What are you wondering about these days?

I’ve been wondering about the comeback of “wisdom.”

Is it that I’m suddenly seeing yellow cars everywhere because someone told me to start spotting them?

Or is wisdom actually making a comeback? Are people appreciating it more?

Why Wisdom Is Making a Comeback

Recently, I spent a few days at Modern Elder Academy (MEA), located on a 3,000-acre ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was there with 18 colleagues, all of whom I know fairly well.

One of the topics we discussed was wisdom. How does it differ from knowledge? How do we describe a “wise” person? And how do we acquire wisdom?

Our facilitator noted that people seek wisdom most during periods of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—VUCA. There’s nothing new about that connection, but it certainly describes the moment we’re in.

What Clients Need from Consultants in a VUCA World

As consultants to management, what is our role in calming VUCA?

Do clients engage us for our encyclopedic knowledge? Or do they need us to help knowledgeable people find which option will produce the desired result?

Either way, clients rely on us to reduce VUCA.

Consultant Wisdom Begins When Knowledge Is Not Enough

My answer—this month, at least, is that wisdom has less to do with what we know. It has more to do with what we do when we don’t know enough.

Clients don’t hire us because we hold every fact. They hire us because we can sit with ambiguity and weigh judgment against incomplete information. We ask the questions that help them decide what to do next.

That requires a different skill from domain knowledge. It may be the skill our clients need most right now.

Maybe this VUCA moment is simply revealing the product we’ve been selling all along.

Where Does Wisdom Show Up in Your Consulting Work?

Where does wisdom show up in your work with clients—and how did you get there?

Please answer in the comment section below and feel free to send me additional thoughts by email.

Jeannette Hobson CMC

CEO and Chair

IMC USA