By David Norman, FCMC, CMC®-AF

This article is first in a series: Five Ways To Raise Your Consulting Game.

Over a short two-day span in 2023 two consulting-related articles caught my attention. First, Confessions of a Whistleblower by Garrison Lovely highlighted several cultural problems at the consulting firm, McKinsey.  Lovely writes openly his experiences working in the $15 Billion annual revenue (2022) firm and recommends an approach to more accountability, especially in government arenas. Lovely has since left McKinsey.

The second ‘hit’ came in a post by CEO Brad Jackson on LinkedIn that the Seattle-based business and technology consulting firm, Slalom Consulting, is laying off seven percent of its workforce.  He stated, appropriately, today “is the most challenging day in our company’s history as we share gratitude and say goodbye to some of our colleagues and friends.”

The Number of Independent Consultants Continues to Increase

So, why position these two pieces of information together? First, the obvious, they are about my profession, management consulting. Second, and pertinent herewith, is that, taken together, they point to continuing shifts in the marketplace for consultants – specifically, continued dissatisfaction with the culture and ethics of big consulting and the likely entry of experienced consultants previously hired by firms into the world of the solopreneur.

Consulting Is an Unregulated Professional Services Group

As a multi-year solo consultant, I encourage you to do the same and build your own book-of-business. Consulting, at one level, is still the ‘wild, wild West’ in that it is unregulated at local, state or federal level – likely the largest professional services group so unlicensed.  CPAs are regulated and licensed at the State level. Attorneys are also licensed at the State level. Even cosmetologists and barbers in my home state, North Carolina, are regulated and licensed.

But not consultants. Anyone can hang a shingle and go consult.

The Need to Differentiate Yourself from the Growing Number of Consultants

Hang your shingle and start consulting if you are so inclined. But, as you create your own path, you will discover the need to separate yourself and your practice from the other estimated 1,000,000 consultants in the U.S.  First, likely, you will develop your marketing pitch/collateral along the lines of your skill set, what you offer to clients.  IT, HR, Profit Improvement, Operations, etc., will be the first cut.

Then, to further separate yourself, you will describe your experience to add a certain level of credentialing. Years of experience, references to past clients, testimonials, etc., will all be oriented to make you and your practice different and therefore preferred over other such consultants.

Five Ways to Raise Your Consulting Game

Consider, there is a third way to truly separate yourself from the masses and brand you as a professional. My colleagues and I see five parts:

1. Adhere to an Enforceable Code of Ethics;
2. Adhere to an international Consulting Competence Framework;
3. Adhere to a professional Code of Conduct;
4. Become a Certified Management Consultant®; and
5. Trained in ISO 20700.

It’s Not About What You Consult, It’s How

I trust you notice in this list that none of this is about what you consult on (e.g., your skills and your experiences). Instead, it’s about how you consult, the mechanics, if you will, and the behaviors required.  Being a professional management consultant is more than your skills and experiences, it is how you consult – your commitment to ethical behavior, your understanding of an international set of consulting competencies, your professional conduct, earning the gold-standard in consulting, the CMC®, and finally using the international tools of ISO developed specifically for management consultants.

I will be addressing each of these five in subsequent posts.

Stay tuned.

This blog post was printed on the IMC USA blog with permission. It originally appeared on The Consultants Peer Group blog.

About The Author, David Norman CMC®-AF, FCMC

The author, David T. Norman CMC®-AF, FCMC has almost 50 years of experience as a management consultant. He is the Chair of The Consultants Peer Group and CEO of David Norman & Associates, specializing in financial, operational and general management consulting services. David was the first recipient in the United States of the CMC®-AF, Academic Fellow of the international Council of Management Consultant Institutes (ICMCI) and is a FCMC, Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants USA.