Be skeptical about business advice

Gene Mage

Pick any topic you would like, and within seconds you can find an army of experts who will gladly give you advice about it. We are a nation of wisdom seekers, climbing our proverbial mountains, seeking just the right guru to tell us the meaning of life, or at least weight loss, marketing, or financial security. In fact, I think the advice business has become bigger than most real businesses that make things and sell things.

For most of recorded history humankind has done little more than go about offering advice to a seemingly limitless supply of willing buyers. And throughout that same history the advice industry has served as fertile ground for the basest among us. From the ancient magicians of biblical times to the snake oil salesmen of the nineteenth century to the present day celebrity diet doctor, history paints a colorful panorama of charlatans, frauds, and thieves.

Imagine walking through an ancient marketplace thousands of years ago and noting the parallels with today. I bet most of it would look familiar. Used camel salesmen, magic potion mixers, financial wizards and real-estate wheeler dealers probably plied their trades with the same raw passion as their contemporary counterparts.

In today’s business world, the kitchen floors of commerce are positively crawling with legions of self-appointed experts. Swarms of consultants buzz around looking for the next forearm of actual commerce upon which to land and draw sustenance. But, as in the natural world, even those creatures that appear on the surface to be most annoying and unnecessary often serve a valuable, if not vital purpose. We need experts, but we do not need phony ones.

Those of us who must hire experts from time to time need sound methods for sorting out the wheat from the chaff. Here are five questions to help you make a wise choice:

Do they talk, or do they listen? I’ll never forget the time I once met with a financial planner. This guy spent the whole time telling me how great his services were and how powerful his software was before he knew a thing about my needs. Perhaps an over-abundance of hair gel had clogged up his ears.
Do they sell “canned” solutions or do they recognize the uniqueness of each situation? I have visited with training vendors at trade shows who specialize in certain cognitive “models” for understanding human behavior, which they knead and stretch to fit every conceivable problem. They will even customize the shrink wrap on their booklets with your company logo. I never asked if they offered free magic learning pills if you buy a full case of their manuals.
Do they take their own advice? Watch out for communications skills experts who are rude to the waitress at lunch. Never trust a financial guru who invests his own portfolio elsewhere.
Do they over-promise results? Face it folks, hope sells. Most people would rather buy the hope of an easy way out than the reality of lots of hard work and self-discipline. Take this pill and lose thirty pounds in thirty days while eating all the ice cream you want sells a lot better than a lifetime of little choices to eat less and exercise more.
Does their advice hold up against the test of time? Management fads come and go. Just as the ink was drying on scientific management the latest text on “gut feel” was racing to the top of the best-seller list. Got some old books on re-engineering, transformational leadership, participative management, employee involvement, teams, collaboration, innovation schemes, “Wow!”, e-business, e-learning, e-toilet training, etc., etc.?

Glitzy management fads rarely stand the test of time. Respect, integrity, customer service and value may seem old and boring, but those tired old principles will be shedding no tears at the funeral of the next “big idea” sweeping across corporate boardrooms eager for the quick-fix.

Syndicated business columnist Gene C. Mage is author of the book Managing for High Performance. Visit www.makingitwork.com for the complete column archive.