​The worst advice I got when going consulting

When I went consulting in 1992 I received some really bad advice from a partner of one of the big 3 consulting companies. He recommended I use the “FUD Factor” which he described as “Fear”, “Uncertainty” and “Doubt”. In other words scare the hell out of clients so they would want to buy your services to fix the problems.

This turned out to be exactly the wrong approach. When clients focus on problems they only find more problems. It leads them to see parts rather than the whole. Worst of all it drains the client of energy and ideas.

I found a far better approach was the “HOPE Factor” which I describe as “Hope”, Opportunities”, Positiveness” and “Energy”. In other words to focus on “what could be”, “what they hoped for” and “what is working at present” that we could amplify. When clients focus on possibilities, they see possibilities everywhere. It leads them to see the whole as it could be. Best of all it increases energy and ideas and they create what they focus on. 

It’s the way to become an essential ingredient to your clients’ biggest hopes.

Many Internal and External Experts feel that their skills are not appreciated enough by top managers and the Board. It’s really frustrating to have studied and mastered a discipline that should be critical, only to be ignored. I’ve heard this complaint from HR Managers, IT Managers, Accountants, Strategy Managers, Risk Managers and external consultants.

An interesting study reported in the Harvard Business Review, July-August 2013, shows why some Experts (Influential Experts) manage to be central to Top Management decision-making and others are dismissed as “just technicians” or “just required for compliance”.

The study shows that “Influential Experts” have strengths in four key competencies (as shown in Chart 1 below):

Trailblazing. The ability to find new uses for expertise. Individuals high in this competency cast a wide net in order to identify and frame issues that top management has not adequately addressed. They understand the business and the environment and how their expertise can add value to the business.

Toolmaking. The ability to develop and deploy tools that embody and spread expertise. Individuals high in this competency are able to develop tools that help chief executives analyse and interpret important issues. These tools include reports, budgets, scenario planning, business models, technical models and other thinking frameworks.

Teamwork. The ability to work with other managers to use their expertise and convince them of the relevance of their expertise. Individuals high in this competency are able to co-opt people into collaborating on the creation and improvement of tools, seeking out their feedback and incorporating it into the design.

Translation. The ability to personally help decision-makers understand complex content. Individuals high in this competency are able to explain complex issues simply, in a language and context that chief executives understand.

​At the other end of the influential scale are “Compliance Experts” (see Chart 2). They are tolerated because of some legal or regulatory requirement but seldom listened to where it matters; because they are only skilled in building their tools. Think of the classic bean-counter.

​Nearly as non-influential are “Technical Experts (see Chart 3). They know about toolmaking and even trailblazing but are dismissed because they lack the ability to translate their expertise and are unable to work with other managers. I once worked in a major bank where the Strategy Manager and Finance Manager (in charge of budgets) were competing for influence and worked almost independently of each other. As a result, when the budgets were completed, they had no relationship to the strategies the organisation had agreed to. 

“Business Partners” (see Chart 4) have more (but still limited) influence; because their influence depends on the managers personal involvement with senior executives. I saw this happen in the bank where sometimes bankers with no expertise in the discipline where promoted into functional roles such as HR or IT but did not have the technical skills to succeed. The wise ones relied more on the experts on their staff, and gave them more freedom and exposure than the others.

​Bruce Holland

To standout and be noticed you must stand for something important. It must be something different. You must become remarkable, like a “purple cow”. As Seth Godin said in his book of the same name; you need people to tell others about you in the same way they’d tell others if they saw a purple cow. 

You don’t need everyone to like you, but those who like you must like you enough to tell their friends. When I started out I aimed to attract 10%. Today with the reach of the internet the percent is probably far smaller. I had no more than 20 fans but these people kept coming back and they recommended me to others who were like them: birds of a feather.

Don’t worry too much about words. People forget them. Speak more than write. Better still, do something that’s a symbol of what you stand for. It’s how you act and look that matters more. People will never forget about how you made them feel. Simplify it.

I had a background in large corporates and I was concerned that people were giving only a small fraction of themselves to work. I saw that this was largely due to the way they were managed and the structures they worked in. I was determined to change it. 

As a founder of Virtual Group we launched our consultancy in a pinstriped tent in a park in front of the tower blocks of our major competitors. Nearly 30 years ago at the height of the rational, neoliberal ideas it did not appeal to most potential clients. But it was different. It was remarkable. It was a symbol of pinstriped quality, canvass-thin overheads, flexibility and what’s possible if you remove all the unnecessary barriers. We called it: “wisdom without walls” and my personal message was “liberating human energy at work”. Nearly 30 years later these remain the things that sustain me and the things people remember about me.

How will you standout? How will you be different? What will people remark about you?

Bruce Holland is the author of the book: Cracking Great Leaders Liberate Human Energy at Work and the supporting Program designed for other internal and external consultants who don’t have the skills or time to develop their own intellectual property to help their clients develop organisational genius and strengthen their human energy fields.

Bruce is also a mentor at GoConsult.nz. The early years of consulting can be a jungle with many risks before the rewards. GoConsult.nz mentors help maximise the rewards of consulting and minimise the risks of transition. GoConsult.nz products include 23 ready-made workshops that reduce the time it will take you to become successful.