Pragmatic Consulting Club - Who’s Your Piano Tuner?

Many years ago, I’ve heard an analogy that stuck with me (can’t remember the source): that of the piano tuner.

Why do great pianists need a tuner? Don’t they have enough talent to identify any note that’s off, and simply skip it? Or adjust the way they play so that the combination of notes still works?

The truth is that even the best pianist in the world will sound bad if his piano is not tuned and well-maintained. And that is an important reminder for other experts, including we consultants.

You can be the biggest subject matter expert in your space with a respected reputation and a great client portfolio to back it up. If you have no clear system to generate opportunities, why should you expect great business development results?

A specialized "piano tuner" will bring the right processes, tools, and ideas to support you, and ensure you can consistently bring more business in without adding more hours to your workload. It might be the single best investment you can do to grow your firm.

Do you have a piano tuner? If not, how do you know you’re making the best of your time, money, and marketing efforts?