I've already confessed on this blog that I used to be a <cringe> management consultant, so I'll be the first one to confess that a lot of what management consultants do is little more than hocus pocus with some billable hours thrown in.
Don't get me wrong. There's plenty of great work that consultants should do - but not many consultants can do these things. A solid consultant can redesign the way that work gets done. They can eliminate process steps while increasing quality of service or product. They can rework an organization for the better the same way most people clean a closet. That's the kind of consulting I always liked doing.
Unfortunately, too often consultants don't perform meaningful work. Instead, they sell "soft services." That's the "cumbaya" part of consulting that any sensible person would chortle at. Consultants might "facilitate" a meeting to develop meaningless mission statements or other drivel. Or they might lead a retreat where the purpose it to get everyone feeling better and communicating more. It's all a bunch of hooey.
Well, for anyone who believes as I do, that companies waste a lot of time and energy putting employees through some pretty time-wasting paces, should take a look at this wonderful post on Schmula. He's not making any of it up. Plenty of companies actually do these things.
This is why people get such a kick out of Dilbert cartoons. Truth is funnier than fiction.
Which of the seven do you think is the most offensive?
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