So You Want To Be A Consultant: Audiobook Review
Consulting 101: So You Want to Be a Consultant? – By: Professor Allison Friederichs Atkison , The Great Courses
The eponymous title grabbed my attention and I decided to give this audiobook a try.
To my dismay, the first few chapters was generic and uninspiring, where the writer tells about what you should be consider before becoming a consultant, and the first few actions when you should take. I say uninspiring because some of the advices are like setting up a website, picking a business name and creating online presence, advices that are applicable to almost any venture/business you want to do nowadays. Towards the middle, the audiobook’s content seems more aligned and specific towards consultant but since the term consultant itself is very generic, the advice are also more of a blanket. Takeaways that I think are important:
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Ask a lot of question, and even questions the ones who contracted you. It might be that they are giving the wrong information because A) They are disillusioned B) They are too close to the problem
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Specify beforehand what is covered (and excluded) from consulting service.
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Ask (and in some way, give) for feedbacks.
I wish the writer had given more personal and specific examples, which might not be applicable to more people, but are more memorable and easier to tailor to our own situation.
The writer’s voice is also cheery, subjective to listener’s preferences. I find this a bit annoying sometimes, but overall the voice is not too bad. The book is short too (around 5 hours listening) so it’s bearable.
Overall an okay book. Listen to it if the title piqued your interest, but I suggest to skip the first few chapters.
