Transcript of Bloomberg Radio Interview

Peter Schacknow with Peter Bregman and Howie Jacobson

Aired March 25 and 27, 2001.

Peter Schacknow: Sometimes all a business needs to improve is some tinkering under the hood. That's the philosophy of New York-based consulting firm Bregman Partners, which specializes in solving problems that don't necessarily involve sales or market share goals. Chief Executive Officer Peter Bregman says most companies he consults know where they want to go, but not necessarily how to get there.

Peter Bregman: Most organizations are pretty good at designing or developing a strategy, and then when it gets to actually driving that strategy through the rest of the organization, they rely on memos or training programs and that's it. And we help them actually really bring the strategy down to a level throughout the organization so that everybody independently is acting on making it happen.

Peter Schacknow: Howie Jacobson, who carries the eclectic title of Director of Voice, says the firm typically winds up being called in not as goals are set, but as progress stalls.

Howie Jacobson: I think we get there at the end of the first conversation. I think we're typically called in because there's something going on and people don't quite know what to do about it. And I think that one of the main things a consultant can do is to look at the problem from a higher level. Because if they could have solved the problem at the level they're looking at it, they would have already. So the problem may be something like, people aren't talking to each other, or there's no teamwork, or we're duplicating effort. It's not really about a goal.

Peter Schacknow: A consulting business can't be successful without clients, but Peter Bregman of Bregman Partners says his biggest competition is not other consulting firms.

Peter Bregman: Our biggest competitor is actually doing nothing. Our biggest competitor is saying, "We told everybody what the strategy is, now it's their responsibility to make it happen." And often times we're called in what that's failed. When they've tried to just say, "This is our strategy," they haven't thought about bringing us in, and then the strategy isn't being implemented throughout the organization. And then they'll call us in and say "Help." And that's at the point at which we'll ask, "Well, in what way have you engaged your employees in the process of designing their own tactics to make the strategy happen?" I would say that the most ignored step is asking employees what they can do to help move the organization forward. That's the number one thing that most organizations skip.

Peter Schacknow: One of the best strategies a company can employ, says Bregman, is to ask employees what they think is the best way to progress toward goals. The common mistake, he adds, is to implement a potential solution without asking employees for input first. For example, if employee workspaces are not set up for optimal performance, redesigning those spaces and executing that redesign will cause resentment if it's just foisted upon workers, and is more likely to cause problems than improvements.

Peter Bregman is CEO and Howie Jacobson is Director of Voice for Bregman Partners, a change consulting firm based in New York and California. Contact Information:Tel 917.747.4975