Yes, I admit it – I become a rabid sports fan for two weeks of the year, for March Madness. For those of you who never lived in the Midwest, that is either the Indiana high school championship series or the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championship series. There are lessons outside of the bracket business that apply to consultants. Here are a few thoughts:
- Stick to your core strength – whether you play zone defense, man to man, or blockout, know what got you to this level and work with that strength. Play your game, not someone else’s.
- Don’t mess with a successful structure or infrastructure – the current 65-team structure for the tournament has an elegance to it. The talk of expanding to 96 teams makes me think about the mess that college football has made of its Bowl Championship Series, where there are too many bowl games that only the advertisers care about. The corollary for consultants is to evaluate your infrastructure regularly but if it’s working for you, don’t mess with it. Work on areas of your business that can use improving.
- Root for the underdog. Yes, Cal didn’t have much of a chance going up against the #1 tournament seed, but Saint Mary’s is the real underdog in the Sweet Sixteen. Many of us work with start-ups who are taking on established companies, and it feels good to root for the underdog here, too.
All of these will lead to more authentic consulting for you and your clients.
About Deb McClanahan
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