Consultants Make a Difference
By: Rene Velez
It seems that on any given occasion that I have the opportunity to discuss the business of consulting, few people know exactly what it all entails. Without question the title consultant is used freely to mean anything. Truth be told you can consult on anything. The real question is not what title you hold, or have given yourself, but what you do. Seems to me that could be said of any profession. I've known a few professionals that have left me entirely in doubt if they knew what they were doing.
I confess that often I evade trying to define what I do as a consultant because, its not easy to describe. Firstly, depending on what you are consulting in it could be your practice envolves more of an art than a science. For example if you are an engineering consultant your consulting engagements are often more of a science. Either the bridge you are designing will hold a given weight and load of traffic or it will not. Either it meets the DOT specifications or it does not. However, if you are a business consultant and you are working on how to increase worker satisfaction and productivity, it becomes an art. Why? Because thats they way it works.
All kidding aside, I have come up with this simple laymans way of trying to draw a line between the two. No science here just a little art!
Consulting as a Science:
If given a predetermined goal or outcome you can apply formulas, calculations, laws, procedures and other contrived gyrations, that do not change, and arrive at the solution consistantly, then it's pretty much been studied and done many times over and it is therefore known and it is a science. Another way I say it is that the solution has been bottled. In Management 101 language it is a mechanistic structure.
Consulting as an Art:
If given a predetermined goal or outcome and you can not apply formulas, calculations, laws or procedures without changing them on each attempt, or you can not repeat what someone else has already proven to work, and the outcomes can vary and are anything but consistant then it becomes an Art form. In management 101 language it is dynamic or Organic.
Today's Consulting Environment
Consulting is on the rise today. However, the business has changed from how it was sold in the 1990's. Whereas in the 1990's everyone was looking for the new fangled widget today everyone wants to make sure the widget works. During the 1990's the search was on for those new minted MBA's who had all that knowledge of making the new widget. America was entrenched on computers, high technology. Out with the old and in with the new. Ideas no matter how underanalyzed and researched were sold to the highest bidders. Today, conservatism has set in the corporate board room and MBA's have the added burden to not just come up with the new widget but be ready to almost guarantee that the widget will actually work.
I have always liked that commercial were some crusty old but distinguished Wall Street fellow says, "We make our money the old fashion way, we eeaarned it". It would seem the phrase has caught on in american business. Business no matter how dynamic and cutting edge needs to be tempered by wisdom not raw knowledge. What businesses want today from consultants is not the concept but rather the "results". Personally, I think its justified. Particularly with Sarbanes Oxley management should be held accountable for the decisions that they makes and consultants are feeling that new expectation.
No one should automatically regard business consultants as the experts of business. Companies should understand that good consultants develop a relationship with their clients. Sometimes the best consultant is the one that can not only teach a client how to accomplish a goal but also be humble enough to acknowledge they have learned something from their clients. Without question I have always learned something from my clients, their practices, style, procedures, business. In fact on many engagements without learning first your almost destined to a poor outcome. This is what an evaluation is all about. Depending on the client however, or how good your relationship is there is an "art form" in learning without loosing your position of promenance with the client. Sometimes this is a chicken or egg type situation. Is the consultant too arrogant to admit he has to learn from the client or is the client too arrogant to recognize that even though a consultant is learning their business that does not make them less qualified? I suppose this is argueable to a degrees. They key thing is that both sides recognize the opportunity to learn from one another.
Today's consultants have to be ready make a difference. They have to stand for results. You earn your pay on each task or assignment you able to bring into fruition. If you are new to consulting pick some winners first. Diversify the risks you take as a consultant so you have a good track history. No matter how good you are you will loose some to failure or at best modest performance.
Besides results consultants offer many things they can not often find from within the organization.
Besides the Outcome:
Unbiased Ideas and Conversation:
Perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes of having a relationship with a consultant is the ability to discuss matters in a candid forum. Let's face it, often companies have their own internal politics that prevent new ideas from coming to life. Managers often do not want to undertake risky propositions for feer that they may loose a promotion or risk being dismissed because of a poor outcome. Sometimes management is lacking in creativity to address emerging trends and the company culture is such that there is little or no upward interaction. Consultants can and often facilitate fertile ground for ideas, and bridge communication between management levels. They create a buffer between personalities in a company and can introduce radical ideas and concepts that are untainted by internal politics. Consultants have been known for setting management straight on priorities, identifying critical problems. In essence consultants often are change agents to a company. They do this with a fresh view and without the same level of fear as employees of the company.
