In a "former" life, I worked for an institution that was all about trying to create the perfect turnkey solutions. And why not? Offering a repeatable process can, over time, make you more efficient. You get better and better each and every time you perform such a process, gaining efficiencies in delivery that allow you to drive better margins and profitability.
There is only one problem. Consulting is really not a "product" you can put on a shelf. While good consultants and consulting firms build on the knowledge gained over time, and reapply such knowledge to subsequent engagements, true consulting is never turnkey. To be effective, useful, and ultimately worth the investment a consultant must review each client's unique situation and then draft a unique response/solution.
Not long ago we received a very complicated RFP requesting assistance in devising a growth plan for a credit union. There was very little room to outline a creative consulting solution. The questions were rigid, and at the end the credit union stated a desire to see samples of the engagement output. We tried on a few occasions to draft a response, but found the going slow and frustrating. It took me awhile to put my finger on the reason, but ultimately I figured it out. There was no way we could possibly describe, let alone deliver, the output of a credit union's growth plan up-front without substantive conversation about the reason for the RFP, the credit union's available resources, their ability to execute, etc.
In the end, we passed on submitting a proposal response (I mention that just in case you thought we were bitter about losing the bid). What that credit union wanted was an easy way out. They wanted turnkey. They wanted a growth plan that could be dropped right into their environment so they could be off and running. They probably found a firm that responded with a packaged growth plan, but I wonder over time how successful they will be with that plan. I've been a consultant for twelve years, and my guess is that they will either scrap that "plan" or will end up having to customize the various components. In either case, they will end up wasting their money.
If consultants do nothing more than reapply the same solution they implemented at the last client's shop, then where is the real value to each client? What makes consulting exciting, at least for us, is taking a look at the underlying needs of a client and then working with the client to define the best pathway for success given their resources, capabilities, market, and culture. For any institution using a consulting firm, this is really the only way to derive value from consultants assigned to the project.
If the consultants with whom you work are not willing to get their hands dirty, following cables in your server room, rooting around the file room, shopping your branches, sitting in your meetings, then they are not real consultants. They are simply the clerk at the shoe store, the fast food order taker, or the salesman at the local electronics store wearing a consultants uniform taking orders and delivering a product.
I can guarantee we will never offer "turnkey" solutions. Yes, we do have parameters that define our areas of expertise, but every service we offer is ultimately customized to a client's specific needs (particularly with regard to the outcome). As a consulting firm, this is truly the only way to go - and it is what truly makes the job fun.
