[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: What do consultants do?

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
What do consultants do?
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1204931487.shtml


   The word "consultant" is probably as loaded and derided as "lawyer"
   these days, especially the ones from out of town. Here's what an
   esteemed commenter observed about the [1]District 281 Strategic
   Planning I described earlier.

     It used to be that bringing in a consultant wasn't a bad thing: you
     hired a consultant to help your business/organization with a
     problem you had little knowledge and/or experience with. If a brick
     manufacturer wanted to expand into the industrial glass market
     hiring a consultant would be a reasonable action. However, hiring a
     consultant to help the company make brown bricks in addition to
     their existing line of red bricks would indicate severe problems
     with the brick company's management.

   This is spot on. The District knows how to everything in the plan, if
   the Moorhead example is typical. Plus, they have ready access to many
   academic, professional, and governmental agencies to help refine
   and/or implement these specific proposals.
   A consultant takes you into uncharted territory, like setting up the
   first Web site for an established business. This is different from a
   contractor who saves your staff time or a facilitator who helps them
   focus. Frankly, though, no matter where you draw the lines between
   these external services, the Moorhead plan is of little value to the
   Robbinsdale District.

References

   1. http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1204697973.shtml