Consulting 101

In consulting, consistent 12 to 16 hour days could be the sign of an extremely dedicated consultant or a complete incompetence on the Statement of Work creation. It may be the case that prolonged daily engagements are not due to the consultant's lack of intelligence but rather the lack of due diligence in initial requirements gathering, resource scoping and the ability to translate the customer's pain points into an accurate, actionable plan. The result is a consultant with a vague Statement of Work prepared by a non-technical salesman that requires translation, improvements and expectation management. Correct scoping leads to increased revenues for the consultancy, better customer satisfaction and a general morale boost for the consulting staff.

Also, it should be noted that the acronym SME no longer stands for Subject Matter Expert; rather, Send Me Everywhere.