Consulting Career Mismatch
Consulting firms and their consultants are locked in a struggle. In this post I define that struggle as consulting career mismatch.
Have you seen an “I’m an IBM-er” commercial? We learn about the interesting project the speaker on the commercial is working on. He’s employed by IBM. But we never learn the consultant’s name! The speaker’s career benefits if he gains name recognition. Instead IBM takes credit for the consultant’s hard work. But IBM pays the consultant’s salary and for the commercial. IBM wants the positive recognition because it provided the resources to execute the work.
Consulting career mismatch appears when the best interest of your career is misaligned with your consulting firm’s strategic direction. For example, you want to build your reputation as an expert in business intelligence. You want executives to call you when they have a business intelligence question. But your firm, XYZ Consulting, wants you to be one of thousands of “XYZ Business Intelligence Consultants.” XYZ Consulting wants to be the firm that receives the phone call from executives for business intelligence solutions.
IBM is the most obvious example of where consulting career mismatch can occur but it applies to all firms. The mismatch is most poignant at large firms because they have greater leverage over individual consultants.
Large firms want you to be an interchangeable cog in their consulting machinery. If you are a nameless consultant whose proof of excellent work depends solely on the firm’s reputation then you are less valuable without employment at that firm. The firm won’t have to pay you a premium for your services because you do not create as much value on the open market without the firm’s name recognition.
Consulting career mismatch is not inherently bad. You can still have a great career at large consulting firms despite the mismatch. But mismatch can derail your ambitions when aiming to be a recognized expert at a large firm. There is less friction when building your niche reputation as an independent consultant or part of a small firm that depends upon your success to remain in business.
Career mismatch should be seriously considered by every consultant that wants to build a unique personal reputation. The environment at your firm impacts whether or not you are successful and how that reputation is received.
