Talk Dirty To Me

So, I was blissing out to Florence + The Machine and contemplating my latest (but by no means last) comeuppance. A colleague had been complaining that the room got decidedly chillier when, after some warm and lively discussion, it was discovered that her company has the dreaded word "consulting" in its name.

I've had much the same reaction when a well-meaning friend has identified me as a consultant. The recoil is slightly greater than if it had been "pedophile" and somewhat less than if it had been "congressman." Which is distressing, in that I've been a consultant for some forty-plus years (and neither of the other two).

I grew up believing, and still maintain, that real consulting is an honorable, even occasionally noble, calling. But, somewhere along the line the term has been tarnished, become debased. Has it been the result of the excesses of the always-on-the-make mega-firms, who foist busloads of over-educated and under-experienced staff on clients who only later discover that they've actually come, not to solve a problem, but to sell the next seven- or eight-figure engagement?

Are the endlessly over-promising and under-delivering sales types, who disappear after the deal is made, at fault? How about the IT implementation techno-geeks who style themselves "consultants"? Or, the desperate unemployed functional managers who may hang out a shingle, only to see it blow away in the first strong wind?

Whatever the cause, it does seem that more firms are eschewing the use of the "consulting" term. Some simply go by a name that describes or implies nothing in particular. Others have retitled their consulting divisions as "advisory" services. Here's a tip. If they do business in the same old way, "advisory" will fall into disrepute, as well.

I'm not ready - nor would I be credible - as a business "coach" and "fixer" already has a negative connotation. For the moment, I'll stick with "consultant" and hope that, like my skinny ties from the '50s, what's old will become new again.