Over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting one particular question more and more… Inquisitive minds wonder: “what is it you do exactly?” and I feel that I have a really great (and vague) answer to share.
I like to tell people that I work as a problem solver, helping large enterprises solve their most complex issues. Sometimes I add that we enable them to deliver high performance over the long term. Great, succinct, true.
But, then they ask the dreaded, “What? So how do you do this?”
Well, I say, I work in the world of technology consulting and systems integration and I help companies implement ERP systems so they can be more efficient in their real time —- and at this point — I’ve lost them. They say, ERP huh? SAP what? Real time data? Doesn’t that just happen on it’s own? It’s a lost cause at this point.
So, I stop and regroup. I continue and share that we help big companies fix their IT problems. Most of the time, they ask if I go in and fix a Microsoft Word issue on an employee’s PC… I smile and tell them it’s not exactly that.
The fact of the matter is that the consulting world is about making companies achieve greatness, and being a member of a team that delivers crucial solutions for some of the most incredible enterprise problems. It involves hard work and a vast problem solving ability, exceptional client focus, and a drive to outperform the benchmarks already created for best in class results. It’s a world, where the best is just good, and innovation is a must have skill.
And, I believe, it’s where I was meant to be.
Technology consulting, in and of itself is a strange ecosystem. Technology consultants are called in when the core competency of a company is in jeopardy, and the success of a project is absolutely crucial to their organization’s viability and growth. Consultants are called in when the most complex issue is involved, and industry experts with amazing resources and knowledge are needed to advise top executives on how to proceed.
So, I guess, I should just say when someone asks “what does a technology consultant do?” — is that we help some of the biggest companies achieve success through technology — and leave it at that.
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