Consultants are normally chosen because they have specialized knowledge that can help their clients- with a current problem and/or with developing plans for growth.
That is a fine consideration. Because these folks have spent years developing their knowledge base, honing their knowledge, and discerning how best to share this with others. Their knowledge may be in a specific curriculum or industry.
Except…
Knowledge is only part of the solution the client really needs. Knowledge is the collection of facts, data, judgments, and decisions is what one can find in books and encyclopedia. When one deals with a knowledgeable consultant, they are banking on the fact that the entity will be able to share the data in a straightforward, direct manner to help the client and solve the need.
But, there are more aspects that need to be addressed. Wisdom!
Wisdom wasn’t part of the criteria when one was seeking out a consultant. Which is a pity since it is the application of that knowledge, the ability to extend the facts with perspective and make sound judgments, that wisdom provides. Wisdom is way more than knowledge.
Knowledge may be power- but it’s static and can become obsolete. Wisdom is akin to a Chateauneuf-du-pape, a fine wine, that will ferment and ecstaticize for years providing benefits beyond the simple facts.
A consultant who can provide wisdom to a client yields invisible productivity- letting them be better at what they do, by helping them discern what they don’t know they don’t know. It eliminates the blind spots in the plans one makes.
(Now is the time to remind you of the one good thing Dick Cheney provided us. His contribution was to show us we must categorize what we know, what we don’t know, and what we don’t know we don’t know. The goal is to solve what we don’t know and minimize the region(s) that which we don’t know we don’t know.)
So, don’t go seeking out the smartest guy (or gal) in the room. (However, it may just be that person is the one that also is replete with wisdom! Then, of course, choose that individual.)
Nor should you limit your choice to those who manage corporate branding or manipulate large batches of numbers. Sure Peter Drucker (1959) predicted that our organizations will be ruled by knowledge workers. But, it turns out that our world has a plethora of knowledge- but a shortage of those who can find the gaps in that knowledge and to extend its borders, providing a complete solution for one’s needs.
We need to seek out those folks who can provide a 360 degree view of your situation and beable to share their wisdom with you.
Folks like that will help you ensure that your team has both institutional knowledge and wisdom. You need to identify those individuals within your organization who are capable of sharing the recent lessons they learned and how that can be applied moving forward. Identifying who among your team has the most useful advice that is shared routinely. Help those folks become internal consultants in your enterprise. They will ensure that the wisdom imparted by the consultant gets spread among your team.
Finally, you need to accept and work with a mentor (the consultant with wisdom) who shall share learning, development, and good practices to maximize your return on investment.
That’s how you get the biggest bang for your bucks.
