By striking out on my own, I have found myself in some interesting roles in the last six months. It’s been somewhat of a culture shock to discover all of that daily stuff that someone at the office made happen. Booking a flight, room and car are just a few simple things among many that have to be relearned.

As I think about all of the things that fellow staff members have taken care of in my past, its a reminder of how blessed my life has been. Those thoughts are also a reminder that I need to say thanks for all you did.

Yea, I know its been awhile since I made a post and blogs should be kept up to date. One of my New Year’s resolution is to be more attentive to my blog, so I promise to do better in the future. On to the post subject…

Many reasons to hire a consultant but to follow are two that I think have merit.

Some organizations have a need in a single project requiring a specific skill set and expertise not inherent in their staff. Because its a single project, it is not financially feasible to add a staff member. It’s time for a consultant to fill the niche.

The other consulting paradigm is almost opposite to the first reason. An organization’s staff is loaded with individuals having diverse skill sets and expertise but no one individual understands the skill sets enough to facilitate fitting them together. The organization has management but the managers need someone to help them understand and focus on engaging talents to reach organizational strategic goals. Once again not financially feasible for a full time staff person, so it’s time for a consultant to fill the gap.

Think of it this way. We have all been to a physician at some point in our life and diagnosed with an infection. Sometimes the physician’s approach is prescribing a narrow-spectrum antibiotic with the goal of overcoming a specific bacteria running  rampant in the body. At other times the physician will prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is able to collectively overcome different sets of bacteria for the betterment of the body.

Am I saying that projects and needs are like infections? Not at all and if that is your take then I have done a lousy job of making a comparison. Your take should be that sometimes your organization has specific needs for a narrow spectrum-consultant and at other times, more global needs for a broad-spectrum consultant.  So how do you decide on who is the best consultant for organizational needs? Let’s save that for next time.

There has got to be some reason for you to come back.

If you have been to the about section of this blog/website then you know a little about my past and future goals.

Ok, so what do I really do? I am consultant for local governments.

Why a consultant? Obviously, a business card needs some title and developer, facilitator, project manager, business process reviewer, data analyzer, software evaluator and advisor seemed a little much but consultant sorta works.

Some folks say a consultant is someone who has a briefcase and lives more than 25 miles away. I don’t have a briefcase but use a backpack and probably live 25 miles from you so I qualify in that area also.

On the not so sarcastic side, lot of good consultants around and I just happen to be one of them.

Come back soon because my next post will answer all your questions about the advantages of hiring a consultant.