ABSTRACT
Prescribing a direct intervention will test whether the manager or system can use advice, and help the consultants see what they are up against in the organization. The purpose of an intervention is, first, to provide a means of communicating the meaning of a hypothesis to the client; second, to provide a means of testing its usefulness; and third, of course, to nudge the client system into moving on and finding a new course. Paradoxical interventions are the poetry of consultancy practice. Direct interventions are given with the expectation that they will be followed, and will prove to be useful. Paradoxical interventions, should only be used if the situation appears to be stuck, or if the manager has tried a number of different solutions which have only served to escalate the undesired situation. Reframing interventions may lead a manager into a perception of a deeper and more complex problem.
