Al Ripley believed, for every management problem, there was a management consultant. As issues surfaced in meetings, Al looked down his nose, over the top rim of his glasses, and ask the inevitable. “Don’t we know a consultant that can help us with that?”
Those meetings were short and decisive. Ripley emerged from the conference room victorious, confident that he met adversity with a firm commitment to the solution, by hiring a consultant.
Some problems, however, did not go away. But then, Al quickly pointed out, “We must have hired the wrong consultant.”
Excerpt from Outbound Air, Levels of Work in Organizational Structure, by Tom Foster, soon to be released in softcover and for Kindle.
I agree with Al. The right consultant would point out when they are not the right consultant to address the issue and/or identify when the organization is ready to move forward on their own, even preparing the organization to do so. Unfortunately, the wrong consultant prefers to keep themselves engaged with the organization rather than do the right thing. This happens with many one-trick pony consultants. If you consult on six sigma, six sigma is the answer to all dilemmas. If you are an organizational design consultant, all can be solved by creating the right organizational design, etc. The RIGHT consultant would recognize when they are no longer needed and work themselves out of a job if possible, just like the right employee. They would know that by doing so, they set themselves up to have an outstanding referral source and be asked back to address future opportunities. Unfortunately, people who can get over their internal fears for the good of the organization are few and far between.