Opening the Minds of Clients

A key role of the business adviser is to open the minds of owners and/or managers to the prospects of and means to desirable change in the management or development of their businesses.

To this end the adviser must quickly and efficiently gain clear and concise insight into the current position, the development potential and the means to its realization of the business and have the facility to enable the client to develop similar insight. Preferably this will be done in conversational as opposed to inquisitional mode.

The FORUM 21 MODEL conversationally driven diagnostic tool is designed for this purpose. Thousands of publicly and privately funded business advisers in every region in England and in Ireland have undertaken training in the use of the model. There has been near universal acclaim
for its capacity to fundamentally impact their ability to understand and add value to clients and to deliver on their organization's objectives. Often very experienced business people in their own right participating advisers have been drawn from Business Links, Chambers of Commerce, Local Authorities, Banks, Universities, FE Colleges, private consultancy and other support organizations.

Training programmes prepare participants for "very light". "light" and "heavy" use of the MODEL depending on the context and target outcome.

As well as enhancing the skills of individual advisers the MODEL provides a platform for consistency in diagnosis across advisory teams by providing a common and pertinent set of spectacles through which clients are viewed.