You should only hire a consultant if you need specialized
skills for a brief period. If your need is ongoing, hire the skills
into an in-house position. If your need is for common skills, hire a
temp. But if you really do need advanced or specialized skills for a
short to medium term project, hiring a consultant can be your best,
most cost-effective approach.
A good consultant helps you see your problems - and possible
solutions - clearly. A poor consultant can confuse you, especially a
consultant that uses technical jargon, or 'consultant speak'. Confusion
alienates. It's counterproductive. If you're listening to a consultant
and thinking "I wish I understood what he's talking about," then you're
listening to a poor consultant. A good consultant is one who makes
things - your problems, and his ideas - understandable.
There's an old joke that a consultant is someone who borrows
your watch to tell you the time. We want to borrow your watch and teach
you how to read it for yourself. There are some consultants who spend
years with a single client. We think that's a failure. If we do our
jobs correctly, by the time we're finished you shouldn't need us any
more. You'll be independent, self sufficient, and more powerful and
capable.
Our goal is simple: Capable, confident clients who are
satisfied with solutions and results, whose problems are solved, and
whose companies are made stronger and more capable.
