Insightful Executive Guide Offers Essential Support for Hiring and Managing Consultants While Avoiding Risk

Don’t Sign That Contract, Charlie! draws on the author’s decades of consulting and executive experience to help organizational leaders and business executives better manage the consultant relationship. End Quote

Even when a consultancy provides exceptional experience and expertise, executives need to remember they own the company and the project.

(1888PressRelease) October 23, 2026 - BOSTON - Any time a business invites outside consultants into an organization, there is risk. Even with mission-critical change, signing the contract is only the beginning of a relationship. If the wrong firm is chosen, surrendering control of a project or failing to manage the relationship can quickly turn what should be a business solution into yet another operational challenge.

Former management consultant and CEO Robert J. Haworth tackles the challenge of consultancy relationship building in his latest book Don’t Sign That Contract, Charlie! An Executive’s Guide to Hiring and Managing Consultants. This is the follow-up release in Haworth’s Charlie Series, providing executives and C-suite leadership with practical pathways to better manage consulting relationships.

“Whenever I see executives hiring consultants, the last thing that should happen is handing off the keys to the kingdom and sitting back to hope for the best,” says Haworth. “A clear understanding of why to bring consultants in, their expectations and how to keep them project-focused is essential. That’s how you get the most meaningful value.”

Haworth spent decades watching the consultant-leader relationship from both sides of the table. In his first career, he spent three decades as a management consultant working on major change initiatives in large, complex organizations. These covered everything from integrating new technologies to improving business processes and business model improvements.

After working for three global consulting firms, Haworth later launched his own consulting company, growing it into national prominence. That experience as an executive forms the backbone of Don’t Sign That Contract, Charlie! Haworth approaches the relationship as more than just another procurement decision.

Readers move through four stages, exploring why companies hire consultants, how to identify the right firm and what executives must know before entering into any contractual arrangement. These are the “Understand ‘Em,” “Hire ‘Em,” “Manage ‘Em” and “Get Rid of ‘Em” stages.

“Even when a consultancy provides exceptional experience and expertise, executives need to remember they own the company and the project,” continues Haworth. “Leadership needs to remain engaged, using consultants where they provide the most value so when they eventually leave, the organization is stronger than before.”

The new book release carries over the serious yet humorous tone of Haworth’s first Charlie Series book, Smell the Bacon, Charlie! A CEO’s Guide to Implementing Organizational Change. That title won Haworth a Royal Dragonfly Book Award. It focused on supporting executives as they implement organizational changes.

In Book 2, the move is more toward a conversation about how to bring in outside companies to make change happen. Don’t Sign That Contract, Charlie! addresses the entire consulting lifecycle, from project charters to knowledge transfer and ethical considerations. The book is available through Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and SDPPublishingSolutions.com in both paperback and eBook editions.

About Robert J. Haworth - Author Robert J. Haworth is a former management consultant, entrepreneur, CEO and college professor. He has over three decades of experience as a business consultant and founded his own nationally recognized firm. Haworth also taught business management, strategic planning and entrepreneurship. He is now pursuing a third career as an author, translating decades of practical experience from “the receiving dock to the boardroom.” Learn more at Robert J. Haworth’s official website, http://www.robertjhaworth.com.

###

Visit Sdp Publishing Solutions Website

space