The One About Existential Angst

The One About Existential Angst

From Consultants Saying Things by Chris Lockhart

November 13, 2024 · 47 min · Season 7 · Episode 75

About this episode

This episode explores the challenges consultants face in articulating their roles and the deeper questions of meaning and purpose in their work.

Management consultants often grapple with the challenge of articulating what they do while simultaneously questioning if what they do truly matters. Watch this episode for 6 takeaways you need to know about meaning and purpose in consulting. We Discuss: What do consultants even do? Why do people struggle to explain what consultants do? Is it enough to just be doing it for the money? Are consultants who claim to be purely focused on delivering value being genuine? Why do some consultants get stuck in unfulfilling roles? How can consultants maintain perspective and avoid getting lost in the 'consulting vortex'? Why do those who leave consulting ('out' in 'up or out') often end up happier? Key Highlights: Consultants often struggle to explain what they do, as evidenced by a particular Reddit post. This leads to deeper questions about professional identity and purpose. (00:02:45) Initial responses to "what do consultants do?" tend to be either overly generic or unnecessarily complex, highlighting a broader communication challenge in the industry. (00:02:59) Consulting roles span a wide spectrum - from hiring smart individuals as "warm bodies" to bringing in entire teams for specific…

Topics covered

  • existential angst
  • consulting
  • professional identity
  • meaning and purpose
  • value delivery
  • career fulfillment

Keywords

  • management consulting
  • communication challenges
  • consulting roles
  • professional purpose

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