Harman Dean Practical UK consultancy, clear guidance

Harman Dean

Practical UK consultancy, clear guidance

Latest Articles

The Clockwork Update: Deciding Whether a Standing Consultancy Meeting Still Earns Its Place
Consultancy & Advisory

The Clockwork Update: Deciding Whether a Standing Consultancy Meeting Still Earns Its Place

Recurring consultancy updates often begin as a kick-off and end up as an institution nobody quite agreed to create. This guide sets out a practical quarterly audit of agenda, attendance, outputs and decision rights — and explains when the right answer is a written note, a fifteen-minute call, or a deliberate retirement.
Consultancy & Advisory

The Availability Ledger: Auditing an Adviser's Diary Against Your Decision Clock

A consultant's calendar is not back-office detail; it is part of the service. This guide explains how UK businesses can compare an adviser's availability with their own decision rhythm, agree sensible turnaround terms in writing, and review the fit without drifting into surveillance.
When the Brief Moves: Keeping Mid-Project Adjustments on the Record
Consultancy & Advisory

When the Brief Moves: Keeping Mid-Project Adjustments on the Record

A narrower brief is easier to protect before work begins. Once a project is underway, small requests can accumulate without anyone deciding whether they belong. This article sets out a proportionate written habit for capturing mid-project changes.
The Last Page First: Reviewing Exit Terms Before a UK Consultancy Engagement
Consultancy & Advisory

The Last Page First: Reviewing Exit Terms Before a UK Consultancy Engagement

A calm pre-commissioning review of how a UK consultancy engagement can end is often more useful than a close reading of the scope. Before signing, clients should understand notice periods, final fees, data return, handover duties and transition support, so that leaving is as orderly as beginning.
From Disclaimer to Decision: Reading the Small Print of a UK Consultancy Report
Consultancy & Advisory

From Disclaimer to Decision: Reading the Small Print of a UK Consultancy Report

Consultancy reports often place their most consequential warnings in assumptions, dependencies and limitations. This article sets out a practical way for UK clients to separate routine professional language from constraints that should shape the decision, then attach each material caveat to an owner, an action and a review point.
The Commercial Paper Trail: Reading Interim Consultancy Invoices as Project Evidence
Business Essentials

The Commercial Paper Trail: Reading Interim Consultancy Invoices as Project Evidence

Interim consultancy invoices are usually treated as payment requests and little more. Read closely, however, they are contemporaneous project documents that reveal how an engagement is actually being run. This guide sets out what UK clients should look for in the line items, the named people, the billing rhythm and the expenses before the final report ever lands.
Clear Speech, Clear Record: Judging Consultancy Language in UK Engagements
Consultancy & Advisory

Clear Speech, Clear Record: Judging Consultancy Language in UK Engagements

Consultancy is a trade in words before it is a trade in recommendations. This guide explains how UK clients can use plain-language checks to test whether an adviser’s thinking is clear, owned and usable — without mistaking technical precision for evasion.
The Undated Choice: A Kick-Off Decision Diary for UK Consultancy Engagements
Consultancy & Advisory

The Undated Choice: A Kick-Off Decision Diary for UK Consultancy Engagements

Most consultancy slippage begins with a choice that was never given a date. This guide sets out a practical decision calendar for UK clients: who owns each decision, what evidence is required, when it must be taken, and which board, holiday or reporting cycles could stand in the way.
The Failure Rehearsal: A Short Pre-Commissioning Discipline for UK Consultancy Projects
Consultancy & Advisory

The Failure Rehearsal: A Short Pre-Commissioning Discipline for UK Consultancy Projects

A brief failure rehearsal before the consultant is appointed can reveal the practical reasons a project may not land. This guide explains who to invite, how to facilitate the exercise without turning it into a blame session, and how to convert the findings into safeguards in the brief and contract.
The Standing Arrangement, Re-Examined: A Calm Annual Review for UK Consultancy Retainers
Consultancy & Advisory

The Standing Arrangement, Re-Examined: A Calm Annual Review for UK Consultancy Retainers

An annual review of a consultancy retainer should not feel like a confrontation or a fresh procurement exercise. This guide sets out a practical way for UK clients to gather evidence, separate continuity from habit, and decide whether to continue, reset or end the arrangement without losing the history already built.
The Week-Fit Review: Checking Whether Consultancy Advice Survives Ordinary Working Life
Consultancy & Advisory

The Week-Fit Review: Checking Whether Consultancy Advice Survives Ordinary Working Life

A recommendation can be logically sound and still fail once it meets the real working week. This guide sets out a practical week-fit review for UK clients, using the calendar as evidence before a final consultancy report is signed off.
The Borrowed Page: Testing Whether UK Consultancy Advice Was Built for You
Consultancy & Advisory

The Borrowed Page: Testing Whether UK Consultancy Advice Was Built for You

A polished consultancy deck can still recycle benchmarks, examples and conclusions from previous engagements. This article sets out practical checks UK clients can use to trace where the advice came from, test a single chart, and raise concerns before the final presentation.
Beyond the Bound Report: Taking Ownership of a Consultancy Project’s Working Assets
Consultancy & Advisory

Beyond the Bound Report: Taking Ownership of a Consultancy Project’s Working Assets

A final report is often the least reusable part of a consultancy engagement. This guide sets out how UK clients can specify, inspect and take custody of the working files that keep the advice operable after the adviser has gone.
The Internal Sponsor: Giving a UK Consultancy Project a Decisive Owner
Consultancy & Advisory

The Internal Sponsor: Giving a UK Consultancy Project a Decisive Owner

Consultancy projects rarely stall because the adviser lacks expertise; more often, no one inside the business has the authority to decide, unblock and sign off. This article sets out what a genuine internal sponsor does, how to distinguish a sponsor with teeth from a nominal one, and the questions UK clients should settle before kick-off.
Advice That Survives Monday: Turning a Consultancy Report into a Working Decision
Consultancy & Advisory

Advice That Survives Monday: Turning a Consultancy Report into a Working Decision

A consultancy report can be excellent and still fail the week after handover. This article sets out a pragmatic routine for UK clients who want advice to be used, not merely received, with a named sponsor, a one-page decision summary and a 30-day adoption check.
The Split Recommendation: How UK Clients Can Decide When Advisers Disagree
Consultancy & Advisory

The Split Recommendation: How UK Clients Can Decide When Advisers Disagree

When two credible advisers give conflicting recommendations, the instinct to average the advice or defer to the most senior voice is understandable but flawed. This guide sets out a disciplined process for separating fact from judgement, testing assumptions and recording a decision that UK clients can defend.
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.

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