The Consulting Caveat Emptor

The Consulting Caveat Emptor Business consulting is an odd game sometimes. The majority of practical business consultants are more like tradesmen than showmen, the consultants you see on TV are more performers than builders. By preference I'm of the architect/craftsman variety, and spend most of my time actually building, not just advising. This may not match the public perception of business consulting (this "TV consultant") in favor of the reality - people who build and do and deliver. So here is a list of caveats, hints and observations that might help people make the right choices.

1. TV consultants make money telling you what you already know.
2. We all need simplifiers, but...
3. Sometimes it takes a lot of hours to earn that high hourly rate.
4. Business suits are superfluous.
5. Consultants can't cure bad management, only enhance it.