What's the first thing a detective (amatuer or otherwise) does at a crime scene?
The same thing that performance consulants do -- gather information.
Remember the mantra for crossing the street when we were six? Stop, look, listen. It still works well. When we find ourselves starting a performance consultation, that old mantra still works. After all, our clients want to tell us something. In order to hear them: stop your story about the match of their needs to our skills; look at the environment, the people, the tools, the work, the interactions of people we meet as well as those you see peripherally; listen on many level to gather factual data, feelings, and undercurrents about things not said.
Do detectives do this? You betcha'. This is why they block off crime scenes and separate the witnesses. Because the scene is so fraught with emotion and detail, they can't take it all in at once so they need to slow down the timeframe. Stop the action. Look at the environment and the known interactions. Listen to each person.
So what does an organizational detective next? Exactly, what police detectives do.
Until next time. Stop, look and listen
