I would like to share some words of wisdom I got from fellows consultants… an amazing group of folks, in fact.
a beautiful place
The occasion has been a camp I attended this summer, a great professional and human experience organized by Graham Oakes. Set in a beautiful location, in that relaxed context I enjoyed every talk, every discussion and every shared thought. There, I learned powerful communication techniques, interesting tools to facilitate and analyse relationships and better face changes. I have been initiated to System Thinking, Psychology and much more, but the best part of the camp was the people and their willingness to share their personal intimate wisdom. I picked up my favorite 10, here they are:
be patient
as perseverance, calm and balance.
listen to your body
in the physical sense and also as intuition (sometimes gut feeling is a good approximation)
challenge your assumptions, always
it is hard, yes, but worth it, and the world is not in black and white but infinite shades of grey
sympathy
participation, understanding and compassion
it’s a sales job
remove useless modesty, be real and understand that sales is part of your job
authenticity
not in contrast with the above, if you are willing to take the path of the uber-consultant
get a two years “travel around the world” experience
ideally early in the career, who dares not agree with this one?
have always many options open
and do act. Options are one of the most valuable asset of a consultant.
ask powerful questions
I’ve always loved the idea that questions are sometime more important than answers.
be so good they can’t ignore you
ok, this was from me, also mentioned in an older post :-)
A final though: there is so much wisdom is simple words as authenticity, that a lifetime is often not enough to reach it. Thanks folks!
