OPINION: There is no need for mystery in the consulting industry.
FACT: Annual revenue from management consulting in the U.S. was over $58B in 2018.
If you are ready to invest in your organization through an Action Learning Associates, LLC workshop, then you are probably wondering about the costs. You may also be wondering how much you should invest in your team. Use these fee ranges. Your investment costs are direct (e.g., training, travel, facilities, food) and indirect (e.g, lost work opportunities, low engagement or undesired turnover from uninvited associates). Your benefits are direct (e.g., consistent delivery of key content, accelerated launch speed, increased engagement) and indirect (e.g., model professional development, cascade initiatives to all associates, digital distribution.) Do your cost:benefit analysis. Use these investment ranges. Then contact us.
Question: How much should you invest in your team?
Answer: You should only invest invest enough to guarantee that your outcomes are exceeded. Not a dollar more.
Use these Organizational Consulting Activities and Fee Ranges as a guideline.
1. Consulting Day Onsite. Fee Range $5,000-$10,000. The primary reason to invest in external consulting is to accelerate desired changes in performance or behavior. The services may include (1) assessments, (2) coaching or consulting, or (3) skills training. Those services may be for individuals, groups (defined as 2+ people), or organizations. Be wary of consultants who bill by the hour, because that practice is transactional and inherently unethical. Be wary of consultants who offer an “in-town reduction,” or who charge additional fees for materials or excessive travel. Only select external consultants who provide tremendous value, clear contracts, expected outcomes, and then exceed any promises. We typically provide you with 3-4 choices. For details click here.
2. Consulting Day Offsite (e.g., research, data analysis, assessment development). Fee Range $1,000-$5,000. The primary reason to invest in such consulting days is to enable an expert to customize evidence-based content for your organization. Be wary of consultants who charge an excessive fee for research on your project. Those consultants may not be subject matter experts- they may be billing you for their self-study. That practice is both expensive and unethical. However, it is fair and reasonable for any consultant to provide a summary of value provided for any offsite consulting work such as customization, research, or data analysis. We always include those expenses in our value-based contracts for services. Click here for details.
3. Keynote or other brief speech. Fee Range $5,000- $15,000. The primary reason to invest in a motivational speaker is to introduce a new topic or to accelerate learning. For instance, when we speak on “How to Accelerate a Culture of Fiscal Accountability Using the OKR Process” or “How to Apply Positive Psychology to Your Organization” the material is customized for your specific learning outcome. Only select speakers who can provide video evidence of their relevant expertise. The real benefit of investing in our keynote speaking is to integrate customized learning content into your performance or behavior outcomes. For details on our speaking expertise click here.
4. Half-day workshop. Fee Range $4,000- $7,500. Adult learners require meaningful experiential events. Anything else is a waste of time, money and energy. There may be a compelling business reason to provide content in a half-day workshop, rather than a full-day workshop. In all of our workshops we provide workshops we integrate virtual or digital training into the process, with pre-event assessments, a digital playbook, and post-event impact boosters. Those are evidence-based aspects of our Action Learning process. Therefore, we provide them at no additional cost for a workshop of any length. Be wary of the assumption that a consultant can “condense a full-day of content into a half-day.” That assumption is absurd. Half-day workshops have different business outcomes than full-day workshops. For details on each workshop design, contact us here.
5. Full-day workshop. Fee Range $5,000- $15,000. Only select proven management consultants who provide tremendous value. Adult learners demand meaningful experiential events. Anything else is a waste of time, money and energy. Leadership development must be customized if you want measurable impact. We have delivered workshops on “Coaching New Managers, Why Managers Fail, Emotional Intelligence, Communication, Executive Presence, Managing Using the OKR Process, How to Create a Positive Organizational Culture, Leadership Development, and Family Succession Planning.” Be wary of any leadership program that is “off the shelf.” There is little evidence to support their value. Consider these facts: Your operational investment into your full-day workshop is multi-fold. The direct costs of the facility ($5,000) plus the direct costs of 20 people away from their desks ($20,000+) plus the real business lost from that day ($20,000+) mean that your investment in that full day workshop for 20 people actually exceeds $45,000. We strongly recommend that you invest in our expert leadership consultants to accelerate a complete process of pre-event assessment, customized delivery, and post-event impact boosters tied to your business outcomes. We have delivered hundreds of these programs. For details contact us today.
6. Executive Retreat Programs, per day. Fee Range $10,000-$70,000. Executive leaders have unique demands on time and energy. They require condensed leadership development training through remarkable experiences. We have facilitated executive retreats with private chefs in the mountains and with professional actors in the city. The reason to invest in an executive retreat program is to accelerate new learning in short, remarkable periods of time. The goal is strategic transformation or breakthrough. The Action Learning model fosters breakthrough experiences. Customization for your executive team is mandatory. That process requires partnership with external trusted consultants because internal training departments lack the required objectivity. We have delivered dozens of Executive Retreat programs throughout the U.S. That’s why you should call us today. For details contact us.
