How early is early?

A recent report by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) into effective procurement for major projects had at its heart a ‘talk first, act later’ proposition. In short it encouraged procurement to engage with suppliers early on in the life of a project for the purposes of ‘developing a stronger understanding of the art of the possible and preparing better to manage uncertainty’. Sound advice, no doubt, but just how early is early?

In OGC’s case, it assumes that a decision has already been taken that a project is required, and that an external supplier is necessary to help it carry out that project. Talking to suppliers at that point, the report implies, will help government to play the role of intelligent client more effectively – by learning from suppliers before formal competition for the work even begins. But, while this may well be as early as OGC is prepared to go, what if early could start, well, earlier?

In 2007, research by Source examined in some detail the origins of consulting projects. It concluded that most projects start with the recognition of either a problem that needs fixing or an opportunity that needs seizing. It goes on to say that, this having been realised, organisations tend to do one of a few things in order to increase the knowledge they have about the particular problem or opportunity. Top of that list was talking to colleagues, followed by internet-based research, reading newspapers and business journals, studying and attending conferences. At the bottom was talking to consultants.

Whilst this is probably not that surprising – inviting consultants in to discuss your problem might sound like the first step to an expensive solution – it may just miss an opportunity. It appears, from the Source research that a large number of projects get dropped for relatively passive reasons (loss of momentum, lack of resource etc) rather than because a detailed cost benefit analysis concludes they should be dropped. Which means that problems remain unfixed and opportunities remain unexploited. Strange then, that the people who often know best what the costs and benefits are – management consultants – are the last people to be talked to and are usually only asked for their opinion once a decision has been taken to go ahead with the project.

What about making them amongst the first? So they’ll see it as an opportunity for a sales pitch. And they’re unlikely to conclude that you shouldn’t undertake the project. So what? You can talk to their competitors. You might even be able to talk to their clients. Shift your focus from when to how you engage consultants; perfect the art of getting the information you need from the sales pitch, and it can hardly be too early.

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