Breaking the Tradition

Inside of the world of Generational Consulting there is plenty of room for everyone to stretch out and really take their fair share of the pie. There are literally no restrictions, at this point, on the influence a Gen Y consultant can have on their clients and those who they advise. But, like any unlicensed profession there is a huge disparity between the quality and usefulness found amongst those sources of information. Reminiscent of the questionable practices of medicine prior to the founding of the AMA and its Universal Standards for Medicine, Generational Consulting has a “diverse” membership.

There is a distinct difference between advice and insight when either giving or receiving consultation. Some sources of consultation provide advice, similar to that of a fortune teller or even your best friend, while others provide you a source of insight. The practical application of either type of information is simple, one is simply a collection of facts without perspective while the other is a collection of facts with an understanding of how to apply them. Today it is too easy for a Generational Consultant to provide advice and for it to be taken as either providence or truly valuable. The reason for this is simple; tradition.

The traditional model for doing business as a consultant is to have served in an industry in a position that has ultimately led to a wealth of knowledge on a specific subject. Such as person then branches off from corporate practice and offers this experience to a willing client for a free. The consultant uses their experience and expertise to develop a product for a client. Through their willingness to pay for such a service, a client places a level of trust inside the provided consultation and a constantly replicated set of results are produced using a regularly tapped structure of thought. Here in lies the problem for Generational Consultation.

When a consultant advises a client on how to market or manage Gen Y, unless they are themselves directly privy to the experience of Generation Y they are so many degrees of separation from the insight. Being the key ingredient inside of effective and productive insight, experience and insight must be present in order to truthfully and appropriately provide consultation. One of the primary rules for reaching Generation Y is to access Generation Y at their level, at our level. Without the direct experience of being a Generation Yer, a consultant cannot provide the insight, only the facts, this is damaging and ultimately misleading to a client.

As stated earlier, tradition is the greatest force working against Generational Consultants. If experience and insight are fundamental to excellence in consultation and if Generation Y only responds to messages from equals and peers, the client must receive their information from Gen Y directly. The statement, “It takes one to know one,” is truly applicable in this case.

Consultants come in every shape and form, but one universal truth is that the information provided to a client must be filled with insight and experience. Unless the consultant is Generation Y themselves, they cannot effectively and honestly be working for the customer’s advantage. Traditions are meant to be broken, welcome to Generation Y, we are the future.