Friday, July 24, 2009

Can good consulting become a habit?

Welcome to the Consulting Habits blog.  This is a companion blog to Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College course Consulting Communication and as the name suggests, is actually more about the communications part of consulting than general consulting "habits."  That said, good communications habits are actually the foundation of good consulting.  All the analyses, insight, and ideas in the world are useless if you can't effectively communicate them to a client.

So in this blog, which will primarily be written by students (as well as some guest posting by former students who now have a career in consulting, by colleagues of mine who are in the business, and every now and then by me) we'll focus on good consulting communication habits, and how they lead to more value for clients, and for the firm.

As with my sister blogs -- the Creative Habits blog and the Communication Habits blog -- the focus is on how to make behaviors "habits:" things that you do routinely, without conscious thought.  These good communication habits result in good things happening: for you, for the firm, and most important, for your clients.

So to answer the question in the title, you bet; good consulting can (and should, if you want any kind of a career) become a habit.  But a key element will always be good communication habits.

Please share your thoughts, feedback, and especially, your good (and bad) consulting stories.