This is a bit of a tough post for me to write as it can easily be misinterpreted. There’s probably a slew of management consulting jokes surrounding this one too. Nevertheless, I’ll press on.
In management consulting, I’ve referred to a number of change management techniques, some of the most prevalent being the use of either a stick and driving people to change or a carrot and leading people to change.
I suppose the next technique is an offshoot of the stick variety, and the method can be intense to the point that it makes the client "cry" (not out of happiness).
It involves cornering down line workers and line management and forcing them to work with the consultant until microtasks in an important project are completed. In some client situations, one may find that workers are used to coasting along when change is needed. Attitudes of "coasting along" can come in various forms – they manifest themselves via the worker or manager "creating excuses" or "raising objections" to a course of action without providing or suggesting feasible alternatives. A "coasting along" attitude may manifest itself as a person that has a "Levi’s 501 attitude" … at 5:00pm they are lined up … by 5:01pm they have left the office (be careful not to misinterpret someone who has legitimate time schedule considerations versus someone who is not mentally committed to excellence).
A key to making sure that workers get transitional project things done may involve sitting alongside them and doing the (painful) task with them, whether that task be creating a formal product specification document where none existed before, specifying a new managerial report that they should prepare on a regular basis, completing a portion of a competitive analysis and business plan document, combing through and revising customer survey documentation, etc. Sometimes, without intervention by an outsider or by management, complacency will go on for weeks and bottleneck an important project. In some cases, the consultant try to resolve things by preventing the worker from even leaving the premises until the job is done (e.g., order in food, coffee). A key to balancing things out is frequently by ensuring that the consultant is also doing and contributing to the task at hand versus casting stones – may require management consultant with broad skills.
So the title, "Making the Client Cry" is a bit of a sick joke in some sense. But I’ve seen consultants use this micromanagement technique, and it can be effective when appropriate. Uncomfortable, but effective.