Consulting Stance is not only the name of our company, but also the basis for all of our leadership and communication skills training. Based on skills traditionally associated with consultants and communicated as a martial arts metaphor, the premise of Consulting Stance is that a professional who masters critical foundational skills, such as asking good questions, listening and doing the easy stuff perfectly, is prepared for any situation that may present itself.

Much like a martial artist who must learn formidable stances, blocks, punches and kicks in order to effectively defend him or herself, the Consulting Stance allows any individual to be strong and confident, yet flexible in responding to challenges and opportunities.

We are Christine Lambden and Casey Conner. We developed the philosophy, wrote the book and are the principal providers of consulting services to professional services and IT organizations who wish to adopt the Consulting Stance.

This is not a case of “if you can’t do, teach”. Between us, we have over thirty years of experience as consultants and as managers of teams of consultants. During most of that time, we were also working as consultants, living in hotels and logging thousands of airline miles.

Consulting Stance is based in Austin, Texas, but we serve independent consultants, consulting organizations and client corporations all over the world. 
 

Contact Us:

Phone: (512) 380-1801

Casey Conner 
cconner(at)consultingstance.com

Christine Lambden  
christine(at)consultingstance.com

Consulting Stance
P.O. Box 270205
Austin, TX 78727

 

 After seven years on the road, which included seven different employers and involvement in more than twenty implementations, she came back to Austin to rest. Here, she discovered a talent for coaching and mentoring consultants that proved valuable as a consulting manager, agency owner and, finally, author and speaker.

 As a consultant, this is how Christine was described in proposal documents:

Christine has over ten years of experience in delivering solid project management results, with a total of nineteen years in consulting. Her recent activities include PMO development and Program Management in IT projects including IT Transformation, strategic design, system implementations, and business process improvement. She has a strong leadership and management background in a variety of business environments, coupled with excellent analysis, planning and communication skills. Her emphasis has been on achieving process and procedure efficiencies, establishing best practices and performance metrics for accountability and discipline, and meeting customer needs with effective communication and transparent project management.

 Initially, he embarked on a career in consulting with Arthur Andersen Business Consulting in Houston, TX. After 4 1/2 successful years and many great experiences, Casey left for the greener pastures of the dot-com revolution happening in Austin, TX as an internal consultant for a fast-growing software company.

 After managing out a group of leechy consultants, rolling out a new financial system to 14 countries in 8 months, surviving over 9 rounds of layoffs, and learning innumerable valuable life lessons, Casey moved on to a 30+ year old company as Director of IT, then returned to the software company to tackle several challenging projects that had failed in the past. After successfully completing those, he did a stint with a 65-person consulting organization as the Vice President of Consulting.

Eventually, Casey found his way home to a job as an independent consultant, consulting skills trainer / coach, entrepreneur and writer. Casey has seen the consulting industry from every angle: "Big Consulting" staff and management, hiring large consulting teams and independent contractors, managing a mid-sized consulting firm, founding and growing a small consulting firm, acting as independent consultant and, of course, teaching consulting skills.

As a consultant, this is how Casey was described in proposal documents:

Casey’s experience combines more than eight years of experience in IT management with fourteen years of consulting in IT environments. His special field of expertise is strategic planning for information technology organizations, and his practical experience ensures that his plans are clear, cohesive and within the capabilities of his clients' organizations. Some of his activities have revolved around centralization and standardization of systems, processes and policies to achieve higher return on investment and reduce operating costs. His emphasis has been on establishing collaborative project oversight and governance teams that include representation from across the organization. His business perspective and technical abilities provide the expertise needed to establish and enforce project performance standards and controls.

The Evolution of our Company Purpose and Direction

Our history is short, but eventful.

When we started Consulting Stance in the fall of 2008, our purpose was simple.  We had written a book about basic consulting skills that had received a lot of publicity and our readers (consultants and consulting managers) then asked for classes that would build on that foundation.  Our purpose was to give them what they wanted.  We did what consultants do: we listened to the customers' requirements and created a solution that fulfilled those requirements.

And the customers did what customers do: they changed the requirements before we even finished building Version 1.  Circumstances changed.  The economic environment changed.  Our customer changed.

In the first two quarters of 2009, consulting firms saw a drop in their client activity and were forced to reduce headcount.  In some cases, we were surprised to see that it was the more experienced consultants who were laid-off, while new consultants kept their jobs.  There are often good reasons for this, but the immediate result was a seismic shift in our market.  The practice manager who couldn't possibly mentor 40 consultants could easily manage ten.  The consulting firms didn't need us anymore and they weren't willing to spend money on training anyway.  (We're delighted to see that this trend is reversing and even boutique firms are investing in skills development again.)

The experienced consultants started asking themselves if they wouldn't be better off working independently.  If they worked directly for the client, they would make more money and could actually charge lower rates.  They know how to do the work, but they don't know how to turn themselves into a business.

During the same period, an enormous number of highly-skilled, highly-experienced professionals lost their jobs and began to consider independent consulting as an alternative.  These folks know how to do their work and there is work for them to do.  They do not need re-training in the traditional sense of the word.  They just need to know how to turn themselves into a business.

Because of our experience in this area, we found ourselves teaching much more than consulting skills.  We would hold a public workshop to teach  advanced consulting skills and each Q&A session would be filled with questions about how to structure a business, find clients, write proposals, set rates...the list was endless.  Our one-day class in building relationships and getting stuff done quickly evolved into a three-day class in starting, building and running an independent consultancy.  The words "If you build it, they will come," have never felt more true.

We watched as the individuals in our classes formed tiny support groups to help each other through the material, and some of those groups continued to meet informally in the weeks and months following the class.  They share experiences, draw on each other's expertise to solve problems, and avoid the isolation that often accompanies self-employment.  A community was evolving.

Consultants often think of themselves like gunslingers in the Old West.  They show up, do their jobs, solve the problem, and then ride off into the sunset alone.  The problem is that not everyone is suited to that kind of solitary life, and today's gunslingers and consultants have to issue invoices, pay taxes, compete with other gunslingers for the next gig, and keep their skills updated in their spare time. 

And so our purpose has evolved yet again.  We continue to serve our client base of consulting organizations with skills development training and have even added to our offering as new topics are identified and new skills are required.  But we want to serve the gunslinger, too.  We are building an online community to support the offline communities that continue to form all over the world.  For some, Consulting Stance will continue to be the people who taught the class that gave them the initial jumpstart they needed, and nothing more.  For others, it will be their online resource for solutions and ideas, tools and templates, fellowship with other independent consultants, and continuing education.

At the same time, we have expanded the definition of consultant to include those employees inside our client corporations who serve an internal customer, providing advice and services that require the same skills an external consultant needs.  The business landscape has changed a bit, but the skills required for success are the same: accomplish your objectives, build influential relationships and establish your authority with your customer. 

Our purpose is still to equip consultants.  Who, what, where, when and how have changed and may continue to change because we are consultants and our job is to understand the requirements and craft solutions that fulfill those requirements.

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Disclaimer

All advice and assistance provided by Consulting Stance, whether in training classes, downloadable white papers, blog posts, or books, is given with the understanding that you, the consultant, must use your own judgment in deciding whether and how to apply it in your own practice.  We cannot guarantee the value of our advice and we accept no liability for results.  (We also decline credit for your success.)

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