You’ve built your success on great ideas, partnerships, and hard work. There’s nothing you can’t do. But are there things you probably shouldn’t do? Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don’t always get to realize their full potential because they get hung up majoring in minors. There is a risk in reinventing the wheel every time you hit a snag.
Have you worked with a consultant? Do you have opinions or experiences? I’ve worked with many. Every time has been hugely positive. But the expression about bad apples upsetting the cart is true. One crummy consultant drags the rest of them down. We’ve all heard those stories but they won’t be yours. You still get to interview and hire the right consultant. And when you bring this person in, here are some things you might consider – and count on:
Consultants have an outsider’s perspective
Your team can lose clarity when they are too close to the problem. Sometimes a business gets so accustomed to working around a problem that a process is handed down as “the way we do it”. The memory of the workaround is lost and it just becomes the standard. A consultant can come in, be really curious, ask fresh questions, and stir discussion and realization.
Consultants can accomplish short-term goals
With vision and management, you will see projects that [could] be accomplished by a member of your team, but you also balance what tasks and projects they must give up to focus on this one. Your in-house talent is in the business for the long term. Make sure they grow and develop and work on problems with long-term payback. In other words, let them take ownership and control of the pieces that align with your innovation and growth strategies.
Leverage new skills and take advantage of outside market knowledge
Consider information technology. You have talented people internally. Can’t they just set up the printer or wireless network? Sure, they can and they probably have. But there comes a time for every SMB when shoestring IT becomes a liability. IT Consulting is your best option for true end-to-end IT demands. Can your business handle a cyber-attack or recover lost data? How will your business manage the maze of compliance and regulation around digital privacy, data security, and health records? An often overlooked benefit of IT Consulting is that they aren’t just one person managing all of your IT needs. They are a team with broad experience. They have practice solving problems with numerous businesses both similar and distinct from yours. And … IT is all they do.
One of the most critical skills of any leader is to manage talent – from vision-casting to prioritization, your leadership allows your team to grow and develop unique solutions for your customers. Let them do what they do best, and let Preactive IT take care of your IT Consulting. Call us today at 832-479-1005.
