The Joys and Challenges of Working with a Small Firm as a Consultant

One of the more enjoyable aspects of being a business consultant is helping a business improve or even transform itself as a result of your efforts.

When working with a small firm of organizational structure and scale, the consultant may find driving change with leadership less complex and more responsive due to a lack of bureaucracy. On the flip side personalities and, yes, leadership egos are often left unchecked. The consultant must quickly gain a measure of the human factor politics and adjust his/her vehicle and course in which to navigate any issues arising from the personal interactions within the firm without becoming part of the problem. A consultant must avoid becoming entangled in the morass that many firms suffer.

One solution to this problem, and it is not an easy one for the consultant, involves the consultant giving up ownership of the ideas and allowing the ideas to become the prodigy of the leaders of the firm. This facilitation is a direct outgrowth of the Socratic Method of teaching that is integral in the success of working with small firms. David Morales of ChandlerHill Partners says, “Behind the scenes we consultants often quietly judge our own success by the speed it takes a client to present our suggestions back to us as their own.”

Gaining acceptance and ultimate buy-in of your ideas is in many cases the more important facet of being a consultant for any size firm. Without ownership and attendant buy-in from the client, the efforts of the consultant will not have staying power after the consulting engagement is complete.

There are many rewards and opportunities to learn from an engagement with a small firm. The consultant must gain the trust of the members of the firm and be willing to learn from the experience. The lessons learned from the observations and yes personal interaction with all members of the company will provide the consultant with additional tools and examples for work with other firms. The best consultant is after all, a student as well as a mentor.

Written by: Charles Steven Brennaman
Brennaman Consulting
www.brennaman@csbrennaman.com