Of Consultants and Motivational Speakers

Currently, I am listening to a Tom Peters' book entitled "Re-Imagine". Peters has co-authored much publicized books such as "In Search of Excellence" and "A Passion of Excellence". Suffice it to say that some of the companies featured in these works have either fallen on bad times or like, A&P, no longer exist.

This comes to my point about consultants, management experts, and motivational speakers: I question their value to organizations and whether they really make a lasting impact.

For example, I recall a few years back where a local church brought in a motivational speaker for the womens' ministry. The church worked very hard to publicize and promote the event. On event day, the church was packed with women. The mens ministry served coffee, snacks, and lunch. I understand that the speaker was well received. As I felt then and I feel today, I wonder if any woman who attended can cite what the speaker covered or point to anything that added value to their lives or even remember the speaker's name. I suspect not. Not to impugn this particular speaker, I feel this way about most such speakers: they give you a shot in the arm that serves as a temporary boost and go on to their next engagement rarely, if ever, checking back on their previous engagements' progress.

Consultants can be the same way. My experience with them is that they want come in and give you a PowerPoint presentation and, of course, charge you hefty fees for doing so. Typically, they want you to buy more of their services and products from their company.

This brings me back to Tom Peters' book. A lifelong consultant, author, and speaker who claims to spend 200 nights per year on the road, this book "Re-Imagine" is full of hype and some compelling points. When I asked our Executive Director about this book, he questioned its value and wondered if this was another Peters ' book written to maintain the author's lavish life style. Well, half way through the book, I have my answer. The book is all hype and my Executive Director's skepticsm was justified.

Now, I must decide whether to finish the "Re-Imagine" book or just pack it in as a bad choice.   I shudder to think how much this guy charges per speaking engagement which he admits typically features 100+ PowerPoint slides  -- yikes!

Finally, it is my belief that if a speaker or consultant cannot provide you with a tool or something that fosters a life-altering or mindset change that can be sustained in one's life, then avoid it like the H1N1 virus. Please remind me of this I ever tell you that I'm considering a career change to be a consultant or author of motivational material.