Oooof, my pride has taken a bit of a beating in the past week. I seem to keep reading kick-the-consultant posts.
And I get it. We swan in, we promise the moon-on-a-stick, deliver 10 slides of the-bleeding-obvious, and walk off leaving only our seven-figure invoice behind.
The heart of the criticism appears to be the equivalent of: can they do it on a wet Tuesday in Stoke? Have they done what they're talking about in the real world.
It's a fair challenge. Will the theory survive first contact with the practicality?
I'm happy to accept that there is a certain brand of consultant that is happy to leave a bin fire behind them. For me, my reputation is far more important than that. So, I'm unbelievably careful about stating what comes from my own experience, and what comes from the research I conduct.
Because when you understand that, then you can access what I - and many other consultants - offer. Flexibility, diversity of experience, an external view, and in my case highly-specialist employer research skills.
That's what consultants bring. That's what we should stand up and defend.
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