Two classic biases towards consultants: from dreamers to parrots
When it comes to consultants, people often first think of two somewhat sarcastic labels: "armchair strategists who only come up with ideas but don't implement them" and "parroting machines that tell you the time using your watch." The formation of these two labels is supported by specific "allusions" ——
The first anecdote dates back to World War I. At that time, German U-boats were the "nightmare at sea" for the Allied forces. These submarines were elusive, sinking over 11 million tons of Allied merchant ships and even breaking through the defenses of escort fleets. The Allied military wracked their brains to find countermeasures. Sending more warships for escort would disperse their forces, and using early sonar for detection was prone to misjudgment. They were almost in a desperate situation. Then, a so - called "advisor" stepped forward with a "solution": "Dry up the water in the Atlantic Ocean!" Since submarines rely on the water for concealment, drying up the water would surely expose them.
How absurd is this idea? Not to mention how much energy would be needed to "boil the seawater dry", even if it could really be done, the Allied warships wouldn't be able to sail, which would be equivalent to cutting off their own supply lines. Obviously, the person who put forward this suggestion didn't consider its feasibility at all and only stopped at the "verbal level" when it came to "solving the problem". From then on, the impression that "consultants = daydreamers" was engraved in the public's perception.
The second label is even more heart - wrenching: "Consultants use your watch to tell you what time it is." The subtext of this statement is that you clearly have the answer (the watch) yourself, but the consultant takes it to "have a look" and then repeats the answer to you. They neither provide new information nor charge a high fee. For example, when a business owner asks a consultant, "How can I increase sales?", the consultant might say, "First, analyze customer needs." But doesn't the business owner know that they need to analyze the needs? This kind of situation where "saying something is equivalent to saying nothing" has spread the prejudice that "consultants = repeaters" more and more widely.
The "Curtain Puzzle" of the Jefferson Memorial: The essence of consulting is to thoroughly explore the "causal chain"
In the 1980s, the Jefferson Memorial in Washington overturned these prejudices with a real - life story.
At that time, the U.S. government found that the stone walls of the Jefferson Memorial were damaged particularly severely. Although both were eroded by acid rain, only slight mottling appeared on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial, while the stone columns of the Jefferson Memorial had begun to shed debris. The more frequently the cleaning agent was used to wipe, the faster the damage occurred. The government got anxious and invited a consulting firm to conduct an investigation.
The consultant's questions didn't beat around the bush but progressed step by step like "peeling an onion":
- : "Why is the acid rain damage to the Jefferson Memorial more severe than that to other buildings?"
The administrator replied, "Because the cleaners have to use strong alkaline cleaning agents to clean it thoroughly frequently. The acid rain itself isn't that harmful. Instead, the cleaning agents accelerate the corrosion of the stone."
-: "Why do you need to clean it so frequently?"
The administrator frowned and said, "The steps and window sills of the memorial hall are all covered with bird droppings. If we don't clean them, the tourists will complain, and we'll be letting down Jefferson's reputation."
- : "Why do so many birds come here to defecate?"
The administrator thought for a while and said, "There are a large number of small insects around the memorial hall, and the birds come here to eat the insects. It's like opening a restaurant next to a bird's nest. How can it not attract birds?"
- : "Why are there so many bugs here?"
The administrator suddenly slapped his head and said, "Oh! Because the curtains in the inner balconies and window sills of the memorial hall have been drawn all year round. Sunlight can't shine in, and dust accumulates on them. It's damp and dark, which is exactly a 'hotbed' for bugs to breed. We've never linked 'curtains' with 'bugs' before!"
Finally, the consultant only said one sentence: "Please draw the curtains open."
Is it that simple? Yes. After opening the curtains, sunlight shines into the inner balcony, drying the dust and depriving the insects of their breeding environment. Without insects, the birds won't come anymore. If the birds don't come, there's no need for frequent cleaning. Without frequent use of cleaning agents, the stone won't be damaged at an accelerated rate. A simple action of "opening the curtains" solved the "acid - rain damage" problem that had plagued them for years. The key to all this is that the consultant used a series of "whys" to connect the surface problem (stone damage) with the underlying root cause (closed curtains).
The essence of consulting: It's not about giving "ideas" but finding the "causal chain"
The story of the Jefferson Memorial has punctured two major prejudices about consulting:
- True consulting is never the utopian idea of "drying up the sea" – it doesn't pursue "startling ideas" but rather "logical cause - effect relationships".
- True consultation is not a repetition of "telling the time like a watch" — it doesn't tell you "what time it is now", but helps you understand "why it is this time".
The administrator knows about "needing to be cleaned", knows about "bird droppings", and knows about "insects", but has never thought about the connections between these phenomena. The value of the consultant is to use "continuous questioning" to string the scattered information into a "causal chain" - the superficial problem is the "effect", and the deep - seated root cause is the "cause". The task of consulting is to connect the "effect" with the "cause".
Just like the curtains in the Jefferson Memorial: they are not the "direct cause of the stone damage", but the "starting point of all problems". If the consultant only stays on the surface of "how to reduce acid rain erosion", they may suggest "applying anti-corrosion coatings to the stone" or "reducing emissions from surrounding factories" - these methods are either costly or slow to show results. However, by finding the root cause, the "curtains", the problem can be solved with just a small action.
Conclusion: From "Prejudice" to "Understanding": Counseling Helps You "See the Invisible Connections"
People's prejudice against consultants is essentially a misunderstanding of the "problem-solving approach" - they think that "solving problems" requires "major actions" and "new ideas", but forget that the most effective solutions are often hidden in the details that "you know but haven't connected".
Once the curtains of the Jefferson Memorial were drawn, it not only saved a building but also made us re - understand the value of consulting: It is not "giving you an answer" but "helping you establish a set of logic"; not "making decisions for you" but "enabling you to see the basis of decisions clearly".
So-called consulting is nothing more than stringing all the fragments together with "why" so that you can see those "invisible connections" – and this is the key to solving problems.