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Making the Transition

Mar 1, 2004

Evolve from traditional HR to a strategic internal consultant driving organizational impact.

Evolve from traditional HR to a strategic internal consultant driving organizational impact.

Evolving from Human Resources to Internal Consultant…

MAKING THE TRANSITION

Presented by: Howard M. Guttman Principal Guttman Development Strategies, Inc.

Guttman Development Strategies, Inc. © 2004

Executive/Management/Organization15 Lookout Drive, Ledgewood, NJ 07852Phone: 973-927-3026 • Fax: 973-927-5771 • www.guttmandev.com • hmguttman@guttmandev.com


Agenda
  • Introduction/Expectations

  • Getting in the Door

  • Defining Your Role

  • Tough Situations

  • Keys to Success: Mindset/Personal Dimension


Getting in the Door
  • Recognize Symptoms:

    • Turnover

    • Conflict/ER problems

    • Issues raised in training classes that are not skill-based

    • Influx of new players

  • Recognize Opportunities:

    • Organizational change (+ or -)

    • Merger/Acquisition

    • Downsizing/Audit

    • Leadership changes


Defining Your Goal

Low Ownership:

  • YOU own the outcome (rescuer)

  • You collude with the underground

  • You play it safe

  • You allow the client to set up the venue

High Ownership:

  • THEY own the outcome (facilitator)

  • You “call it”/Mirror

  • You take risks

  • You assertively and proactively contract


Tough Situations
  • Difficult to be a “prophet in your own land”

  • Game plan decided before you get there

  • Changing expectations midstream

  • Client not doing their part to support the effort

  • Lack of transparency about symptoms/agenda

  • Client unwilling to acknowledge their role

  • External consultants perceived as more valuable


Keys to Success

Mindset:

  • You can live without the organization (hard to get).

  • “Cosmopolitan” vs. “local” link.

  • The more difficult the game, the longer the process.

  • Lean toward the line.

  • Stay Teflon.

  • You “are” your work (integrity/no triangulation).

  • External consultants are part of our virtual team.

Personal Dimension:

  • “Impacting Assertive.”

  • Willingness to say “no” to contracts.

  • Maintain confidentiality.

  • Mirror first, don’t jump to solutions.

  • Be candid.

  • Display confidence.

  • Don’t collude with dysfunctionality.

    • If it’s not clean with a colleague, it’s not okay with you.

    • Hold clients and colleagues accountable to play straight.


Howard M. Guttman

Howard M. Guttman is the principal of Guttman Development Strategies, Inc., a Ledgewood, NJ-based management consulting firm specializing in executive development, management development, and organizational development.


Areas of Expertise:

  • Aligning senior management teams

  • Strategy and implementation of “horizontal” organizations (e.g., brand teams, matrix structures, global teams)

  • Executive development


GDS’s U.S. and international clients include:
  • Campbell Soup

  • Colgate-Palmolive

  • Johnson & Johnson

  • Masterfoods USA

  • Motorola

  • L’Oréal USA

  • Pfizer

  • Philip Morris

  • Sara Lee Corporation

  • The New York Times


Professional Experience:

  • Former Director of Human Resources at Johnson & Johnson

  • Former National Manager of Human Resources Development and General Manager of Headquarters Personnel at Johnson & Johnson

  • Senior Organizational Development Consultant at Automatic Data Processing (ADP)


Academic Credentials:

  • M.S. from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Applied Social Sciences

  • Former professor of organizational behavior and management consulting at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Management

  • Former adjunct professor of behavioral consulting at Fairleigh Dickinson University


Publications:

  • Author of When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization (AMACOM, 2003)

  • Contributor to professional journals, including Executive Excellence, Harvard Management Update, and The Journal of Business Strategy


Media Appearances:

  • Featured on MSNBC, New Jersey News 12, WMAQ Chicago, and Comcast Network’s “One on One”


Speaking Topics:

  • Executive Development

  • Consulting at the Board Level

  • Accelerating Organizational Development

  • Strategic Training Initiatives

  • High-Performance Team Development

  • Conflict Management as a Core Leadership Competency


Contact Information

Guttman Development Strategies, Inc.15 Lookout Drive, Ledgewood, NJ 07852Phone: 973-927-3026 • Fax: 973-927-5771 • www.guttmandev.com • hmguttman@guttmandev.com

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