The Difference Between Consultants and Advisors

Consultants vs. advisors.

Are you looking for a consultant or an advisor?

There is a difference.

Arthur Martinez, the CEO who led Sears' successful turnaround, has a
reputation as one of industry's shrewdest users of outside professional
help. He likes to call on consultants when Sears has a clear cut problem
in need of solution.
But when he uses an outside advisor, Martinez already has thought
through several possible solutions. The job of the advisor is to serve
as an impartial sounding board, a sparing partner to help Martinez test
his ideas and then identify the pros and cons of proposed courses of
action.
Consultants are problem solvers. They excel at developing and selling
ideas, and they can be great simplifiers.
Good advisors, though, often muddy the waters, leaving their clients
with a new and often broader perspective. They are better
problem-definers than solvers. At their best, they contribute to
strengthening their clients capacity to solve their own problems.
Advisors can provide an early-warning about emerging problems, signals
often missed by a consultant's sharp focus on eliminating the problem at
hand.
These are two very different roles. It's hard for one person - or firm -
to act well in both capacities at the same time.
For an example of the distinction, look at this report on leadership
development:
Twelve Common Dilemmas of Leadership Development Programs - and what to
do about them
It is an example of the problem-solving approach of the consultant.
This paper, in contrast, is more typical of the ideas that may emerge
from advising, and is intended to stimulate rethinking of a common
approach to executive development:
Developing Tomorrow's Growth Leaders: Clones or mutants?
For another example of an advising work-product, see:
Is GE a Good Model for Other Companies to Follow?
For an example of the kinds of issues an advisor might raise with a
client facing talent shortages, see:
Winning the Talent Wars

� Robert M. Tomasko 2002

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