An Outsiders View:
The paragraph above brings to mind how important it is to have a consultant come in and look at things as an outsider. Mnay companies and their management suffer from tunnel vision. They see their company and their business as they see it but fail to realize missed opportunity and critcal flaws from the eyes of an outsider or as a customer. Mystery shopper surveys and analysis is an easy tool to use for any company. In fact many companies that are very successful employ this technique almost on a continuous basis in a variety of ways. These companies know that they rely on what their consumers think so they become very consumer centric. Not a bad thing at all as long as the company does not loose focus. Sometimes it is an art form simply to find ways to be consumer centric and yet be cost efficient. It depends on many variables, such as the type of product or service you sell, number of competitors, industry trends etc.
Project Management:
An often overlooked possibility to establish a relationships with consultants of varying degrees and capabilities is project management. It doesn't matter if you are a fortune 500 company or a local distributor of specialty hardware at some point in time you will need a project manager. Someone who in its simplist form can oversee a task thet requires scheduling, coordination, planning and control and see it from concept through completion. An accounting system conversion, marketing campaign, mail order distribution system, website ordering system etc. etc. Having a professional on board with either knowledge, management ability or simply enthusiaam to get the project done can be uplifting to staff, improve efficiency among current workers, relieve management of a tedious burden and simply create acceptance of a project among company employees. The key for management is to be clear on hiring the right project manager for the job.
Management is Responsible:
Yes. Consultants can be a big asset to any company no matter their size. However, management should never allow any consultant to run free. Management should always take the approach they they are responsible for the company. They shoud develop relationships with a variety of consultants in the various disciplines in their company. They should monitor the results and hold the consultants responsible for results. Determination of time budgets and cost caps are becoming more an more common in cunsultant engagements. Corporate management needs to be cognizant that often there are tradeoffs to accomplsihing goals and that the identification of these tradeoff points should be key to coming up with solutions that are practical. Consultants and management alike need to understand that there will always exist grey areas in which neither the consultant or the company management has the right answer and that both should commit together to learn and take on "calculated risk" in order to arrive at success.
Internal Consultants:
Many of the current events that have given rise to Sarbanes Oxley also have management thinking about how best to develop internal consultants. Without a doubt there exists the possibility of identifying and perhaps grooming internal employees to be on demand consultants. This is a good thing. Often this is a very cost effective measure to many business issues. However, it should not be taken to mean that outside consultants will not be needed. Often an internal consultant is a candiate for higher manement positions within the company. In regards to dealing with external consultants these individuals possess a great deal of knowledge about the company in specific areas and become an asset to external consultants as well as to management. It is not uncommon for these individuals to become the hub for large projects were the internal and external consultants work together.
No Expert is an Island:
From the wave of consultants that entered the work force in the 1990's to what the profession is doing today comes one important aspect of managing business. No matter how developed you may have become in your business or how respected you have become as a consultant neither is an island onto themselves. The relationship and interaction between disciplines can be pricesless. In a world that is constantly changing and evolving each learns from one another. The consulting engagements of today that become sucesses or failures become the case material for the MBA's, CPA's , Engineers of tomorrow. And perhaps managemnt who is often encapsulated in company politics, run a ground on fresh ideas or feeling the influenza of the constant battle of business, or simply needs an occasional check up, consultants are still there to help.
On the other side there is the need for seasoned company executives to become consultants. The grass can be greener on the other side. Work less hours than before, put up with less politics, an opportunity to be creative with all that stored knowledge, explore new areas of interest, make new industry contacts, be self employed or be part of a group. With the aging of the baby boomers and many expected to continue working throughout there retirement age, consultants will be more common. This is a good thing for company's with disparity of ages in management positions. Were will they turn if all the seasoned brass retires? All those years of knowledge today are welcomed wisdom. Like fine wines these professionals do improve with age. It's no wonder the founding fathers of the U.S. constitution provided that 1/3rd of the senate come for elections every three years or so. It's the recipe for bringing in new blood but maintaining prudence and stability.
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