As another year draws to a close - an observation...Having been on this forum for many many years (like a lot of others though I contribute a lot less than some of the legends on here) it's interesting to notice how my outlook / persona / whole being has changed.Whether it's my age (late 40s) or somehting else I find myself balking at the big corporate consultancies out there. At this point in posting on here it would be de rigueur to list streams of past expertise etc. etc. In summary - worked across industries (Gov, Health, Inusrance, Banking, ) as a consultant / Senior Manager for various consultancies (rejected accenture and Cap early on which I though may have been a mistake). Large and small - I found little difference in the essence of a consutling firm. The good ones reward people, push them, give them excellent training and varied, interesting work. Great (particulalry if yr young - lap it all up - the expense accounts, the travel, the clients). Some even portray all this as glamorous. Ultimately however, you get paid & you need to be earning the company x times what they pay you (through billability or managing other consultants or bringing in new work or whatevr measurements they use via a plethora of costing models). You are resource (a replaceable one) though you can be rewarded for it. For me, age (or it it mellowness?!) made me take all my consulting background and start off on my own. First as a contract, then putting a small , loose venture together with some others and now working with finance and the public sector outside the big (and small) consulting firms. The difference in working "with" as oppposed to working "for" these clients, firms, consultants etc. is huge. No more crap drinks evenings or xmas parties where you're shoved with people you'd kick in the nuts given haf the chance. No fawning at the people above you on the corporate ladder or feigning interest at partners then slating them behind their backs, or worse listening to partners talk "confidentially" about their staff as if they were useless flotsum while giving them the 'motivational' messages they crave. The review rounds, the bonus discussion, the powerpoint speak the bleeds into everyday life, the subtle yet very present 'but I'm so clever' undercurrent in conversations.... I could go on. No - instead a lot more freedom away from the illusion of security these firms give people, picking and choosing the work and clients. Taking time off. Proper time off. Enjoying things that matter. Anyone else felt / feeling the shift in outlook? Or am I just going to get replies telling me to man up and do those air miles and go for promotion....Have a wonderful xmas and new year!Chameleon
