I know that I take myself and my profession far too seriously. After all, managing projects for other people is how I pay for the roof over my family’s head and the food they eat. However, during the Christmas season even I take a step back to ponder the absurdity of it all. In that vein, I present for your consideration the following idea:
Consultants are almost exactly like Santa’s elves.
Here’s how it works.
The Big Man makes all of the decisions
Say you are the elf responsible for making sure some number of households get their toys this year. What decisions do you make? None, really. The jolly old fat man checks off who has been naughty and who has been nice. He decides whether to give them a plane, a train, or an automobile. Heck, he even decides whether the elves will do the work or whether to outsource it to some off-Pole electronics outfit.The elves responsible for tools, wrapping paper, and ribbon control the raw materials of production. The craftsmen elves are the ones who get to exhibit some creative initiative, making things interesting for themselves and putting a personal stamp on the toys. Even the loader elves have more control, since they decide which bag gets stuffed and in what order.
The managing elf? Not so much. He’s just the one the not-so-jolly fat man yells at when things go awry. Which, naturally, they always do at the worst possible time.
Read the rest at TechRepublic’s IT Consultant Blog.
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