What can consultants learn from John Wick?
Consultants often worry about slow slide-making speed. But speed without quality is nothing. Effectiveness always trumps efficiency. First, focus on quality, and then speed will follow.
Remember the John Wick movie?
There, Keanu Reeves moves very fast, shooting and fighting bad guys.
Pretty cool, right?
It was good entertainment until I saw a video of Keanu training for his role.
You wouldn't expect such rigor and dedication from a Hollywood actor.
Apparently, Keanu extensively trained in jiu-jitsu, judo, acrobatics, and practical shooting. Since he had little time, he hired the best instructors in each discipline.
For example, take a look at how he trains in practical shooting.
It's impressive!
Keanu isn’t just shooting incredibly fast. He’s also shooting with deadly accuracy.
Because speed without accuracy means nothing.
Consulting is the same game but a different playing field.
Many consultants are obsessed with slide-making speed.
But I am always perplexed when consultants ask me about speed. Because without the right content, they produce 'Mickey Mouse' slides, just much faster.
And you know what I realized after many years of working in consulting?
You can't learn speed, but you can learn quality.
Then, once you nail quality and learn the right processes and techniques,
Speed will follow naturally and fairly quickly.
Here's why:
1. High-quality output leads to fewer iterations
2. Fewer iterations lead to less wasted time
3. Less wasted time leads to more time for deep thinking
4. Deep thinking leads to better solutions
See where I'm going with this?
In essence, improving effectiveness will yield better results than focusing on efficiency.
Effectiveness always trumps efficiency.
Doing the right things slowly is more important than doing the wrong things faster.
Focus on quality. Nail the right techniques. Learn to produce top-notch outputs consistently.
Do that well, and I promise you, speed will follow.
This is exactly the method I use to train consultants in my Hero’s Journey coaching program.
I can't give you months and years of experience, and you don't have the time.
To accelerate your learning, you will complete practical exercises. These are near real-life tasks that resemble your day-to-day work.
But I won’t give you any deadlines. I’ll ask you to produce the best outputs and take as much time as you need.
Because, only when you deliver your best work can you learn new things.
Then, I will show you the best outputs of other members.
So you can compare and calibrate.
I don't do that to make you feel bad. I want to stretch your understanding of the quality bar. Then, we will discuss what you can do to get there next time.
So, every exercise becomes a deep learning experience. This replaces months and years of unstructured learning.
As a result, you will grow very fast.
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