A Word About Consulting

From Randy Gunter…

I’ve watched more than one business consultant in action. Now there are certainly thousands of them available, so my first-hand experience with other consultants is certainly from a small sampling. What I’ve seen are people who feel that their consulting jobs consist of asking the right questions in order for their client to realize the answer just sitting in front of them.
• What do you think you need to do to get to that goal?
• What options do you see to come up with a solution?
• How do you feel about that?
It’s kind of a self-help ritual where they, with the right questions, expect you to come up with your own answers on how to do things. 

I’m not a fan.

Of course when I work with a client, I certainly will ask some questions: I’ll find out the who, what, where, and why:
• Who are you and who are your competitors?
• What is it that you make and sell?
• Where are you located and where are you selling?
• And why are you doing what you are doing?

Unlike the other consultants, what I don’t ask is the how.
How do you get from point A to point B?

In my mind, the how is the reason you hire me.

The How is a collaborative process, but unlike with other consultants, you’re not working in a vacuum just answering questions. If you’re hiring me for my experience and expertise, I’m going to share that with you. Often I’m sharing ideas and “how to” processes that many business people didn’t even know existed. I’ll work with you creating a strategy on how to get things done. I’ll definitely tell you what I think. I’ll share what has been done before with other clients. (Well, of course I can’t reveal trade secrets or personal data, but that isn’t what we’re talking about here.) I’ll brainstorm with you. And when we’re done, I’ll draw up the plan. Now, of course, it’s your choice whether to act on that plan or not. 

Once you decide to move forward, I can help you get the right people in place to implement the plan too. 

It’s all about getting stuff done. You don’t get from point A to point B by talking about it, you get there by actually doing something.