This book, which is intended for individuals who are directly or indirectly involved in human resources development, is based on the premise that today's training professionals must become "performance consultants" and shift their focus from training delivery to the performance of the company and its individual contributors. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 discusses the role of the performance consultant and the various skills entailed in consulting and identifying needs. Part 2 introduces performance relationship maps for performance consultants to use when designing and completing performance assessments. Also included in part 2 are numerous techniques for conducting successful performance assessments (as opposed to training assessments) and strategies for effectively influencing work partners to realize that training alone will not change performance. Part 3 outlines techniques for identifying and responding to opportunities for performance consulting and contracting for performance assessment and performance implementation. Presented in part 4, which examines the traditional training function in its entirety, are the six elements of a performance improvement department and considerations in forming a strategic plan for the transition to performance improvement. Sixty-one tables/figures, a case study, and a 79-item annotated resource list are included. Contains 23 references. (MN)