Flattery - an introduction

I am always grateful when someone offers to write a blog for www.itisadityjob.com. As I have mentioned, producing a weekly blog among my other responsibilities can be difficult. There is no shortage of ideas: time is always the challenge. (Of course I am grateful to be busy – it is a good problem to be managing.)

This week Tom Curran, a friend of All-In, came to my rescue. Tom offers a second meditation on the consulting profession that also demonstrates why reading classical thinkers has relevance for us today. (I don’t wish to digress too much but I worry that our focus on skills and professional training is really limiting. In my experience people who have a background in the so-called “liberal arts” bring depth to any situation.)

Today’s discourse follows Tom’s explanation of All-In's positioning “see the forest and the trees” through the lens of Niccolo Machiavelli (d. 1527) in his submission called “A Two-Legged Stance”. This week Tom brings us another unique business blog: "Flattery - How awesome is that?" Tom's argument against flattery is based on the work of another famous Florentine, poet Dante Alighieri (d. 1321), author of the Divine Comedy. Even if you have not read Dante, most readers will be familiar with his allegorical poem.

Last week in Toronto All-In met with a firm that asked Helen and me what consultants could offer its business. We responded that All-In offers objective opinions because our outside perspective allows us to provide constructive criticism that can be used to make improvements to the problems the business is facing. Case in point, All-In is currently engaged with an operations assessment for a client. Within that process we are very sensitive to how we seek and present feedback, to be sure that we provide honest assessments in a considerate and positive manner. All-In’s advisors take this responsibility seriously and our clients understand and appreciate our approach. We may not always tell clients what they want to hear, but we offer insights we think they need to know.

So I hope you enjoy this week’s blog and thank Tom for offering us a way to demonstrate how our work as consultants and advisors relates to a long tradition of thought. The work All-In does is informed by our advisors’ wide ranging interests and experiences. We also are influenced by our clients’ expertise. By listening to one another we all are better.

#AllIn #Consulting