Most of us have been in meetings where the attendees reached a consensus, even though some secretly thought the decision was a bad idea. These are the people who nod yes when asked if they agree, but their brains are screaming no, no, no.

Some people are just afraid to buck the group with a dissenting view. But it’s just as common that the meeting environment itself causes people to keep their mouths shut. And that can lead to flawed decisions that require substantial effort to unravel later.

You can use three tactics to transform any meeting into an effective forum for making sound decisions.

First, invite criticism. In most meetings, people tolerate a vocal naysayer–at least for a while. Eventually, though, a lone critic is branded as an impediment, and gets marginalized by the group.

Avoid this trap by including people in the meeting with diverse points of view, interests, and roles in the organization. Ask relevant experts to attend parts of the meeting to offer their perspectives. Let people know that it’s not only OK to have some confrontation as the group evaluates a decision, but that you expect it. And make sure the group addresses any reasonable objections.

Next, create an environment that encourages all attendees to speak their minds. Some meeting facilitators make a point of asking each participant to offer views on a question. You might want to ask first for opinions from the least senior members of the group; that can counter any bias that higher-ups introduce if they speak first.

Finally, make the actual decision in a smaller group setting. After you’ve gathered the facts and ideas, select some people from the group who’ve worked well together and made good decisions in the past. Choose individuals with the right expertise to decide on the question at hand; they should also be able to depersonalize the debate and unite behind a decision once the group chooses its path.

Lots of people believe that they attend too many time-wasting meetings. That belief is part of the reason that so many meetings fall short of their objectives. With a few adjustments, you can bypass the mind-numbing groupthink exercises and make your meetings both dynamic and productive.

My colleagues at SourceforConsulting.com spend a lot of time sifting through the “thought leadership” work that consultants send into the market. I empathize with one of their contributors, Zoe Stumpf, who wrote, “I’ve recently spent some time looking at the thought leadership produced by a selection of global consulting firms and, to be quite frank, I now need a bit of a lie down.”

Why? Because too much of the so-called thought leadership in the market is an uninspiring mix of old ideas and unsupported claims. That’s unfortunate, especially given that Source for Consulting research shows that thought leadership plays an important role in clients’ hiring decisions.

In the context of a selection decision, clients will most likely check out a firm’s thought leadership–that is, if the work has relevance to their business and industry. Source for Consulting found that 62 percent of thought leadership fails that important test and doesn’t focus on a particular sector. Of the remaining 38 percent of thought leadership material:

• 82 percent isn’t eye-catching or topical enough to attract a client’s attention
• 74 percent doesn’t say something sufficiently new or different to make a lasting impression
• 85 percent is not based on enough hard data to convince a client to take it seriously
• 99 percent doesn’t create an effective link to the firm’s consulting services.

The message: If you’re engaging in a thought leadership strategy, ask at least these three questions before you publish:

Does the piece say anything new or different? Or does it offer a new insight on an old idea? If you’re just offering me-too ideas, you’re wasting your time.

Do you have proof for your conclusions? If you make specific recommendations for changing the direction or methods of a business, you need evidence to support your ideas.

Is there a connection between your thought leadership and your service offerings? If your clients can’t see how your ideas tie to your capabilities, you’re squandering the marketing opportunity that thought leadership offers.

In the last month or so, the largest 25 consulting firms in the world published almost 500 new books and articles. And their websites contain more than 16,000 pieces of thought leadership. You can save yourself from drowning in that sea of words, but you must focus on client needs, be rigorous in your analysis, and make the connection between your ideas and your work.

“One of my grand theories is that, fundamentally, there’s only one source of innovation, and that’s pissed off people.” – Tom Peters

For this month’s issue of Management Consulting News, I talked to Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence (and more than a dozen other bestsellers), and one of the business world’s leading provocateurs. In his latest book, The Little BIG Things, Peters sums up 163 of his best lessons on pursuing excellence.

Read my interview with Tom Peters

When it comes to adopting new trends and technologies, it’s not unusual for consulting firms to lag behind everyone else. And the rise of social media platforms for marketing is no exception.

After clients paved the way with their own programs, consultants now seem ready to get on board. That’s according to a study of 74 consulting firms conducted by Bloom Group, BlissPR, and the Association for Management Consulting Firms.

