-The publication of this book coincides with a increasing recognition that the challenges facing society and organisations are not amenable to 'quick fixes'. The approaches to consultancy which underpin the cases presented here are particularly relevant in this new context. The contributors are graduates of AOC and their associates; and the work they describe here is a testament to the quality of that programme and the learning that participants get from it.

One thread which runs through the book is consultancy as learning: learning for both the client and the consultant. The...

Consultants and practitioners working with change can feel at a loss as to how to help their clients move forward. Organizations get stuck in routine ways even when they have innovations in mind. Consultants get stuck in familiar interventions which no longer prove stimulating or effective. Such challenges to practice can preoccupy and reinforce these stuck positions.

Drawing on the authors' experiences of working with the professional development of consultants and change-agents over many years, this book provides an asset-based approach to consulting, where the resources to work...