Steve Jobs on Consulting

I worked for 15 years as an engineer for 1 organization and Jobs is 100% right. Much of what I learned came as a result of having to live with the decisions I made on behalf of my customer. When it broke, they came to me and I had to fix it. And when I designed it next time during the next iteration, it didn't break. My ability to design good systems increased dramatically as a result.

This is honestly applicable to most things in life. You can have all the knowledge and theories about something, but until you experience it yourself you never 100% knew it

"like having a picture of food on the wall...but never having tasted it." great analogy.

Bananas, peaches, grapes. This guy should start a fruit company

This man knew decades ago that a era of social media "gurus" were coming.

The problem is not Consultants taking money for Powerpoints, the problem is Managers giving away money for Powerpoints.

I work in IT. My company decided to spend close to 30 MILLION DOLLARS on consultants instead of hiring more help (which would have been a fraction of that). CIO was an idiot (got fired this last week). Consultants walked away from a fire with their wallets full and left us with the mess. I quit shortly afterwards.

I have 20 years in manufacturing and 22 since as a consultant so I've pretty much seen it all. Jobs is right for consultants without significant industry experience. Those of us with arrows in our backs and substantial scar tissue who become consultants are usually better at understanding where our clients are coming from and what issues they may face. So we tend to give them better advice. Beware of the big consultancies; they hire MBAs right out of school and throw them at you for $600/hr. While these kids are smart, they're knowledge-free and are learning at your expense. Make sure you know what you're getting when you hire a consultant.

His hand gestures are phenomenal.... try & do that just by yourself alone..... & then realise he used them fluidly... in " live " presentations to......thousands.... RESPECT !

He describes exactly why I like consulting. No responsibility for big money and when I’m off I’m free.

As a consultant myself, this is very true. I find myself lucky that my current client has kept me around for about 5 years now and I have been able to see the fruits of my labor blossom and some come apart. Prior clients I have zero insight to if I have any lasting impact.

They way he puts together words in a sentence , my brain chemistry changes

I’m a tech consultant and trust me when I say this, we bullshit and re-contract a lot. Cannot wait to launch my own business and quit, I have realized that the corporate world is not for me.

"… not owning the results, not owning the implementation, I think is a faction of the value and a fraction of the opportunity to learn and get better." Ownership is important for setting clear accountability and responsibility to generate better results.

I agree with Jobs’ assessment. Having been on both sides of the consulting equation, however, I found that companies tended to value the ideas of consultants over the ideas of their employees. If push ever cams to shove, the consultant’s advice was taken and the employee’s was ignored or certainly underrated. So, if you have enough experience in an industry, it is far less stressful being a consultant. You also have the advantage of being above the fray when it comes to office politics. And this, in spite of the inherent depth and value of loyal employees’ ownership of systems, problems and issues.

It's a blessing having subtitles in this

such a good metaphor, effortless for him

He articulated his thoughts so well here. I will always remember this message from Steve. The fruit analogy has persuaded me to pursue my own business idea and own my recommendations instead of taking a safer route in consulting. It’s funny that he mentioned a banana before an apple. I’ll let you know what the fruit tastes like when my time is done as well Steve! 🍎 🍌

From a company who can't afford to lose $1 mil, we have lost $20 to $30 million dollars from having a restructure with poor consultants, he's 100% right.

After many years in business, I finally learned (from a consultant) that consultants are often hired to cook up and justify whatever conclusions are wanted by the person who has the mandate to hire them. So even worse than pontificating on industry or domain matters where they may have less expertise than their clients, they are used to manipulate or eliminate opponents in organizations. A bit like think tanks or lobbyists ranting about "data". This might explain why many consultants end up working in senior government positions.