Worst. Consultant. Ever.
17 March 2007
I just retrieved a book from one of our many bookshelves and returned to my desk. Along the way, I passed my wife who gave me a very puzzled look. The book I had in my hands was “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Suess. I choose this book because I am an IT consultant, and a few moments earlier I came across something that I had bookmarked with this hillarious perspective on the book:
“This little tale, which appears to be a book for children, is actually a clever evocation of what happens to a corporation when a management consultant is hired by absent, clueless senior management to evaluate its organizational structure and to effect change. Beginning slowly, the Cat proceeds to take everything apart, make a total mess and get everybody in potentially the worst trouble in the world–all at no personal cost to itself. By the time the Cat leaves, it has frightened everybody, and very little has changed except the mind-set of the protagonists, which has been forever disrupted and rattled. Students of business etiquette will draw their own conclusions about the kind of behavioral standard called for in dealing with such situations.”
Read the article, “Top books on business etiquette”
I have to admit, this book has always disturbed me on some level, and for the very same reasons. It would be like me punching someone in the face, then giving him some ice and a few Advil and expecting no hard feelings.
(For what it’s worth, my consulting involves defining a problem and a successful outcome before anything is implemented…)