General Consultant Discussion

Here's the state of Journalism. One profession that is hurting worse than ERP consulting.

I don't know if I'm more depressed because the problem is so pervasive throughout our economy or because I'm experiencing a bit of 'misery loves company''; hey, we're not alone! Net, net - IF 1) you are only selling your experience, knowledge, and wisdom gained over years of 'been there, done that', all people think you're giving is your time. 2) and If you believe everyone is equal, then everyone's time is of the same value. 3) and If you believe the above and also believe you have little value (because you haven't 'been there and done that') Then all our time is of little or no value and you shouldn't hesitate to get a little free time. Personally, I agree with Margeret Thatcher; eveyone is not equal. Everyone should get a equal opportunity to succeed. However, not everyone will succeed equally. Some by chance, but mostly by hard work, natural talent, and superior intellect. For me, it's a good thing luck is involved. 'Hey mister, do you got a dime? Mister, do you want to spend some time?'

BTW, the above is why the Dr's told me not to take customer calls while on pain pills. My mind wanders. Owh, pretty...............

Ditto MT. Thomas Jefferson: Quotation: ""I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."" Variation: ""The harder I work, the luckier I get."" Winston Churchill: ""The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.

@BobPfahnl I love the Churchill quote!

I'm going to throw a working theory of mine out here: The Internet is going to slowly make the majority of people's jobs irrelevant. Not just because the sheer volume of information out there but because it enables things to get done more efficiently. This will help many businesses turn the wheel faster. It's a race to the bottom for a lot of businesses. Particularly professional service individuals that don't understand what they are really selling.

@PeterWolf what are you selling? For us, it's the knowledge of how to apply technology, business theory, and experience to streamline business processes, focus on value creating activities, and achieve better performance for our customers. This coupled with the ability to apply these tools to achieve measurable results to business challenges is our strength. I think the internet is changing a lot of things. However, I don't believe that more information is always the answer. I mean, there have been an unmeasureable number of diet and health improvement books written yet the obiesitiy rate continues to climb in the US. Knowing how to do something is only part of the equation. The balance is getting busy, applying what you know in a structured aproach, and measuring results. Quit talking about and get on it! That's where you and I come in brother! You can't get that from a web page.

There is: a. Home Depot b. Larry the Lush who does carpentry on weekends (when he shows up) before hitting the bar c. Pete the handyman who does good work, quit his regular construction job because he could do better on his own -- but under-bills and overbooks and really isn't making more money than he would as an employee. d. Fred the builder who drives are new Mercedes each year These people were all impacted by Home Depot (remember that not too many years ago there was no Home Depot). These folks all adapted to their environment and each serve a particular market segment from the very low end do-it-yourselfer (a) all the way to the high end (d). It's up to us to figure out where we want to fit in.

@ShawnSlavin - My point was more along the lines of what @WayneSchulz is saying. It's up to us to avoid the race to the bottom - not accept that fate like sheep. Sorry I wasn't clear.

Relevant: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130210190311-38251380-there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-commodity?trk=mp-details-rr-rmpost

The Journalism business is having lots of trouble because very few have figured out how to sell their news on the web. The NY Times & WSJ have paywalls that apparently work well for them. The Atlantic doesn't really. You can't make money selling to customers (like The Atlantic) when then aren't charging for you sell them. Still, their problem is much like ours. Their solution, and essentially the one Wayne, Peter and others espouse is related to ""The Content Vault."" Kless teaches it, and the concept came from Alan Weiss (http://www.contrarianconsulting.com/million-dollar-consulting-accelerant-curve/). Our business is, I think, in better shape than Journalism. Our customers can measure an ROI (rough, at least) from our fees. Journalism is trying to pull readers and their advertisers. I'd rather have our problems. Peter and Wayne are spot on: there is no such thing as a commodity. BUT the trick is that you have to get inside your customer's head enough to understand what would NOT look like a commodity to him/her.