Stop Prescribing Painkillers for a Broken Bone: The Power of Diagnosis in Consulting

The project sponsor is on the phone, and you can hear the panic in his voice.

"It's been six months since we launched the new CRM. We spent a fortune on training for the entire sales team, and the adoption rates are still abysmal. The reports are a mess, and people are still using their old spreadsheets. We need... we need more training!"

It’s a familiar story. When a technology adoption or a change initiative stalls, the default prescription is almost always "more training."

This is the equivalent of a doctor prescribing painkillers for every single patient who walks in the door, regardless of their symptoms. It might make the patient feel like something is being done, but if the underlying problem is a broken bone, all the painkillers in the world won't fix it.

Treating symptoms with a generic solution isn't just ineffective; it's professional malpractice. The essence of high-value consulting isn't just executing a plan; it's ensuring you're solving the right problem in the first place.

The Three Questions That Change Everything

Before prescribing any solution, a master consultant, like a master diagnostician, must ask why. Why are adoption rates low? The "more training" solution assumes the answer is always a knowledge problem. But what if it's not?

The most effective diagnosticians in the world of behavior change use a simple but powerful framework to get to the root cause. They ask which of three fundamental barriers is blocking progress:

1. Is it a CAPABILITY problem?

   • "Do people genuinely lack the knowledge or skill to perform the new behavior?"

   • If yes, then training is indeed the right answer.

2. Is it an OPPORTUNITY problem?

   • "Do people have the necessary time, resources, and environmental support?"

   • Maybe they know how to use the CRM, but their back-to-back schedules give them zero time to enter data. Or maybe their managers still ask for the old spreadsheet reports, creating a conflicting priority.

3. Is it a MOTIVATION problem?

   • "Do they believe it's worth it? Do they fundamentally want to do it?"

   • Perhaps they believe the old way is faster. Perhaps they fear the new system's transparency will make them look bad. Or perhaps they have "change fatigue" and no longer trust that this new thing is here to stay.

This is the COM-B model—a game-changing framework for turning a fuzzy problem into a sharp diagnosis.

From Sharp Diagnosis to Targeted Action

Once you have the right diagnosis, the right prescription becomes obvious. And it's often not what the client initially thought they needed.

• If you diagnose an Opportunity problem, you stop wasting money on training modules. Instead, you work with managers to redesign their weekly check-ins to include 15 minutes of dedicated CRM practice.

• If you diagnose a Motivation problem, you stop lecturing people on features. Instead, you launch a communications campaign featuring success stories from their peers, creating social proof and a compelling answer to "What's in it for me?"

This is the magic link. This is where consulting creates incredible value. By connecting the dots between a specific problem and a targeted, effective solution, you save your client time, money, and frustration, and you dramatically increase the project's chance of success.

Your Diagnostic Toolkit

A great doctor doesn't just rely on observation; they use MRIs and X-rays to see what's happening beneath the surface. Perswayd AI's tools, like the Technology Adoption Accelerator and the Change Readiness Interventions Plan, are designed to be that diagnostic engine for your consulting practice.

They guide you through a systematic process to pinpoint the true behavioral barrier—Capability, Opportunity, or Motivation—and then generate a targeted action plan. It turns every consultant into an expert diagnostician.

Stop treating symptoms. The most respected and effective consultants don't just offer solutions; they provide the right solution to the right problem.

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Ready to move from guesswork to diagnosis? See how Perswayd can become your strategic toolkit for solving the root cause of any change challenge.