“The study shows that consulting firms are beginning to use social media to rethink the very marketing practice they pioneered years ago–what increasingly is referred to as thought leadership marketing,” said Bob Buday, president of Bloom Group.

Two of the study’s findings caught my attention. First, according to the study, consulting firms are expanding their budgets for social media to an estimated 18 percent of marketing expenses. This run up is happening even though “…a majority of consulting firms are still unsure about how to best market their ideas,” said Meg Wildrick, managing director at BlissPR.

Second, the emergence of social media could transform how consulting firms market their businesses. Five years from now, social media programs are projected to account for about a third of consultants’ marketing budgets. That’s about the same amount as firms currently spend for offline and “traditional” online thought leadership marketing initiatives.

If you’ve hesitated to add elements of social media to your marketing mix, this study should be your wake-up call: Thought Leadership Rewired: How Consulting Firms are Using Social Media to Market Their Ideas.

For the July 2010 issue of Management Consulting News, I interviewed Dave Ulrich, who is a business professor at the University of Michigan, a partner at RBL Group, and the author of twenty-three books. In his new book, The Why of Work, Ulrich argues that to achieve extraordinary results, leaders must pay as much attention to creating meaning for employees as they do to making money.

Read my interview with Dave Ulrich.

These days, presenting, meeting, and working in the virtual world are expected. But connecting with an online audience has its challenges. I asked webinar expert, Roger Courville, for a few tips on how to approach and succeed in this new presentation environment.

McLaughlin: What’s the most common misconception about presenting in a virtual manner, as opposed to in person?

Courville: Misconception number one is that you don’t need to adapt your presentation approach to a new medium. Studying communications teaches that the medium of communication changes the way messages are sent and received.

This is obvious when you think about telling a story in a book versus a movie; the discipline of telling the same story is different for each medium. It’s less obvious when you think about making a presentation in a web session because you’re speaking and using PowerPoint.

McLaughlin: Is that because you can’t see your audience?

Courville: Exactly. But that is thinking about, “What I lose” instead of, “What are the tradeoffs.” If you focus only on the fact that you lose body language or other aspects of in-person communications, presenting virtually will forever be a “poor alternative” instead of an “option with new opportunities.”

Presenting virtually gains you the huge benefit of extending your reach with audio-visual communications, and it adds the flexibility and power of influence that only comes with a live connection between presenters and audiences.

McLaughlin: Is there a good technique for improving audience engagement and getting feedback on how the audience is receiving your message?

Courville: Web seminar solutions have all kinds of tools built in, including polls, attention meters, and so on. I coach people to start in one place: If you do nothing else, get familiar with the Q&A or chat capability AND (and this is a big and), figure out how to monitor it in real time.

McLaughlin: You mean instead of waiting until the end of the presentation for questions?

Courville: Yes. The goal is to figure out how to connect as naturally with people online as off. With an in-person event, we do this by responding when we see a hand go up, right? If you can’t see a “hand up,” you can’t respond and your audience engagement level goes down. It’s like becoming a pilot…you have to learn to fly by sight and by your instruments.

McLaughlin: If you could give just one piece of advice about becoming an effective virtual presenter, what would it be?

Courville: Plan how you’re going to interact and rehearse it. Use a poll, stop for questions in the middle of your presentation, use a moderator, plan a spontaneous question, and even plant one if it helps.

And give yourself a grace period. Remember a time when you hopped into an unfamiliar car, went to turn on the lights and the windshield wipers start flapping? Presenting online isn’t hard; it’s just different. Never wing it…that’s a recipe for sub-par performance online or off.

Roger Courville is the author of The Virtual Presenter’s Handbook. He is also co-founder and principal of 1080 Group, LLC, a consulting firm that helps clients to design and optimize web seminar programs. You can reach him at roger@1080group.com.

Ask any consultant about the importance of client relationships to the success of a practice and you’ll hear a predictable response: they are essential. Many firms take a systematic approach to relationship building and have embraced account-based marketing for selected clients.

Account-based marketing (ABM), which is loosely defined as allocating time, people, and money to specified clients for a more consistent stream of business from them, works for firms that know what they’re doing.

Consultants at Altera Group looked closely at the use of ABM across a range of service firms and reported that:

• 97 percent said ABM had either a somewhat higher or much higher ROI than other marketing initiatives.

• 84 percent said ABM provided significant benefits in retaining and expanding existing client relationships.

