Your article resonated so much with me that I was compelled to download the substack app and create an account just to comment.
I’ve been consulting for ~15 years. Starting as a software developer, I began consulting on my own and now have a small team. Traditional consulting always bothered me because it appeared to never include “the fi…
Your article resonated so much with me that I was compelled to download the substack app and create an account just to comment.
I’ve been consulting for ~15 years. Starting as a software developer, I began consulting on my own and now have a small team. Traditional consulting always bothered me because it appeared to never include “the fix”. Instead, it seemed designed to “keep rhetoric patient sick” and keep the billing rolling.
I’ve been biased towards “get in, solve the problem, and get out”.
My mindset is shifting now. I’ve come to understand that I’ve never been able to write software _without_ coming to understand the business, the ELT desires for the future, and the day to day pain of front line workers. Only then can I recommend and build right size solutions for the company.
I’ve always done the above “for free” as an accidental offshoot of building software because it was natural to me.
But something else you wrote makes sense as well: companies can only build so many capabilities internally. Further, software is massively misunderstood to be “an asset” wherein reality, code is a liability. Software systems need constant care and feeding even if you don’t want any new capabilities.
Combining the ability to understand the business, apply well fitting solutions, and making running the software “done for you” is the direction I’m heading.
Does that make sense given where you see the industry going?
And yes, you are right: that's the direction. One thing I'd recommend is to purposely avoid to create client dependency on your team. You are there to do a job, but not "their" job.
You should solve a problem for them as much as you should educate them so that they are able to run independently.
If this sounds like you're leaving money on the table, don't worry.
They'll never be able to pull that off, but you left them with all the ammunitions.
Your article resonated so much with me that I was compelled to download the substack app and create an account just to comment.
I’ve been consulting for ~15 years. Starting as a software developer, I began consulting on my own and now have a small team. Traditional consulting always bothered me because it appeared to never include “the fix”. Instead, it seemed designed to “keep rhetoric patient sick” and keep the billing rolling.
I’ve been biased towards “get in, solve the problem, and get out”.
My mindset is shifting now. I’ve come to understand that I’ve never been able to write software _without_ coming to understand the business, the ELT desires for the future, and the day to day pain of front line workers. Only then can I recommend and build right size solutions for the company.
I’ve always done the above “for free” as an accidental offshoot of building software because it was natural to me.
But something else you wrote makes sense as well: companies can only build so many capabilities internally. Further, software is massively misunderstood to be “an asset” wherein reality, code is a liability. Software systems need constant care and feeding even if you don’t want any new capabilities.
Combining the ability to understand the business, apply well fitting solutions, and making running the software “done for you” is the direction I’m heading.
Does that make sense given where you see the industry going?
Thanks for the nice words, first of all!
And yes, you are right: that's the direction. One thing I'd recommend is to purposely avoid to create client dependency on your team. You are there to do a job, but not "their" job.
You should solve a problem for them as much as you should educate them so that they are able to run independently.
If this sounds like you're leaving money on the table, don't worry.
They'll never be able to pull that off, but you left them with all the ammunitions.
This means they'll call you back.