"Through our intelligent insights, we are proud to share perspectives on topical growth and value creation issues with a clear point of view, concisely and relatively jargon-free." -- Unnamed Consulting Firm
The world of consulting is bursting with "new" ideas--some of which are good and others that are just stinkers. In both cases, firms race to market touting their latest ideas to revive a slumping organization, or add that last piece of the strategic puzzle to "propel a company to greatness."
The biggest problem with good ideas is that everyone has them.
Put five people from almost any company in a conference room with a white board and an assignment to fix something, and you'll get some good ideas. Ask most executives if they're aware of the latest ideas to bring more profit or growth to their businesses, and you're likely to see nods.
The challenge for consultants is to offer ideas that clients want to buy, not just the ones they can easily get from their own teams or the latest business bestseller. What clients really want to know is how they can use a good idea, when they can implement it, and what results they can expect.
You can tell a client to "leverage social networking technologies for consumer value creation," but unless you have a specific, directional plan of some kind--you're just blowing smoke, and your client knows it.
The best ideas are one part blue sky plus two parts healthy dose of reality. That's what clients want to hear from their consultants, and that's what they'll buy.
A colleague once told me that every good idea eventually turns into a lot of hard work. Do some of that hard work before you present an idea to a client and watch your results soar.
