Book excerpt: Are you an internal consultant—a staff member who serves in a consultative role within your organization? Then you need this hands-on guidebook to help you better understand your role and improve your performance. Whether you're a change agent, trusted advisor, or someone who serves in varying capacities, it's important to design your job, develop a formal agreement, and build your practice. Consulting on the Inside provides a solid background for internal consultants and serves as a roadmap for cultivating a successful career. You'll learn how to: maintain an outsider's objectivity while applying an insider's knowledge of the organization build relationships but be up-front about challenges and issues design your role to fit the client's needs and the organizational situation handle roadblocks and deal effectively with difficult clients market your consulting services within the client organization. You'll find a thorough examination of the eight phases of the consulting process, a comprehensive analysis of the differences between internal and external consultants, and success stories demonstrating the personal qualities you need to build trust and relationships. Consulting on the Insidealso provides a complete toolbox for getting the job done, including tips and techniques, checklists, forms, a sample hiring agreement, and ready-to-use agendas...