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People want all the rewards with none of the risk. But what’s funny is they are still taking the risk of failure. It’s more that they can fail and shift all bla

People want all the rewards with none of the risk. But what’s funny is they are still taking the risk of failure. It’s more that they can fail and shift all blame away by saying “we did it all right, it just didn’t work”. It’s easier than doing the work themselves. I just think we would all be better off if we told people it’s OK to try and fail, as long as we learn from those failures. We need to support people trying new things. If we just follow prevailing wisdom, we can only tackle problems that are already solved.

gompertz 5y ago
And I think these comments summarize why consultants like Accenture, KPMG, McKinsey, etc survive today. They are for leaders who want to shift strategy risk away from their own responsibility. Whether a strategy succeeds or fails; consultants have a finite lifespan with the organization
- mattbuilds 5y ago
  Yea absolutely. So much of it is a shell game (in some companies) where you attempt to shift blame and take credit for successes. Those type of consultancies help facilitate the game.
  - doctor_eval 5y ago
    Yeah as a (former) small business owner I’ve been thrown under the bus by consultants more times than I care to recall. You’re an easy target when you don’t have the political pull to point out the absurdity of what’s going on.
    - mattbuilds 5y ago
      What’s always been surprising to me is that more people don’t recognize it. My background didn’t give me the education I’m wish I had either, in fact I got the opposite. But it didn’t take all that long in the real world to see it. Maybe people just accept what they see and roll with it.
      - doctor_eval 5y ago
        Yeah most of the gigs I’ve worked at where the big consultants have been involved have been all about the billable hours that the consultants can charge, and the internal managers who facilitate these transactions - in order to be able move to a cushy job in the same company, some months later. It’s quite literally corrupt, but everyone seems to know and nothing gets done - because politicians are part of the revolving door. People like us who actually care about doing a good job are just cannon fodder. Mostly I’ve just learned to avoid such projects like the plague. As a small enterprise software player, the best customers where those who still had skin in the game.

gompertz 5y ago

And I think these comments summarize why consultants like Accenture, KPMG, McKinsey, etc survive today. They are for leaders who want to shift strategy risk away from their own responsibility. Whether a strategy succeeds or fails; consultants have a finite lifespan with the organization

mattbuilds 5y ago
Yea absolutely. So much of it is a shell game (in some companies) where you attempt to shift blame and take credit for successes. Those type of consultancies help facilitate the game.
- doctor_eval 5y ago
  Yeah as a (former) small business owner I’ve been thrown under the bus by consultants more times than I care to recall. You’re an easy target when you don’t have the political pull to point out the absurdity of what’s going on.
  - mattbuilds 5y ago
    What’s always been surprising to me is that more people don’t recognize it. My background didn’t give me the education I’m wish I had either, in fact I got the opposite. But it didn’t take all that long in the real world to see it. Maybe people just accept what they see and roll with it.
    - doctor_eval 5y ago
      Yeah most of the gigs I’ve worked at where the big consultants have been involved have been all about the billable hours that the consultants can charge, and the internal managers who facilitate these transactions - in order to be able move to a cushy job in the same company, some months later. It’s quite literally corrupt, but everyone seems to know and nothing gets done - because politicians are part of the revolving door. People like us who actually care about doing a good job are just cannon fodder. Mostly I’ve just learned to avoid such projects like the plague. As a small enterprise software player, the best customers where those who still had skin in the game.