Consulting 101

-
That's what they called the orientation sessions at my first consulting job back in 2000. They had some senior partner teach us how to shake hands and smile at our clients. He told us to wear clothes made from synthetic fibers because they look more expensive than natural fibers. Let's just say this guy wasn't exactly in touch with reality. He was pretty much just teaching us how to not make our new employer look bad when we were out on an "engagement" - what us consultants call a project.

I've moved around to three different consulting organizations since then, and I can confirm that consulting is a funny business. Companies hire us to tell them things they should already know, and to solve problems that they should be able to solve on their own. We charge high hourly rates, and we charge our clients for our travel expenses as well, both of which are standard practices across this industry. Still, consulting in the US is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, so we must be doing something right.

I like to think I'm a good consultant at this point. My co-workers seem to think so, and since I'm finally at a company where I respect my co-workers, that makes me happy. Words like "deliverable" and "out of scope" just roll off my tongue. I never did switch to polyester, but I've managed to get by.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

hot dog buns

-
The secret to the bread pudding at Keeneland is hot dog buns. My friend Matt tells me this and his sources are absolutely reliable - he heard it from the chef himself. I was fortunate enough to have some of this excellent bread pudding this week, as Ella and I attended day 1 of the Keeneland fall yearling sale. The top sale of the day brought a mere $5.2 million, as compared with $11.7 million for the top horse the following day. There are so many great things about the Keeneland Association, just one of which is that 99% of their activities are free (or at least inexpensive) and open to the general public. Try popping in for an auction at Sotheby's, or Derby day at Churchill downs - it's just not going to happen. The Keeneland fall yearling sale is one of the premier thoroughbred events in the world, and it's free and open to the public. Heck, all you need is a letter of credit on file, and you too can plunk down $11 million plus for a 1-year-old never-raced-before p
Read more

88 Keys

-
My loving wife bought me a piano for my 30th birthday. Our local piano store was having a good sale, so I got this present early - it was delivered last week. I understand that other family members have also contributed to this gift, making it that much more special. I've wanted my own piano ever since I left home, where I had one available to me at all times. That was just over 10 years ago. Playing piano is something I've always enjoyed, so to have it back in my life after so long is really a shock to the system. I walk by my new piano every day now, and it still hasn't quite settled in that it's mine, and it's here to stay. I have no idea how to say thank you for a gift like this. I did make my way to the music store last week as well, and picked up 3 books: 1) 19 popular works by Chopin 2) Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me" words and music 3) A book on jazz theory, specifically chord structures Let's just say that cracking open some she
Read more

Some thoughts on impeachment

-
We've had a few days of the impeachment circus so far, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. For sure, impeachment is always a political process, so it's divisive and disrupts the national dialog whether we like it or not. So I'm writing this piece mostly to try and wrap my head around what I've learned from the witnesses so far. For background, I'm looking at the current proceedings in the broader historical context of impeachment. We've only done impeached 2 presidents in the last 250 years, so it's kind of a big deal. Nixon left office before Congress actually had a chance to impeach him, though they almost certainly would have. So what is the "standard" for impeachment as it has been applied in these other cases: Andrew Johnson defied Congress. The "radical Republicans," as they were called at that time, wanted to punish the southern states and the Confederacy. Johnson disagreed, as he basically thought that approa
Read more