7. Systems Implementation (e.g. talent assessment, organizational culture change, succession planning initiative). Fee Range $10,000- $50,000. Organizational leadership is defined broadly as a series of interventions toward desired business outcomes. That process requires ongoing active leadership from external consultants. We provide the objective assessments and recommendations that you require. Be wary of any consultants who depend on online talent assessments for lower level employees, or those who sell boilerplate programs. Perhaps you know that 60-70% of planned change initiatives fail to be adopted. We do not want you to waste any time or money. Your success requires executive sponsorship, valid assessments (often at individual, team and organizational levels), proven process steps with measures for accountability, and specific expertise. We are experts at implementing organizational change. We typically provide 3-4 choices, milestones and a set of solutions. For details contact us.
8. Family Business Succession Planning. Fee range $15,000- 85,000. We have demonstrated expertise that family business leaders require. The objective of succession planning is to expedite the process of transitioning the management and ownership of your business to the next generation of business owners. Your key results (KRs) may include: KR1: assess the strengths, weaknesses, hidden talents and blind spots of all nuclear family members using a series of 1:1 confidential interviews and validated assessments (e.g., the DISC, PIAV, EI assessments.) Distribute those team results to the nuclear family members. KR2: Create a customized succession planning manual within the next 6 months. That reference manual can be useful for decades ahead. KR3: Develop family rules for decision-making, key roles, schedules, milestones, timelines, managing conflict, evaluation, note taking and direct communication within the next 3 months. KR4: Design and facilitate a series of family business meetings— up to 14 meetings in the next 12 months, if needed. KR5: Design and facilitate a Family Council Meeting at some point within the next 12 months. Family business leaders have unique demands that require external consultants like Action Learning Associates, LLC to facilitate critical behavioral and performance changes. For details and confidential examples contact us.
9. Employee or Customer Surveys. Fee Range $15,000- $100,000+. Caution: the ability to create an online survey does not make one expert in the use of surveys. The primary reason to invest in any survey is to assess a population and make informed recommendations toward some desired business outcome. Valid data requires external consultants with a reliable process. Internal “consultants” or departments may be self-serving, because they are required to justify their importance. Consequently, their survey findings may not be valid. External service providers like Action Learning Associates, LLC are absolutely essential for an objective assessment of your organizational performance. The scope of your investment in these external surveys must vary with the scope of your business needs. Assessments are (1) quantitative, (2) qualitative, or (3) mixed. We strongly recommend that you hire an external consultant for surveys. We have demonstrated expertise with customers in all business sectors. Contact us for examples or details.
10. Strategy Formulation. Fee Range $50,000- $150,000. One definition of strategy is a 3-year horizon line of behavior that reinforces the organizational culture. The process of strategy formulation requires expert facilitators who can assess purpose, mission, values and culture. External consultants with unrelated expertise often provide the best value to your organization. For instance, we have worked with attorneys and accountants for 20+ years. Recently we were hired to work with a mid-sized company of IT providers who required a new way of thinking about strategy. Then we were hired to help leaders at a top-tier university determine their next strategy. Each client was delighted with their new strategy. Be wary of any consultant who says, “I have no bias.” We all have biases, and expertise, that affect any investment in strategy formulation. Our bias is based on evidence-based research in positive psychology that assumes that groups can flourish. Our strategy formulation services are always provided in measurable outcomes with milestones, so that all parties are delighted. For details contact us.
11. Organizational or Group Assessment. Fee Range $20,000- $200,000. External consultants like Action Learning Associates, LLC are the ONLY people capable of providing objective data about your organization. Internal consultants have an inherent bias that limits their effectiveness. We partner with your internal leaders to provide the data you need to make informed decisions, reduce cost, or mitigate risk. For 30+ years we have provided expert organizational and group assessments. Assessments are (1) quantitative, (2) qualitative, or (3) mixed. We know that the best talent assessment methodology includes a multi-rater (2+ consultants) multi-method (quantitative and qualitative) design, because the result has high predictive validity and reliability. However, your team may only need a quantitative assessment. Our theoretical model focuses on positive psychology, therefore we make recommendations based on your individual and organizational capacity to flourish. Then we help you implement those recommendations. Those details are here.
What are you waiting for?
Now is the time to reach out to Action Learning Associates, LLC and take advantage of our business coaching services. We can help you decide which service is best for your organization. Contact us today.
Call us at (615) 236-9845 or schedule your initial consultation here.