The Fifth Column: Consulting Survival in the Case of Incompetence, or The Iron Law of Consulting

One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a start-up consultant is initial success. Say that your client has called you in because he or she has a problem consistent with your expertise in, say, area A. You go right to work and come up with a cheap, quick, and understood-by-management answer that is immediately implemented, and it works. Before you can leave, it is inevitable that your client would like you to have a look at a similar problem in area B, an area in which you are totally incompetent. This is known in management circles as the halo effect. If you are competent in area A, clearly (your client thinks) that competence carries over to area B. The beginning consultant must resist this trap at all costs.