CONFESSIONS of a Consultant

Consultants are not hired as experts. This is a misconception common among non-consultants: that they are hired for their knowledge. They are not. They are hired to accomplish in very rapid order a daunting, discreet piece of fact-finding and analysis that they are then required to present in exceedingly clear and convincing form to their client. There may or may not be an element of strategic thinking in the presentation; there may or may not be a series of recommendations. The recommendations are there, in the end, to make the consultant feel more like a manager and less like the hired help, but they are generally entirely ignored. There are two fallback techniques to use in a desperate situation: 1. Flatter the clients. 2. Ask for their opinion. There is a moment in most client meetings when the client team starts to argue with itself, and those are the moments you dream about.