{"id":8727,"date":"2011-09-15T13:16:07","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T12:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.combatconsulting.com\/?p=528"},"modified":"2023-01-06T12:15:54","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T11:15:54","slug":"selected-rules-of-consulting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/selected-rules-of-consulting\/","title":{"rendered":"Selected Rules of Consulting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gerald Weinberg is the grandmaster of consulting and project management. From the hundreds of hints and tips on offer in his excellent secrets of consulting series, Adrian Segar explores his\u00a0favorite\u00a019<\/a> :<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll never accomplish anything if you care who gets the credit.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Credit Rule<\/em>.) Check your ego at the door.<\/p>\n

In spite of what your client may tell you, there\u2019s always a problem.<\/strong>\u00a0(The First Law of Consulting<\/em>.) Yes, most people have a hard time admitting they have a problem.<\/p>\n

No matter how it looks at first, it\u2019s always a people problem.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Second Law of Consulting.<\/em>) I learned this after about five years of being engaged as a technical consultant and repeatedly having CEOs confiding to me their non-technical woes\u2026<\/p>\n

If they didn\u2019t hire you, don\u2019t solve their problem.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Fourth Law of Consulting<\/em>.) A common occupational disease of consultants: we rush to help people who haven\u2019t asked for help.<\/p>\n

If it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.<\/strong>\u00a0(The First Law of Engineering.<\/em>) Must. Not. Unscrew the tiny screws just to check what\u2019s inside.<\/p>\n

Clients always know how to solve their problems, and always tell you the solution in the first five minutes.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Five-Minute Rule<\/em>.) Unbelievably, this is true\u2014the hard part is listening well enough to notice.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t accept failure, you\u2019ll never succeed as a consultant.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Hard Law.<\/em>)\u00a0Everyone makes mistakes<\/a>, and that can be a good thing.<\/p>\n

Helping myself is even harder than helping others.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Hardest Law<\/em>.) The hardest things to notice are things about myself.<\/p>\n

The wider you spread it, the thinner it gets.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Law of Raspberry Jam.<\/em>) Or, as Jerry rephrases it: Influence or affluence; take your choice.<\/p>\n

When the clients don\u2019t show their appreciation, pretend that they\u2019re stunned by your performance\u2014but never forget that it\u2019s your fantasy, not theirs.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Lone Ranger Fantasy.<\/em>) \u201cWho was that masked man, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

The most important act in consulting is setting the right fee.<\/strong>\u00a0(Marvin\u2019s Fifth Great Secret.<\/em>) Setting the right fee takes a huge burden off your shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do it\u2014and this is how much it will cost.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(The Orange Juice Test.<\/em>) Jerry uses an example straight from the meetings world for this one\u2014event professionals will recognize the situation, and appreciate the insight.<\/p>\n

Cucumbers get more pickled than brine gets cucumbered.<\/strong>\u00a0(Prescott\u2019s Pickle Principle.<\/em>) Sadly, the longer you work with a client, the less effective you get.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

It may look like a crisis, but it\u2019s only the ending of an illusion.<\/strong>\u00a0(Rhonda\u2019s First Revelation.<\/em>) A positive way to think about unpleasant change.<\/p>\n

When you create an illusion, to prevent or soften change, the change becomes more likely\u2014and harder to take.<\/strong>(Rhonda\u2019s Third Revelation.<\/em>) Notice and challenge your illusions before they turn into crises.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t think of three things that might go wrong with your plans, then there\u2019s something wrong with your thinking.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Rule of Three.<\/em>) The perfect antidote to complacency about your plans.<\/p>\n

The best marketing tool is a satisfied client.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Sixth Law of Marketing.<\/em>) Word of mouth is the best channel for new work; being able to satisfy my clients led me to a successful, twenty-two year IT consulting career without using advertising or agents.<\/p>\n

Give away your best ideas.<\/strong>\u00a0(The Seventh Law of Marketing.<\/em>) When you teach your clients to handle future similar problems themselves, they\u2019ll appreciate your generosity and are more likely to give you further work or good word of mouth to others.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gerald Weinberg is the grandmaster of consulting and project management. From the hundreds of hints and tips on offer in his excellent secrets of consulting series, Adrian Segar explores his\u00a0favorite\u00a019 : You\u2019ll never accomplish anything if you care who gets the credit.\u00a0(The Credit Rule.) Check your ego at the door. In spite of what your … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[136,137],"tags":[300,296],"class_list":["post-8727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consultancy","category-toolkit","tag-processed","tag-published"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/prY0k-2gL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8172,"url":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/robots-and-the-chinese\/","url_meta":{"origin":8727,"position":0},"title":"Robots and the Chinese","author":"Limbic","date":"November 6, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"In a recent article ( Are jobs obsolete? - CNN.com) , Douglas Rushkoff points out that the reason for the US Jobless Recovery is that technology is replacing humans at a faster rate than jobs can be created. New technologies are wreaking havoc on employment figures -- from EZpasses ousting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Business, Economics & Finance"","block_context":{"text":"Business, Economics & Finance","link":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16048,"url":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/digital-militias\/","url_meta":{"origin":8727,"position":1},"title":"Digital Militias","author":"Limbic","date":"October 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The term digital militias is usually used to refer to online social media fighters, often paid, who agitate on behalf of their chosen cause. Every conflict has cadres representing both sides who slug it out in forums, on twitter and Facebook . I have another idea about digital militias. It\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computing & Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Computing & Technology","link":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/category\/science\/computing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16857,"url":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/appeal-to-worse-problems\/","url_meta":{"origin":8727,"position":2},"title":"Appeal to Worse Problems","author":"LimbicNutrition Shorts","date":"November 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Also called: The \"Children Are Starving In Africa!\" Argument. Fallacy of relative privation (its proper name). Arguing that expressing concern about a (relatively) small problem means that the person doesn\u2019t care about any larger problems. A ...","rel":"","context":"In "Critical Thinking"","block_context":{"text":"Critical Thinking","link":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/category\/critical-thinking\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16862,"url":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/millers-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":8727,"position":3},"title":"Miller’s Law","author":"Limbic","date":"November 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"From Wikipedia: Miller's law, part of his theory of communication, was formulated by George Miller, Princeton Professor and psychologist. It instructs us to suspend judgment about what someone is saying so we can first understand them without imbuing their message with our own personal interpretations. The law states: \"To understand\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthropology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthropology","link":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/category\/science\/anthropology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16658,"url":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/this-odd-hell-that-childhood-is-where-you-can-be-going-through-something-in-very-close-proximity-to\/","url_meta":{"origin":8727,"position":4},"title":"“This odd hell that childhood is”","author":"LimbicNutrition Shorts","date":"May 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThis odd hell that childhood is, where you can be going through something in very close proximity to your parents, and they still can\u2019t help you. You still can\u2019t really tell anyone about it. It\u2019s obsessed me, not just him, but generally that problem of childhood.\u201d - Graham Linehan, This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous","link":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/category\/miscellaneous\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8383,"url":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/if-hackers-are-our-side-do-we-defend\/","url_meta":{"origin":8727,"position":5},"title":"On defending against five eyes hackers","author":"LimbicNutrition Shorts","date":"March 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cWhether the \u201cbad guy\u201d was the United States or one of its allies, the attack was causing collateral damage to thousands of systems, and Symantec felt no patriotic duty to preserve its activity. \u201cWe\u2019re not beholden to a nation,\u201d Chien said. \u201cWe\u2019re a multinational, private company protecting customers.\u201d\u201d - Eric\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Miscellaneous"","block_context":{"text":"Miscellaneous","link":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/category\/miscellaneous\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limbicnutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}