Consulting News

You could easily drown in the sea of articles and books about making rain. Countless web sites and training firms are dedicated to upgrading consultants’ business development skills. This article isn’t about landing new clients and it’s not even about winning follow-on projects with your current clients.

In the dozens of conversations I have with business leaders, I hear a common theme: “We’ve done the cost cutting and adjustments. We’ve done the necessary re-sizing, and we’ve done the hard work of recalibrating our cost structure to support our core business. We’re profitable, and we are holding loads of cash. Now what?”

The concept of shared services—with back-office functions organized on an enterprise-wide basis to deliver higher quality and lower cost—has transformed how companies organize their administrative and support functions over the last 20 years.

It’s time for providers of market intelligence and databases to make a formal commitment to their clients that every one of their data points is current and as accurate as possible.

It’s hard not to laugh when recalling the sixteen German violinists who sued for higher pay on the grounds that they played more notes than musicians who toot trumpets or blow oboes. Judging the value of a performance based on the number of notes played is obviously absurd.

Legacies are fragile and constantly under surveillance, especially in the unforgiving and highly ambitious world of consulting. From the clients we choose, and who choose us for their hardest problems and the direction of their future, your legacy is shaped by years of experiences, continual learning, and a record of results, and a digital Rolodex of relationships.