In spite of that potential, it’s always proven difficult for firm executives to make the transition from a purely opportunistic sales strategy to an account-based management process. Most consultants are comfortable teeing up sales leads and projects from whatever sources they can find. But a true account-based marketing program demands discipline, patience, and commitment, and isn’t right for everyone.

So, before you jump into an ABM strategy, consider these three points:

1. The best account managers are specialists in their area of expertise. The account manager must bring something of value to the client relationship. Otherwise, the client will view that individual only as a salesperson. In an ABM relationship, that’s the kiss of death.

2. Firm leaders need patience. Some firms don’t see a real return on their investment in relationships for months or even years. Every account manager needs a clear set of goals and accountability guidelines for the relationship. And those goals may be very different from others in the practice. Also, in spite of what you may think, a consultant doesn’t necessarily have all of the skills to manage a strategic account just by virtue of having managed client projects. Account managers need new tools, education, and strategies to succeed.

3. Choose strategic accounts carefully. Before you commit to an ABM strategy for a specific client, be sure you have a decent shot at success. Some clients don’t want strategic relationships with anyone. Others may seem like candidates for ABM, but may not be. You’ll want to assess the client’s interest in establishing deeper relationships with your firm, the likely demand for services over time, and the extent of the investment you’ll make to create a mutually beneficial relationship.

Under the right circumstances, firms can be very successful targeting specific clients. What’s less certain is whether firm leaders have the patience to let relationships build to a profitable point. Often, it takes longer and is harder than they think.

As I was going through email last week, I read that just since March 2010, the top 25 consulting firms have published more than 400 new thought leadership pieces. If you add what other firms and individuals published in the same period, you’ve got a seriously crowded market for new information.

Sometimes, it seems as though consultants adhere to the “more is better” rule. Firms keep cranking out articles, white papers, and surveys. Yet some complain that their efforts often go unnoticed. Their solution: publish more. Maybe the marketers believe that if you sling enough stuff against the wall, something will eventually stick.

With demand for services perking up, it’s a great time to get into the market with the essential ideas you’ve already developed. I’m not suggesting that you abandon your goal of being a thought leader in your field.

Instead, I’m saying that to reap the value from your efforts, you have to do more than just toss more jetsam into the sea of thought leadership; you must engage directly with your clients on your ideas. After all, a good idea isn’t really worth much until someone makes use of it.

Before you write that next article or white paper, ask yourself two questions: First, have I done enough to help clients understand the ideas I’ve already developed for them? And second, what is my strategy for engaging with clients and getting their feedback once I put this new article out there?

It’s getting harder and harder to get clients’ attention. If your strategy is to simply add more to an already-flooded market, don’t expect anything better than mediocre results.

It’s become common to hear about widespread identity theft and hackers infiltrating sensitive information systems. Even though it’s impossible to know how many hackers are lurking in the cyber shadows, it certainly seems like the problem is on the rise.

For consultants, who must routinely dole out their personal information to facilitate travel, make purchases for clients, and manage their businesses, identity theft looms as a potentially crippling problem. That’s why it was especially alarming to read a recent study of 5,550 businesses by Accenture on the issue of data privacy and security.

According to the study, nearly 75 percent of organizations claim they have adequate policies in place to protect sensitive personal information. Yet more than half have lost sensitive data within the past two years. What’s worse, almost 60 percent of those organizations acknowledge that data loss is an ongoing problem.

The study goes on to report that the biggest causes of data loss are internal–not the result of some vast hacker conspiracy to steal people’s personal data. For example, business or system failures (57 percent) and employee negligence or errors (48 percent) were cited most often as the source of the breaches. Cyber crime was cited as the cause of only 18 percent of security breaches.

Maybe you’ve already confronted the specter of identity theft and have taken steps to protect yourself. If not, you should revisit how you’ve secured your personal information. Why? Because the companies you’re handing that data over to aren’t doing a very good job of safeguarding it for you.

It’s rare to meet a successful consultant with really poor communication skills, especially when it comes to presentations. I know–there are lots of exceptions. Like you, I’ve slept through my share of consultants’ speeches.

Let’s just say there is always room for improvement for all of us. Fortunately, the market is full of first-rate resources to help you become an outstanding presenter. This month, I’ve compiled an Amazon list of ten books that will help you become a better communicator, whether you’re in front of room full of people or a small audience.

Have a look at this list, and feel free to send me your best recommendations for additions.