Knowledgeable Consultants

I have been in L&D past 30 years, in some form or another. I have also been an L&D consultant. Being both sides of the field, I have made plenty of mistakes. One of the things I want to share here is the way L&D consultants approach companies, with the intent to help the companies. Noble in intent, but sometimes that intent backfire. I was fortunate, when I approached them as a L&D consultant, they commented on my approach. Some are polite, some are loud. I learned nonetheless. 

Never approach a company without doing extensive homework. A few months ago, I received a solution to remedy challenges for an oil & gas business. They company I swork with, was never near the oil & gas spectrum Talk about being off-base. I have met many companies who approached me asking me to divulge all our company problems to them, so that they can develop solutions. Sorry, it doesn't work that way either.
I have met some consultants, who did their homework. They not only know our challenges, also provided solutions I am impressed with. I am learning a lot from these learned experts. 

Even though I am an in-house consultant, I can no longer just say, tell me your problems, and I shall develop a solution. I need to approach them, knowing the problems and providing the solutions, without asking them. I need to know their business, be it within the organization, or benchmark it against other comparable companies.

Good luck to us all.

Ben Grant