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Values-Based Consulting: The Field Guide to Doing Good, Doing Better and Doing Well
Transformation work is rarely undone by a lack of frameworks, intelligence, or effort. It is undone when values—individual, organizational, and systemic—are misaligned, unspoken, or actively in conflict.
Values-Based Consulting is a practical field guide for consultants, leaders, and change practitioners who have seen initiatives stall despite executive sponsorship, clear strategies, and “best practice” methods. Drawing from extensive, first-hand experience across large-scale enterprise transformations, John Halberstadt and Caitlin Klink articulate a grounded, experience-tested approach that treats values not as abstract ideals, but as operating forces that shape behavior, decisions, risk tolerance, and outcomes.
The book establishes values as first-class design constraints in consulting and transformation work—on par with structure, incentives, governance, and technology.
Scope and Structure The book is organized as both a conceptual foundation and a working manual. Core chapters are designed to be read sequentially or used independently in the
Why Change Fails When Values Are Ignored
Examines the gap between stated commitments and actual behavior, and why traditional change models struggle to explain resistance.
Values at Individual, Organizational, and Systemic
Clarifies how values operate differently at each level, and how misalignment creates predictable friction during transformation.
Power, Risk, Identity, and Incentives
Explores the hidden forces that shape decision-making, accountability avoidance, and selective transparency.
From Moral Framing to Practical Alignment
Reframes “doing the right thing” away from moral pressure and toward durable alignment between values, structures, and outcomes.
The Consultant’s Role and Ethical Posture
Defines what it means to engage clients honestly without coercion, performance theater, or complicity.
Designing for Integrity and Results
Provides guidance on building engagements that allow organizations to do good, do better, and do well—simultaneously.
Interactive and Practical by Design This is not a passive read. Throughout the book, readers are guided through interactive exercises intended for real-world use,
Values-mapping canvases
Alignment and tension assessment templates
Stakeholder and power dynamic worksheets
Reflection prompts for consultants and leaders
Practical tools for diagnosing resistance without judgment
These exercises are designed to support learning, application, and personal growth—individually or within teams—and can be used directly in client work, leadership settings, or internal transformation efforts.
Who This Book Is For This field guide is written
Consultants and advisors working in complex environments
Executives and transformation leaders responsible for outcomes
Practitioners navigating ethical tension, accountability, and power
Anyone se
Values-Based Consulting is a practical field guide for consultants, leaders, and change practitioners who have seen initiatives stall despite executive sponsorship, clear strategies, and “best practice” methods. Drawing from extensive, first-hand experience across large-scale enterprise transformations, John Halberstadt and Caitlin Klink articulate a grounded, experience-tested approach that treats values not as abstract ideals, but as operating forces that shape behavior, decisions, risk tolerance, and outcomes.
The book establishes values as first-class design constraints in consulting and transformation work—on par with structure, incentives, governance, and technology.
Scope and Structure The book is organized as both a conceptual foundation and a working manual. Core chapters are designed to be read sequentially or used independently in the
Why Change Fails When Values Are Ignored
Examines the gap between stated commitments and actual behavior, and why traditional change models struggle to explain resistance.
Values at Individual, Organizational, and Systemic
Clarifies how values operate differently at each level, and how misalignment creates predictable friction during transformation.
Power, Risk, Identity, and Incentives
Explores the hidden forces that shape decision-making, accountability avoidance, and selective transparency.
From Moral Framing to Practical Alignment
Reframes “doing the right thing” away from moral pressure and toward durable alignment between values, structures, and outcomes.
The Consultant’s Role and Ethical Posture
Defines what it means to engage clients honestly without coercion, performance theater, or complicity.
Designing for Integrity and Results
Provides guidance on building engagements that allow organizations to do good, do better, and do well—simultaneously.
Interactive and Practical by Design This is not a passive read. Throughout the book, readers are guided through interactive exercises intended for real-world use,
Values-mapping canvases
Alignment and tension assessment templates
Stakeholder and power dynamic worksheets
Reflection prompts for consultants and leaders
Practical tools for diagnosing resistance without judgment
These exercises are designed to support learning, application, and personal growth—individually or within teams—and can be used directly in client work, leadership settings, or internal transformation efforts.
Who This Book Is For This field guide is written
Consultants and advisors working in complex environments
Executives and transformation leaders responsible for outcomes
Practitioners navigating ethical tension, accountability, and power
Anyone se
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 23, 2025
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