Evel Knievel vs. the Executive

Guidelines for Using Consultants

The following guidelines will help you avoid silly, universal edicts curtailing the use of consultants:

1. Focus on the Landing Zone - Keep your focus on the outcomes not the inputs then work backwards. Start with, “What must we do to achieve success?” then ask, “Do we have the competencies and changes in thinking in-house to accomplish that?”
2. Spend only on Increasing Speed or Reducing Drag - When you're in a financial bind, projects with consultants must increase the number of customers who will choose you versus competition, or directly increase the profitability of choices that currently go your way. A strategy project may be a good investment, but only if it is related to customer choices and can be implemented to generate results quickly.
3. Buy the Jump, not the Ramp - Find consultants that have delivered your outcome. This is a critical guideline that many executives miss. Now is not the time to find a consultant experienced in your situation. Evel Knievel could have looked for an expert in building ramps for motorcycles that are not achieving enough speed– that would be situational experience. He was better off, however, finding an expert who has a proven track record in helping stunt performers sail over crazy distances – that’s outcome expertise and it is much more valuable.
4. Pay for Success - Since you will only be engaging consultants on projects that are directly related to customer choices or profitability, base a portion of fees on achieving success. For instance, in a contract I just set up between a struggling company and a marketing/sales consultant, the $78,000 fee the consultant proposed was reduced to $39,000 with a $78,000 bonus once an aggressive new-customer target was reached.
5. Treat the Crew Well - Once you find the right consultant, be generous in the success fees. You have a lot on the line. The more you ask the consultant to risk, the more you need to be willing to share in success. The more the consultant is reliant on you for, say, good execution, the more they are going to want some level of fixed fee.
6. Wear a Helmet - Anticipate risks and exogenous hiccups as best you can, and plan for them. Knievel always had a safe landing zone identified for him to crash into in case something went wrong. Which it did. Frequently. He ended up setting world records for shattered bones, but your mistakes will not be nearly as painful. A consultant who does not regularly build backup planning into their projects is not the consultant you want.

In business as in motorcycle jumping, being self-sufficient during down times isn’t a sign of wisdom – it’s a sign of an impending crash. Invest in the right kind of help and you’ll land safely on target with the fans cheering.

David A. Fields, author of The Executive’s Guide to Consultants (McGraw Hill, 2012), improves companies’ success with outside experts. Read an overview of his advisory service or contact him by e-mail at david@ascendantconsortium.com.