The Consulting Paradox

The consulting paradox- Is our brain conditioned to only trust information it received directly, with as little as possible distortion?

Do you also have it that, when you reach a junction to a road which is a bit difficult to oversee, and there is a mirror to aid you, that you never fully trust the image the mirror gives you, and you still crosscheck if the road is indeed free, while already pulling up? I sure do!

I wondered why since after all, the mirror should not omit information it receives. After pondering on this, I came to the conclusion that our brain is conditioned to only trust information it received directly, with as little as possible distortion. At least, when it comes to simple information, which has direct devastating consequences if misinterpreted.

Then I wondered why, if this is the case, (Senior) management often does trust the opinion or report from a consultancy firm regarding a matter it asked them to look in to. It does not become much more indirect information than in such a case.

Is it because their own livelihood is often not directly and immediately impacted? Maybe. However, I believe there is another factor that comes in play in such a case.

Let's get back to the mirror. We are driving and most of us believe we are pretty good at it. Managing a large organization in a continuously evolving environment is a bit more complex. Most managers I know are perfectly aware of the fact that they can not know and understand every aspect of the organization they run. That's after all why they hire specialists to focus on the specific tasks to be performed and analyses to make. they can like that focus on the big picture.

Internal staff sometimes is also too used to how things are organized and go with what they know.

The mirror example however points at a very significant issue to address at the very beginning of every consultancy assignment: trust. Management should trust the consultant that is going to work on the assignment, and the consultant should ensure he or she has that trust. In fact, this is something that is often overlooked. The consultant often assumes the trust is there because he got the assignment. As much as this bears truth, this is still something to discuss and verify in the very first meeting with senior management. At Kazarma Consulting we will always ask this question and ensure trust is there at the beginning of every assignment.