11 Reasons To Walk Away From Consulting Opportunities

And what the sausage is all about William Bullock, the American inventor of the rotary printing press?

Well, an interesting event took place in 1863. Bullock’s weird contraption revolutionised the printing industry by being able to print as many as 10,000 sheets per hour.

But on an otherwise nice day, the shit seriously hit the fan for good ol’ William. While installing a new machine, he got frustrated because some details didn’t work out as he’d planned.

So, in frustration, he kicked a driving belt onto a pulley. And then the real horror started. As a result of the kick, his foot got caught in the pulley and was dragged inside the machine.

It quickly turned his foot into mash beyond repair. Then the wound got infected, developed gangrene, and William died in the middle of getting his foot amputated.

I mention this bizarre accident because as the world is climbing out of the latest recession, it’s only fair to say that there are almost more consulting opportunities than stars in the galaxy. But consulting opportunities come in all shapes and forms, and Pareto’s 80/20 rule is hard at work here too.

So, some 80% of consulting opportunities are not worth going after. They are borderline bankrupt companies, often with dodgy characters in their boardrooms, looking for cheap contract labour to put them back on track.

The other 20% is a mixed bag. And some 0.5-2% of them are perfect clients from all three angles: Perfect buyer, perfect company and perfect engagement.

And there are a certain percentage of engagements that look really great and exciting from a distance, but upon closer inspection we discover that they are just hefty layers of quicksand on the top of stinky swamps, and if you go too close, they swallow you.

And this is what we discuss this month's blood-boilingly conspicuous episode of Commando Consulting, mysteriously entitled, 11 Reasons To Walk Away From Consulting Opportunities.

Enjoy!