In a recent email, consultant Alan Weiss wrote, “One of the primary flaws of unsuccessful consultants is that they accept client wants as the real need.” Weiss points out that merely giving the client what they want does not offer much value to the client. Instead, suggests Weiss, we need to probe deeper to find the underlying need that prompted that want.
Confusing want and need is a fairly common problem with clients. I’ve lost track of the number of times I have been asked to write a plan or facilitate an exercise only to find that my client lacks the underlying program to support these activities. I was once told during a debrief for a project for which I was not selected that my proposal looked like I expected the client to do some work because I had proposed several planning workshops. I remember one exercise whose objective was to test a new emergency plan where the plan had never been distributed to the participants. Then there was the evacuation plan I was asked to review that had been written by a single individual and never coordinated with any of the agencies tasked to support the plan. In each case, what the client wanted (a plan, an exercise, an annex) was not what they needed.
Unfortunately, some emergency managers let themselves be driven by factors such as grant requirements or federal guidance rather than taking the time to determine what they really need. They fail to understand that grants and guidance are not drivers of your program but rather opportunities to enhance it. Here are some ways you can do this:
- Use standards, particularly the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) Standard. Standards provide a baseline against which you can measure your program. While EMAP will not evaluate your operational capabilities, it can strengthen the underlying administrative base on which your program depends.
- Develop strategies, not plans. Too many plans merely regurgitate federal guidance without considering how that guidance must be modified to meet local conditions. One size does not fit all when it comes to emergency planning. One of the things I do in reviewing a plan is to analyze all the tasks assigned to various agencies; I almost invariably find that there are not enough personnel resources available to support the plan. Develop an effective strategy first, then build your plan around it.
- Develop a strategic plan. The strategic plan is a road map that helps achieve your goals over time. With this roadmap, you can decide how best to use grant funding and incorporate new guidance and best practices.
- Use exercises as planning tools. Each type of exercise has its place in improving your capabilities. However, they are frequently considered "final exams" given at the end of a planning cycle. But they can also As a consultant, I have found that discussion-based exercises can be highly effective planning tools by fostering open discussion based on strategy.
Understanding the difference between want and need is critical if you want to maximize limited resources. If you’re not clear about what you need to achieve, you’re spinning your wheels and likely wasting your money.
