Assessing Consulting Engagements Both For Financial And Psychological Satisfaction

I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but, in a way, traditional consulting requires the mentality of a bomber pilot: Fly in, release bomb and quickly get out.

It sounds like a great example as I'm listening to the first song, Night Witches, on the new Sabaton CD (Heroes).

It's a tribute to the all female 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces, formed by Colonel Marina Raskova and led by Major Yevdokia Bershanskaya.

Their approach describes traditional consulting quite well. Fly in very high, turn engines off, freefall to low altitudes, release bomb, start engine and fly out.

For that they used very light double-winged planes, left behind from the first world war, made of wood and canvass. In consulting, senior consultant flies in to close the deal, then an army of freshly-minted MBAs "freefall" on the unsuspecting client.

And the senior consultant can't be reached ever again. They do whatever they do and then vanish, leaving dubious improvements and astronomical bills behind.

Yes, it is always a great feeling for consultants to complete their engagements and moving on, but there is one more thing is left to do.

Sadly, most consultants miss this element of their projects. It is a sort of after action review, when we actually summarise what we have achieved.

Unfortunately, in traditional task-based consulting, this is irrelevant anyway for the emphasis is on going through the motions (of performing certain rigidly pre-defined tasks) and piling up as much stuff (deliverables) as humanly possible in order to "deserve" payment.

So, this is what we discuss this year-opening episode of Commando Consulting, entitled, Assessing Consulting Engagements Both For Financial And Psychological Satisfaction.

Enjoy!