Archive for November, 2009
Consulting vs. Contracting…. A primer….
by Jesse on Nov.04, 2009, under Best Practices, Gripe, Opinion
Ok, I can say it in a sentence.
A contractor is someone you hire to do a job, a consultant is someone you hire to fix a problem.
I’ve done both, but in the last 8 years I’ve been primarily a “Consultant.” My job is to fix whatever perceived problem.
Some companies might have a backup problem. You streamline their process and reduce redundancy, and poof, backup problem solved.
Some companies might have a replication problem. You analyze their environment then recommend and implement changes.
Some companies have a data management problem. You simplify storage, identify Tiers, move storage to where it best suits the orginization. (IE Static Image data doesn’t belong on Tier-1 Symmetrix)
Some companies have a culture problem.
Here I got nothing.
But when your culture problem interferes with the consulting that you are asking me to do, I bristle.
When your culture problem causes me to wait 8 months of a 1 year contract before I’m given the tools to do my job, I boil.
When your culture problem is making me feel like I should take up golf. I start looking at dice.com for something better. (I hate golf)
Maybe it’s just that I *LOVE* what I do.
I do. I love what I do. I get paid to do what I love. Which is why I can’t stand seeing people who are either A> There to collect a paycheck and maybe if they’re lucky a pension. or B> try and create their little empire so they can brag to colleagues about how much money they have to spend this year on nothing.
It boggles the mind.