5 ms·

I would recommend a good psychic for this -- someone skilled at cold reading. You will receive even better validation and a similarly reliable "external sanity

I would recommend a good psychic for this -- someone skilled at cold reading. You will receive even better validation and a similarly reliable "external sanity check." If I were in Europe, I'd leave it at that. For the Americans, it's important to dot the i's and cross the t's, so: An art of the industry is telling people what they want to hear. That gets you hired again. Consultants are no good as an external sanity check. They are great for taking the blame for decisions you had planned on making.

ghaff 3y ago
Internal people with their own biases and investments are always right. Of course.
- Aeolun 3y ago
  I think it’s more that two times wrong doesn’t make something right.
  - Nevermark 3y ago
    Ah, algebra. Perhaps, geometry? The right thing to do is hire one or more people who have deep knowledge with the problems you are slogging in. Pay them what they are worth. Otherwise, what's left is to higher outside consultants to solve your problem that is so pressing that you are hiring outside consultants to solve it. Fire them and hire new consultants if they don't perform. And if you get very lucky, three lefts will make a right!
primax 3y ago
Do you know any psychics good at excel?
- xh-dude 3y ago
  Oracle
- sph 3y ago
  They require basic computer proficiency and the ability to work long hours in the clairvoyancy business these days.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- another2another 3y ago
  There must be a plugin, or a VBX somewhere..?
a_bonobo 3y ago
>They are great for taking the blame for decisions you had planned on making. One might say that's the point of consultants! They're there to externalise accountability, you're outsourcing taking the heat.
sirspacey 3y ago
I know it can seem this way. But the best consultants, and even leaders, know that sometimes the way you get everyone to listen to the people who actually know what a company should be doing is hire a consultant. A consultants job is to find them, elevate their voice, and get out of the way. Edit: added “sometimes” - the alternative is to build a low ego culture and listen to the people closest to the work.
- sfn42 3y ago
  Here in Norway, a "consultant" is just someone who is employed by a different company but works for your company. We don't get people to listen to the right people. We just work like everyone else while the company pays a premium for us and we're the first to be let go if things go downhill.
  - dan-robertson 3y ago
    That’s what consultant means in many places, but the thing being talked about in this thread is a management or strategy consultant, of which there are a few big prestigious firms who do this, and which is a reasonably common career path for ambitious young people.
  - frognumber 3y ago
    In the US, that's a contractor. Many contractors are called "consultants," but it's mostly because "consultant" sounds better. Consultants are (in abstract) paid much more for their expertise, and engagements are much more limited. A contractor might work 40 hour work weeks for one client for years. My experience is that the take-home pay is almost identical for all three. To give an example, at one point in my career, I could: * Charge $600-$900/hour as a consultant * Charge $125-350/hour as a contractor * Charge $150k-$200k as an employee On paper, that works out to >$1M, 0.25-0.75M, and 0.15-0.2M, respectively, if I worked 40 hour work-weeks. In practice, at least for me, net pay was very similar for all three: * Consulting had many hours overhead for one hour of work, and clients would often cancel on short notice. * Contracting had an even split between selling myself and working. Work came in spurts (either too much, or not enough) * Employment was steady Free markets converged to very similar net take-home pay. Contracting and consulting had much more diversity of work (contracts, marketing, etc.), more flexibility on side projects (startups, etc.), and much more volatility. Volatility can be good or bad. A dry-spell can mean time to finally go on that vacation or focus on that startup. Or it can mean a lost mortgage. It depends on your life stage, savings, etc. As a recent grad, contracting worked well for me. As a Dad, I preferred employment. Late stage (no kids at home, and mortgage paid off), consulting seems like the way to go.

ghaff 3y ago

Internal people with their own biases and investments are always right. Of course.

Aeolun 3y ago
I think it’s more that two times wrong doesn’t make something right.
- Nevermark 3y ago
  Ah, algebra. Perhaps, geometry? The right thing to do is hire one or more people who have deep knowledge with the problems you are slogging in. Pay them what they are worth. Otherwise, what's left is to higher outside consultants to solve your problem that is so pressing that you are hiring outside consultants to solve it. Fire them and hire new consultants if they don't perform. And if you get very lucky, three lefts will make a right!

primax 3y ago

Do you know any psychics good at excel?

xh-dude 3y ago
Oracle
sph 3y ago
They require basic computer proficiency and the ability to work long hours in the clairvoyancy business these days.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
another2another 3y ago
There must be a plugin, or a VBX somewhere..?

a_bonobo 3y ago

>They are great for taking the blame for decisions you had planned on making. One might say that's the point of consultants! They're there to externalise accountability, you're outsourcing taking the heat.

sirspacey 3y ago

I know it can seem this way. But the best consultants, and even leaders, know that sometimes the way you get everyone to listen to the people who actually know what a company should be doing is hire a consultant. A consultants job is to find them, elevate their voice, and get out of the way. Edit: added “sometimes” - the alternative is to build a low ego culture and listen to the people closest to the work.

sfn42 3y ago
Here in Norway, a "consultant" is just someone who is employed by a different company but works for your company. We don't get people to listen to the right people. We just work like everyone else while the company pays a premium for us and we're the first to be let go if things go downhill.
- dan-robertson 3y ago
  That’s what consultant means in many places, but the thing being talked about in this thread is a management or strategy consultant, of which there are a few big prestigious firms who do this, and which is a reasonably common career path for ambitious young people.
- frognumber 3y ago
  In the US, that's a contractor. Many contractors are called "consultants," but it's mostly because "consultant" sounds better. Consultants are (in abstract) paid much more for their expertise, and engagements are much more limited. A contractor might work 40 hour work weeks for one client for years. My experience is that the take-home pay is almost identical for all three. To give an example, at one point in my career, I could: * Charge $600-$900/hour as a consultant * Charge $125-350/hour as a contractor * Charge $150k-$200k as an employee On paper, that works out to >$1M, 0.25-0.75M, and 0.15-0.2M, respectively, if I worked 40 hour work-weeks. In practice, at least for me, net pay was very similar for all three: * Consulting had many hours overhead for one hour of work, and clients would often cancel on short notice. * Contracting had an even split between selling myself and working. Work came in spurts (either too much, or not enough) * Employment was steady Free markets converged to very similar net take-home pay. Contracting and consulting had much more diversity of work (contracts, marketing, etc.), more flexibility on side projects (startups, etc.), and much more volatility. Volatility can be good or bad. A dry-spell can mean time to finally go on that vacation or focus on that startup. Or it can mean a lost mortgage. It depends on your life stage, savings, etc. As a recent grad, contracting worked well for me. As a Dad, I preferred employment. Late stage (no kids at home, and mortgage paid off), consulting seems like the way to go.