Engineers vs Consultants vs. Everyone Else

 Happy Friday!

 A few truisms made at yesterday’s keynote:

Dave’s 1st Law of Business Development states: ‘The consultant who earns the most trust gets the work." The requirements in the RFP are a suggestion.

"I’m not a salesman!” declares every engineer when asked to help with business development. Good! Consulting doesn't require selling. It requires earning people's trust in you and your work, which is a rather prudent skill to acquire if you haven't got it. (ref. Job Security)

The Difference Between Engineers and Consultants: Engineers are skilled at resolving technical engineering problems. Consultants not only solve problems but also communicate the value of their solutions in a manner that engenders trust and confidence. To become an engineer, your college professors only expected you to solve the problem. But the people who pay for problem-solving in the real world (clients) also need some trust and confidence in the people they hire. Consulting is the fast lane of engineering.

The Most Important Person/Job in a Consulting Firm

Well, it’s a consulting business, so who do you think? Yet, amazingly, there's plenty of self-important delusion around this! To be clear, the consultants are literally the consulting business you work for—not the incorporation papers in the binder in the file cabinet. They're the business! Every other job in a consulting business ultimately exists to promote their success—no matter what the job.

If you work at a consulting business and want to see your career progress, get a raise or a bigger bonus, or just be more relevant to the business, then figure out how your creativity and skills can help your consultants be more successful than the competition's consultants.

Imagine facing a competitor whose entire organization, every person in every department, is keenly focused on driving the success of its consultants. Yikes! They'd be an unstoppable juggernaut.

That's it. Have a terrrrrific weekend,

Dave

Feedback and blowback are always welcome here: dave@goodnewsfriday.com

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Written by me, not ChatGPT: valuable speed assist and blunder avoidance by Grammarly