Consultants are the Navy SEALS of business
Consultants are expected to operate in stressful environments. But often, they are not equipped with the right training. Learn an effective learning system to radically improve your performance.
Consultants are the Navy SEALS.
Before you cringe, hear me out.
Imagine you have a difficult project.
It seems impossible to do. You wonder why you have this situation in the first place.
The scope is not properly defined. Clients don't really want to do anything, and the problems are tough to solve.
Well, this sounds like a definition of almost every project I did.
But giving up was not a viable option. I didn't want to get a negative rating and then get fired.
So, I came up with a coping mechanism.
I imagined myself as a member of a Navy SEAL team conducting a special operation behind enemy lines.
Crazy? Maybe.
But there are many parallels.
Consultants work in small teams of 3-5 people with highly specialized roles and capabilities.
They parachute behind 'enemy' lines (clients' sites).
They solve impossible problems under extreme pressure and deadlines.
Consultants operate at an inhuman level. Their capabilities are much higher than those of 'infantry soldiers.'
Most 'normal' people wouldn't sign up for this extremely stressful job. Only crazy (highly driven and motivated) people would do that.
This mental reframing helped me accept chaos as a normal part of the job.
Then, I could think about what I could improve from that tough baseline.
But, there is one big difference in how Navy SEALs operate.
They spend 90% on training and 10% on real missions.
This is understandable, given the extremely high risks they face.
We do the opposite in consulting.
We expect our consultants to learn in real battles.
This is not a bad approach if you have great line leaders who can coach and mentor you well in the trenches.
Unfortunately, this often doesn't happen as your leaders are preoccupied with their own survival. They don't tolerate any laggards, even if you are only learning the ropes.
I always felt we could do better with our training and coaching.
As a first-year consultant, I often felt thrown into action completely unprepared.
That is why I developed a coaching program for MBB consultants to help them achieve high performance and become successful.
If you are an MBB consultant and want to become a Navy SEAL-like consultant, I created FREE VIDEO TRAINING to learn a reliable development system to improve your performance.
Book a Free 1-1 Consultation to discuss whether I can help you through my coaching program. There is no commitment, and you can ask any burning questions in a risk-free environment.
Read this post to learn more about the Hero’s Journey coaching program.