I've never found networking events to be particularly productive in the consulting business. I'd rather be getting to know potential clients than other consultants or professional service providers. If the goal is to build our consulting firm, shouldn't we focus on clients?

Networking is taken as an article of faith among consultants - as well as other professional service providers and business people of all stripes. You may be asking the important questions in reverse order. The third question is how valuable is networking; the second question is what do you mean by networking; the first question is what is the objective of networking.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad, says "The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work." HIs point is that, regardless of the size or breadth of your consulting practice, the pace, complexity and uncertainty of the business environment means that you will increasingly need fresh relationships, resources, and information sources to thrive. A few colleagues or data sources are no longer sufficient to give you what you need. This is what networks are for.

The next question of what networking is should not focus on "networking events." Regardless of how well these are designed, they are largely semi-structured aggregations of people who, if you are lucky, can connect with each other. This may be what most people mean when they say networking but it is not the same as building a network. This requires defining the people, information, skills, resources and access necessary to keep you current with trends in your industry and discipline. A network is defined, explicit, and intentional. It is also continuously redefined. The final question, how valuable it is, can be answered in terms of how critical the network(s) are to your professional (and personal) growth. How damaging to your business is a loss of prospects, partners or revenues when the market changes, key staff leave or technologies or competitors devastate your market? Your networks are your safety valves. We can never have too many networks, and few consultants have enough.

Tip: Start by defining what you need to be agile in your business, to anticipate and respond to emerging trends. Like making a packing list for a trip, write down what you need to have and be over the next five years? What people or skills do you need to acquire theme? What different networks do you need to develop or strengthen - you may need 5-10 different networks? What is your plan to build, support and evaluate the effectiveness of those networks? How do you intend to not just connect others into your network, but to connect to other networks? The LinkedIn model of a "network of networks" is a good way to look at your own networking approach. Finally, since you don't know what you will need a few years from now, how will you build your networks so you have access to that which you think you don't need?

© 2011 Institute of Management Consultants USA

If business and management are constantly changing and consultants are expected to keep up with or get ahead of these changes, how do we know when we have "mastered our craft"?

I am not sure we ever master our craft, whether the industry we consult to or the disciplines we use to provide client services. That doesn't mean we shouldn't learn as much as we can about business, management and consulting. However, there are two clues that indicate we might be getting close.

First is the frequency with which your professional colleagues seek you out for advice. Do your colleagues come to you (not just once, but second and third times) asking your opinion about how to evaluate a situation or recommend a course of action? Do they ask you for your judgment and benefit of your experience? Do they refer to you as "the person who knows about these things?" If so, then your knowledge and experience have reached a level of peer acceptance.

Second is when you can read the latest business book relating to your discipline or industry and, based on experience and a solid understanding of underlying theory, react confidently to assertions it makes with "Yes, no, no, no, that's interesting, no, yes, NO!, only in certain circumstances, etc." This does not mean your reactions are based on unfounded opinions but are made with a full understanding of how the systems and concepts you read about work.

Tip: A commitment to management consulting is also a commitment to lifelong learning. Although we never master the profession, we can seek the affirmation of our peers and the confidence to critically evaluate best practices as indicators we are improving.

© 2011 Institute of Management Consultants USA

After more than a decade in consulting, I have developed a solid set of stories, examples, and templates that I use in my engagements and I think they work really well. Should I update these standards or am I OK with what I have?

A consultant is well served by a ready set of stories, examples, and metaphors to assist in communicating techniques and approaches to make organizations more effective. However, there is always room to improve the way we think about organizations, management and consulting. One of the best ways to do this is to read constantly about innovative ways businesses operate and how to use this information to refresh your toolkit.

Think beyond your normal boundaries. For example, if you are involved in process improvement, find examples of clever ways companies are benchmarking. Hospitals trying to improve operating room effectiveness have benchmarked against racing pit crews to address tool placement, equipment hand offs, communication, and process speed and predictability. Maybe not what you would normally consider, but something that stimulates you to think more broadly.

Another example is where Southwest Airlines looks for employees. Instead of traditional places, Southwest looks for flight attendant candidates among school teachers, who are very service oriented and social. Police officers and fire fighters are known to make great baggage handlers because they are used to physical activity, work extremely well in teams and are goal oriented. Seeing through the eyes of Southwest can stimulate you to think more broadly about new ways to help your clients do the same.

Tip: Even if you have developed a good set of consulting resources over the years, give them a good scrubbing and update. After a while, the stories become tired (even the examples above are well known to many consultants) and really require a review to see if there are more robust concepts needed, more recent examples available, and new ways to tell the "story" for each of them.

© 2010 Institute of Management Consultants USA