Alan Weiss on Certifications and Consulting
I recently had the opportunity to chat with Alan Weiss, a very successful business consultant, speaker, and author of Million Dollar Consulting
I’ve become convinced that the consulting profession is better off with no licensing or national recognition at all.
I understand this is heresy, but it turns out to be pretty smart business. One of the great advantages of consulting is the ease of entry. You don’t need a bushel of credentials, a pile of money, or even an office. You just need your smarts. And those smarts are all that sustained a great many currently top consultants when they began in the business.
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I salute any consultant who develops himself or herself by engaging in continual learning, and if that’s done with the help of an organization, conference, collaboration, or any other structure, fine. I think we all also know that any string of initials after our names in this business means zero to potential buyers. What they want to know is how smart you are, who is referring you, what intellectual capital you bring, and what your track record is.
Let’s stop trying to shoot ourselves in the foot by seeking licensing, certifications, approvals, DNA testing, or blood samples. Let’s exploit the wonderful opportunity of this profession by being the best we can, every one of us, by our own terms and by those of our clients.
On a related note, read “Graduate Students Stunned”.
You can find Alan’s blog at http://contrarianconsulting.com.
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4 Comments, Comment or Ping
Alan Weiss
Thank you for your generosity in mentioning my work.
May 20th, 2007
Christopher Richards
Let’s not confuse education with intelligence. However we do. Higher education can damage the natural curiosity and appetite for courage (risk). It certainly can damage a person’s ability to write and communicate clearly. (If it didn’t I would be out of business.) Most of all, the danger is of compliance. Education (as we know it) is an exercise in fulfilling someone else’s agenda. Debt breeds fear. And creativity is stifled in a culture of fear.
I think it was Ashley Montague (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Montagu) who said that the mark of an educated person was one who had overcome the limitations of the educational system.
Higher education should practice academic birth-control. Churning out more MBA’s is in the interest of the institution.
I read Ivan Illich (Deschooling Society) as a teenager in the late 1960’s. I was impressionable— and it made an impression. Michel de Montaigne (b. 1533), said, “…wise men have more to learn from fools, that fools from wise men.” And this, “Having learned little from good examples, I make use of bad ones, which offer me everyday lessons.” We all make mistakes. In school they are discouraged. In the real world we suffer and learn.
There is a lot of empty talk about passion in business. And business language drains its content of all life. Passion is not hot, unthinking, and impulsive. What is meant by passion is enthusiasm and energy. These are necessary. But the most important thing for an autodidactic is a mixture of curiosity, creativity, and courage. Which business school values these attributes?
I appreciate the PMBA approach. I have often thought of literary therapy by prescribing great works for common ailments.
I love this website.
Thank you
Christopher Richards
May 30th, 2007
john
that guy looks like an old loser
Jun 24th, 2007