Leeches
Leeches. No, that isn't their professional title, even those who believe in their power would probably catch on. Like the wolf that comes in sheep's clothing, the leeches tend to wear expensive clothing so as to fit in with the top level people that are responsible for bringing them in.
That leads to an interesting question. Do they really want to dress at the same level, so as to appear "as one of them", or do they want to dress even better than those at the top of the organization so as to appear better? I don't know, but I don't want to get into that discussion right now.
But, what I want to say, before I go any further, is that I did not mean any harm on wolves by using them in my analogy. The wolf needs to eat, and if dressing up as a sheep is successful, good for the wolf. Humans on the other hand have many ways of earning enough to eat, and choosing the life of a consultant is just sad.
"The Bobs" (some will understand the reference) can be hired to do just about any type of job imaginable (and some that no sane person could imagine). You could always choose to save money by not hiring a consultant in the first place, but rarely is that the option that is taken. It is far too easy to just spend more money rather than to be fiscally conservative.
I am willing to concede that there are times when there is a net gain from bringing in a consultant. I do realize that there is an advantage to asking for an outside viewpoint on something, similar to having someone proofread your work. But I will never understand some peoples seemingly unwavering belief that consultants are a panacea.
I actually had an opportunity to observe leeches in action once. They were taking notes, but it must have been some specialized note system -- from where I was sitting it just appeared to be a random collection of words.
Consultants tend to regurgitate what is told to them. Yet because of their "superior intellect" corporations tend to listen to them more than the employees they talk to (just read any of the Dilbert books, and you will see case after case of this). The hope that some of the wisdom passed on to the consultants from the employees will make it into the final report (or whatever it may be) that will sit on a shelf and collect dust.
Here is a suggestion if you ever have to talk to a consultant. Throw in some cool IT terms to see if they would make it into the report. Rave about you need to convert your data to XML running on 64-bit processors to really succeed. See if that makes it into the final report. Will they take you at your word, or will they have look into it to see if it makes sense. If you really want to push the limit they them you need a "twenty-twelve"-bit processor. Would that make it into the final report, or would they discover that such a thing does not exist?
-- Andy
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Etymology question of the day: Are leech and leach derived from the same root, or is it just coincidence that they seem related in definition?
That leads to an interesting question. Do they really want to dress at the same level, so as to appear "as one of them", or do they want to dress even better than those at the top of the organization so as to appear better? I don't know, but I don't want to get into that discussion right now.
But, what I want to say, before I go any further, is that I did not mean any harm on wolves by using them in my analogy. The wolf needs to eat, and if dressing up as a sheep is successful, good for the wolf. Humans on the other hand have many ways of earning enough to eat, and choosing the life of a consultant is just sad.
"The Bobs" (some will understand the reference) can be hired to do just about any type of job imaginable (and some that no sane person could imagine). You could always choose to save money by not hiring a consultant in the first place, but rarely is that the option that is taken. It is far too easy to just spend more money rather than to be fiscally conservative.
I am willing to concede that there are times when there is a net gain from bringing in a consultant. I do realize that there is an advantage to asking for an outside viewpoint on something, similar to having someone proofread your work. But I will never understand some peoples seemingly unwavering belief that consultants are a panacea.
I actually had an opportunity to observe leeches in action once. They were taking notes, but it must have been some specialized note system -- from where I was sitting it just appeared to be a random collection of words.
Consultants tend to regurgitate what is told to them. Yet because of their "superior intellect" corporations tend to listen to them more than the employees they talk to (just read any of the Dilbert books, and you will see case after case of this). The hope that some of the wisdom passed on to the consultants from the employees will make it into the final report (or whatever it may be) that will sit on a shelf and collect dust.
Here is a suggestion if you ever have to talk to a consultant. Throw in some cool IT terms to see if they would make it into the report. Rave about you need to convert your data to XML running on 64-bit processors to really succeed. See if that makes it into the final report. Will they take you at your word, or will they have look into it to see if it makes sense. If you really want to push the limit they them you need a "twenty-twelve"-bit processor. Would that make it into the final report, or would they discover that such a thing does not exist?
-- Andy
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Etymology question of the day: Are leech and leach derived from the same root, or is it just coincidence that they seem related in definition?
posted by Andy Weaver at 23:43
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