Consulting = Team Sport — Consultants work in teams. Consultants work in packs. We are hired to work on messy problems which are often complex, ambiguous, political, and time-sensitive. Basically, it’s a lot of work that has to be done in a short(er) amount of time. So, it’s a team effort. Version control = quality control “Version control” is just…

Check the quality of the information please. . . — Check the quality of the fruit When you are buying a banana at the grocery store, do you blindly pick up anything? No way. A green banana and yellow banana means something completely different. Depending on your taste preference, when you plan to eat it, and you want to use it, green/yellow/brown bananas are not the…

I am not in HR, a recruiter, or even a super linkedin.com user. That said, I was on the recruiting team at a Big 4 consulting, and we looked through hundreds of resumes every year and 90% of them went into the trash. We probably spent less than 15 seconds…

Consulting has so many merits, but let’s also not be Pollyanna about it. . . it can also be a grind. . .travel, hotels, messed up data, cranky clients, revenue pressure, uncoachable team members, and middle seats. So, yes, there is a fair amount of stress in consulting. You are…

When is the last time you heard the word “strategy” or “strategic?” They are common words and largely misunderstood. While strategy is certainly important, it’s means more than just “long-term” or “impactful.” I teach an introduction to strategy to 400+ sharp, ambitious business students each year. We read, discuss, debate…

We are in the influence business Just like anyone who sells services to clients — markers, bankers, consultants, dentists, plumbers — we influence clients to do things we think is in their best interest. It’s harder than it sounds because: We are not always persuasive; we all have “off days” …

After reading Switch (affiliate link) by the Heath brothers, I am convinced that successful consulting projects must appeal to the head, the heart and the hand. It is a simple way to think about change and also makes a lot of sense. Head: The logic of the analysis and recommendation …

It’s the only way to make the complex simple — I know it sounds pedestrian and unsophisticated, but it’s harder than it looks. When you are trying to crack a complex problem, inevitably you will start to group things. Buckets, I tell you. Consultants use buckets. When you have a complex problem, you need to organize things. This is no…

It’s easy to say YES — When the client asks for something — new research, some ad-hoc analysis, an extra workshop — it usually seems like a reasonable request. After all, they pay the bills and shouldn’t they get the most out of their consultants? When the consultant says YES to a new request, it may…