Is it just me, or do ‘consultants’ typically receive a bad rap? Over-charging for services, a lack of clear outcomes and no proven ROI are things I often see noted on The Consultant Rap Sheet.
One sage writer (himself a consultant) claims that whether consultants have a bad name or not, doesn’t really matter. All that matters is showing their client results and keeping them happy.
For any good consultant, there are three fundamental things that drive results and help overcome any negatives caused by a bad rap.
Expertise
Face it, if an organization does not have the in-house expertise to address an issue or crisis, no amount of “trying” will elicit a good outcome of any kind. In fact, when individuals dabble in areas in which they do not have the experience, grim consequences can occur. I have seen cases where the Chair of the Board fancies stepping into the role of Executive Director. On one occasion, the result of this action ended the legacy of an eighteen-year-old not-for-profit agency.
Tom Nichols, in his article, “The Death of Expertise,” unearths this old parable:
The Graybeard engineer retired and a few weeks later the Big Machine broke down, which was essential to the company’s revenue. The Manager couldn’t get the machine to work again so the company called in Graybeard as an independent consultant.
Graybeard agrees. He walks into the factory, looks at the Big Machine, grabs a sledgehammer, and whacks the machine once whereupon the machine starts right up. Graybeard leaves and the company is making money again.
The next day Manager receives a bill from Graybeard for $5,000. Manager is furious at the price and refuses to pay. Graybeard assures him that it’s a fair price. Manager retorts that if it’s a fair price Graybeard won’t mind itemizing the bill. Graybeard agrees that this is a fair request and complies.
The new, itemized bill reads….
Hammer: $5
Knowing where to hit the machine with hammer: $4,995
Responsiveness
Good consultants can ‘turn on a dime.’
Just two weeks ago, I received an email at midnight from a client in crisis who needed my colleague and me to attend a change management meeting the very next day at noon. That’s a twelve-hour turnaround! In addition, that same client wanted evidence of our companies expertise in a particular discipline, whereupon I wrote an article to address the matter (and spent the better part of Saturday at the reference library to ensure my research was bona fide and timely).
For responsiveness, think Emergency Room triage. That’s essentially what consultants do. They’re like the ER Doc. They assess against their years of experience, skill and expertise what the ‘problem is,’ how to fix it, and (hopefully) how to measure the success of their solution.
Low cost (comparatively)
Here’s where the plot of the story thickens.
Remember the hammer analogy. If it doesn’t take years to ‘get good’ at being a consultant, it certainly takes some combination of the following: intelligence, skill, expertise, discernment, and chutzpah. And, for that, there is a fee.
In fact, it is often said that you get what you pay for. A consultant that charges a lesser fee may not be as strong a consultant as one who charges a larger fee.
A good consultant should be worth the investment, especially if the hammer has already swung and missed.
