The Scope Creep Negotiation: Protecting Value in a High-Stakes Consulting Engagement

You are a principal at Hartwell & Associates, a mid-sized OD consulting firm. Six months ago you signed a $340,000 change management contract with Paragon Logistics, a national freight company undergoing an ERP implementation. The original SOW specified: stakeholder analysis, change readiness assessment, a communications plan, and 3 manager training workshops. Paragon's VP of Operations, who signed the contract, was replaced after the engagement began. The new VP, Glenn Tarrant, has no relationship with you and has been treating your team as internal staff - assigning ad hoc projects, requesting executive coaching for three SVPs (not in scope), and asking you to attend and facilitate weekly steering committee meetings (not in scope). He's also told your original point of contact that he's 'not satisfied with progress' and hinted at withholding the final $85,000 payment. You need to renegotiate the scope, protect your firm's economics, and potentially salvage a relationship that could be worth $500,000 in future work.

Key Stakeholders

Glenn Tarrant

VP of Operations, Paragon Logistics (New Client Sponsor)

Rachel Kim

Director of Change Management, Paragon (Original Point of Contact)

Your Managing Partner

Internal Stakeholder, Hartwell & Associates

Learning Objectives

• Identify and respond to scope creep patterns in consulting engagements
• Apply principled negotiation frameworks (BATNA, ZOPA, interests vs. positions) to client renegotiation
• Navigate sponsor transitions and relationship continuity in ongoing consulting work
• Distinguish between legitimate client dissatisfaction and bad-faith contract pressure
• Construct a change order process that protects consulting economics without damaging client trust
• Manage internal firm dynamics during a difficult client situation