Seems like a stupid question, but after seeing what I've seen over the years it's pretty worthwhile to ask, if not of yourself then of the consultants you contract. One strange thing you notice, if you've met a lot of consultants or done enough consulting, is that good consultants tend to be on the quiet side. The talkers get a lot of attention right away, but it's the listeners who eventually get the implementation moving forward. The talkers are good at listing the issues, the listeners are better at understanding the issues and driving their understanding deeper, along with the understanding of the organization. This brings us to the second point about consulting. A consultant never works in a vacuum. Forget the heroics, stop the put-upon genius act. Consulting is about bringing the client along on the discovery, getting everyone to think about the same challenges. Once the client understands the challenge, the resolutions usually come soon after. After all, all organizations prize the people who can meet challenges, who can solve problems and overcome intractable issues. Give your clients the chance to be the problem solver. Nothing gets the work done faster. This brings us to the third point about consulting. Never, ever put the client on the defensive. They don't practice business the way the developer 2500 miles away envisioned it? Who are these podunks? If you have met only a single software consultant in your life, there is a 50% chance that you have heard something to this effect. Don't believe it, and certainly don't emulate it. This may have been a bigger problem in the hubris that occasioned the Internet bubble, but it still exists. A good consultant knows that it is useless to blame either the developer or the client. There are simply too many variations of the business model in the world for either side to blame the other. This brings us to the fourth point about consulting. The business model is constrained by only the limits of the human imagination. Likewise, a consultant uses an active imagination to 'see' and understand the constraints, boundaries, opportunities and challenges that define the client's business. Also, the consultant uses their imagination to formulate a solution for the client's business that matches the business' imagination and the direction the business wants to take. Work up to the business model, never work down to a solution. This brings us to the fifth point about consulting. Software is not perfect. It never will be. The idea that software will not have bugs is a fool's dream. Not that we should accept the sloppiness that so prevalent back in 2000, either. Software is not the end of the business. Clients sometimes think that the software should automate every process that they have (you can often tell how much prior 'consulting' a client has received by measuring the amount of software kool-aid they're willing to drink), but some business processes are better off manual. Not every problem has a software solution. Just as the consultant's role does not include business model bashing, so their role also does not include software bashing. Remember, you're one of the leaders of the implementation. When others hear you bash the software they are quick to do the same themselves; you have just brought the imaginative drive to a solution to a complete halt. OK, that's enough for one night. No one knows everything they need to about this business because in some respects you reinvent the process for each client and their unique business model. But remember that the client is looking in your direction for some character and skill and software knowledge. The successful consultant does not take that confidence for granted. | 
