I’ve heard my dad say this 1,000 times

Q: What is the definition of an expert?  

A: Anyone from out of town.  

 

Cute, but it can also be true.  

 

Consultants have some built-in benefits like they do not require payroll taxes, and you don’t have to hire them as full-time employees. Also, they are experts in exactly what you need, and they can go deep on projects that you, or your team, don’t have the time to give, and they can dig deep around fluffy responses that offer no new information.

 

But the #1 benefit that a consultant can provide for you, that you can’t do for yourself – consultants provide perspective. 

 

You Can’t Read the Label From Inside the Bottle.  

Consultants have not inspected every nook and cranny of your operation, they have not lived your existence day in and day out, they do not have emotional attachments that can skew your perspective. There is huge clarity that comes from the etic perspective, from looking in from the outside.

 

The Follow-up Question

Consultants must ask all the questions to understand your operation and help you reach your outcomes. They ask broad questions and laser-focused questions. But most powerfully, they ask follow-up questions getting to the heart of matters unburdened by pat biases like: 

 

  • That’s a Sacred Cow
  • Because we have always done it this way
  • Because the “boss” suggested it
  • Because we already invested in ____ tools/positions/processes/equipment/etc
  • But this is our strength
  • But this is our weakness
  • But we already do this
  • But we can’t possibly do this
  • Because, because, because
  • But, but, but…

 

Benefitting From Going Broad

In today’s world leaders tend to buy (hire) candidates whose experience tends to be deep for the industry or the company they work for, but not broad across other industries or other roles. Sometimes you need to rent experts whose experiences are broad, but whose specialties are deep. For example, lately, Alchemie Academy clients could benefit from broad examples like:

 

What union workers in Detroit are doing to ensure consistency

What bankers in Providence are doing to empower middle managers

What bar servers in Flagstaff are doing to create a sense of community

What teams in Vancouver are focused on to develop belonging

What school districts in southern California are doing to reduce absenteeism

 

Good consultants collect solutions from all of the clients that they serve. Experience provides them with a broad catalog of experiences providing the solutions that work, regardless of where they originated from.

 

The Power of Preparing

Just as there is power from the focus that an offsite retreat creates, so is there power from the energy that comes from inviting outsiders into your business. The hiring of consultants brings renewed energy, brings prep work, brings a sense of review, and a sense of wonder while brainstorming what could be. 

 

Bringing in consultants sends a message to the team that you are investing in them (carrot) or that you are investing because of them (stick). Either way, it focuses your teams’ attention in a way that is otherwise difficult to achieve.

 

Change Management is Hard

Changing teams from within can be particularly hard. One key superpower of the out-of-towner is that they can help teams let go of old habits, old training, old processes, old systems. 

 

Consultants assess your current state, they strategize for the effectiveness of the team, letting go of the individual stories, drama, history, etc. 

 

They have the freedom to be focused on the process and the process only. 

 

Good consultants coach, cajole, and convince within the bubble of their visit. They provide cover for the leadership team and provide some distance from the management team to uncover deep-seated whys, obstacles, reluctances, and motivations.

 

Bringing qualified consultants into your organization leverages your time as you delegate the deep dive to outsiders, it energizes your team, and it engages them in creating solutions to the nagging problems that need to be solved. 

 

It is easy to look at an invoice and know what you paid for consulting. But what is it costing you in process inefficiencies, in silently frustrated customers, and in a disengaged, underperforming team? Hiring a consulting team may be the most profitable idea you ever had.