Are Consultants worth the money they charge?

[askmany]

The large corporations have large pools of money, talent and experience and yet they consult from newer consulting firms , why? why can't they develop their own teams for such work?

[kwant_kiddo]

Sure, but not always in the way you'd presume. In many instances, management consultants are tools leadership uses to support their agendas, not necessarily to spur growth. I can speak for family-owned European companies (which there are many of and quite big) that operate more conservatively. Despite seeming to "throw money away" at consultants, they continue to do so. So clearly there is market for hiring expensive management consultants. In most parts of Europe, management consulting is seen as more prestigious and better paying than tech or finance, reinforcing the industry's perception of these firms as the 'elite'.

I think all people who are actually building something knows that they bring nothing of value especially when you weight the opportunity costs, but that does not really matter.

[freelanddev]

It really depends. Is this tech or some other industry that you're referring to?

I was previously a "consultant" (I sat on a professional services arm of a tech company). We sold a tool that was very powerful, but often required a customization for each individual client in order to unlock the true value of the tool. Once it was customized, it still required ongoing maintenance but significantly less effort.

We offered professional services as we way to streamline the "customization" process as well as train the clients' staff how to operate (and further customize) the tool. We were experts with the tooling, so we knew the optimal ways to build things vs. someone who is just reading documentation & trying to figure it out from scratch.

Probably in the short-term, this was a large expense for the customer, but if you were to visualize an expense comparison over time, it was probably significantly cheaper than forcing your staff to learn everything from scratch first, then build out the customizations, all the while they're unable to make progress on their other efforts.

So, I guess it really depends, but this was my experience.

[softwaredoug]

I am a former consultant in a specialized field

It Depends ;)

Treat a consultant like a therapist. Don't expect miracles. Expect to do your own work if you're seeking some kind of "transformation".

A lot of times there's an antipattern to using consultants, where orgs are at a loss to solve a big problem, and seek outside help. They put it on the consultant to fix, not themselves. They assume, wrongly, the answer is "out there" for some big brain genius to come in and fix then leave. They outsource their own internal lack of alignment between big stakeholders, instead of dealing with that conflict. They assume moreover that their own people, tools, processes, cultures, are bad.

A good consultant, like a good therapist, sees your org and all its warts and beautiful value (like a person) and helps guide you to your own change. Maybe as part of your team for a time, maybe as just an advisor, who knows.

But don't expect miracles unless you internally commit to change.

[PaulHoule]

Depends on who you mean. If you need a specialist it can really pay.

If you mean McKinsey group I’d say this. In Scientology there is a deliberate policy of putting very young people in certain high status roles such as “Ethics Officer” to break down typical social patterns and particularly force the application of rigid rules that more experienced people, particular embedded in the social milieu of the organization, might bend. By dropping young random into critical spots, McKinsey can overcome the resistance to change many organizations might have for better and for worse.

[ntfAX]

This is a cool idea.

[mikewarot]

If you hire them for the right reasons, and actually listen to what they tell you, they can be quite valuable. However, this almost never happens, for many reasons, including the line between good and evil that cuts through every human heart.

[dataminded]

Because they don't have the experience. For many technologies and projects, the pool of people who have done it is small and not already working at the company who needs it.

[dustingetz]

"worth" is relative. Reality is nothing is worth anything; you eat what you kill.

[dieselgate]

This sounds 'good'? but doesn't really seem to carry much direct meaning

[solumunus]

You’re worth what someone is willing to pay you.

[throwawayadvsec]

so maddoff is worth 60 billions?