These five questions belong in writing before any sign-off.
Dialling for Proof: How to Test a Consultant's Record by Telephone
Consultancy & Advisory

Dialling for Proof: How to Test a Consultant's Record by Telephone

Case studies are written to persuade; a reference call is there to inform. This guide sets out six questions UK clients should put to a consultant's past customers, how to read the answers they receive, and why a guarded reply is often more useful than a glowing one.
The Ten-Minute Proposal Test: What UK Clients Should Look For Before the Kick-Off
Business Essentials

The Ten-Minute Proposal Test: What UK Clients Should Look For Before the Kick-Off

A practical three-slide test can help UK business owners read a consultancy proposal with confidence in ten minutes. This guide explains what the problem, plan and proof should each answer, the warning signs of a proposal that hides behind jargon, and how to request a one-page summary without weakening the brief.
Paying to Hear It First: Why Early Warnings Deserve a Place in the Contract
Consultancy & Advisory

Paying to Hear It First: Why Early Warnings Deserve a Place in the Contract

The most useful consultancy relationships are not only about solutions; they are about hearing about risks, delays and weak assumptions while there is still time to act. This opinion piece argues that UK clients should contract for early warnings, not just deliverables, and offers a simple five-minute agenda item and escalation note to make bad news arrive first.
A Safer Handover: Ten Questions UK Clients Should Ask Before Sending Data to an Adviser
Business Essentials

A Safer Handover: Ten Questions UK Clients Should Ask Before Sending Data to an Adviser

Sensitive data should not be handed over on trust alone. This ten-point checklist helps UK clients test an adviser’s confidentiality, data protection and AI practices before a project begins.
Matching the Mandate: Telling a Consultant, a Non-Executive and a Mentor Apart
Consultancy & Advisory

Matching the Mandate: Telling a Consultant, a Non-Executive and a Mentor Apart

Outside help is not one product. This guide compares consultants, non-executive directors and mentors by purpose, rhythm, accountability, cost and deliverables, then sets out the questions UK owners should answer before approaching names.
The Case for Scoping Down: Why UK Small Businesses Often Get More From a Narrower Brief
Business Essentials

The Case for Scoping Down: Why UK Small Businesses Often Get More From a Narrower Brief

Broad consultancy briefs feel ambitious and usually deliver less. This opinion piece argues that reducing a wide ambition to one decision, one deliverable or one process change produces better work, clearer fees and a result you can actually measure.
Three Ways to Pay an Adviser: Comparing Consultancy Fee Structures for UK Businesses
Consultancy & Advisory

Three Ways to Pay an Adviser: Comparing Consultancy Fee Structures for UK Businesses

A proposal usually arrives as a single number, which makes two quotes almost impossible to compare. This guide sets out what fixed fees, day rates and retainers each purchase, where the commercial risk actually sits, and the questions worth asking before any signature.
Brief, Check, Hand Over: A Three-Meeting Rhythm for UK Consultancy Projects
Business Essentials

Brief, Check, Hand Over: A Three-Meeting Rhythm for UK Consultancy Projects

UK consultancy projects rarely fail because there are too few meetings. They fail because the right meetings have no clear decision. This practical plan sets out three meetings every engagement needs, who should attend, what must be decided and how to keep notes short enough to use.
Capability, Not Captivity: How UK Clients Can Judge Consultancy That Lasts
Consultancy & Advisory

Capability, Not Captivity: How UK Clients Can Judge Consultancy That Lasts

Good consultancy should leave a UK client stronger after the engagement, not more reliant on the adviser. This opinion-led guide sets out the questions to ask at kick-off and close-out, and the warning signs that a proposal is designed to keep knowledge locked inside the consultancy.
Before the Bells: A Calm Seven-Point Year-End Review for UK Business Owners
Business Essentials

Before the Bells: A Calm Seven-Point Year-End Review for UK Business Owners

The fourth quarter is when the checks that matter most are easiest to postpone. This practical review sets out seven areas — from contract renewals to 2027 planning assumptions — with a simple 'do this week' step for each, written for UK owners who would rather be calm than alarmed.
Buying Clarity: What a Genuinely Useful UK Adviser Looks Like in 2026
Consultancy & Advisory

Buying Clarity: What a Genuinely Useful UK Adviser Looks Like in 2026

Most consultancies claim to simplify complexity; far fewer actually do. This piece sets out how UK clients can test whether an adviser is selling clarity or merely charging for confusion, using scoping questions, plain-English proposals and fixed, measurable deliverables.