What Consultants Learn

1. The problem that you are hired to solve is not always the problem that needs to be solved.
2. It is important to learn early on whether the organization wants a real solution or a superficial one.
3. Keeping clients aware of the status of a project is vital even if the report is that you're bogged down.
4. Clients may pay more with a flat fee than they would have with an hourly one but the predictability is easier to bear than risk.
5. There is a world of difference between the giant consulting firms and the small ones and neither group is always best.
6. The people - and companies - that need you the most may want you the least.
7. Companies sometimes get nervous when a situation is called a problem, They may not want to admit to having a problem but they will admit to having a situation.
8. Whenever someone cites a study as a shield against further inquiry, dig deeper.
9. No matter how friendly people are, never forget that you are the hired help.
10. Your biggest competitor is the very human desire to do nothing until it is absolutely necessary.
11. On sensitive issues, you will probably be called in to help shortly after some decisions have been made that you would have advised against.
12. Your most valuable product is control. You are helping people gain control so their fears can be reduced or eliminated.