Having a really good consulting as part of your executive coaching team can be worth its weight in gold. As senior managers we are always expected to pull a rabbit out of the hat in times of crisis and fix whatever problems may surface, but who do you turn to when you don’t know what to do? Many executives have a very hard time giving consulting due credit or even contracting with one out of fear of in doing so they will seem incompetent. This is probably the main reason that the discovery phase of a crisis can take on a very combative appearance. Before you can even begin to strategies on the problem you have to first prove you are who you say you are. Seldom are consultants given their due praise and respect. I can remember receiving countless calls from board members in regards to the cost of my service, only after they have received the funding that they contracted me to deliver. All throughout history we can find successful consultants working behind the scenes for the greater good of the project. Even during biblical times we find Joseph who became head consultant to the Pharaoh as he coached him exclusively on everyday matters of Egypt. Our Great President Abraham Lincoln consulted Fredrick Douglas in order to gage how to transition the African American Slaves in the period known as Reconstruction. My favorite consultant of all times would have to be Bayard Rustin. Here is a guy who remained in the back field of one of the most famous men in the world, Martin Luther King Jr.

The Civil Rights Movement was a gathering of many great minds all collaborating in order to bring about a needed change in the lives of many disadvantage Americans. The Civil Rights Movement was truly a gathering of some of the best consultants the world has ever known. Bayard Rustin introduced the concept of non violent protest to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1948, Rustin traveled to India to learn nonviolence techniques directly from the leaders of the Gandhian movement at a conference that was organized by Gandhi himself before he was assassinated earlier that year. Even on the day that Dr. King delivered his most famous speech; Bayard Rustin was position two rolls back to the right, in the shadow of greatness. I consider Bayard Rustin to be one of the world greatest consultants because he held to the greatest rule of consulting, never out shine your master. As I mention earlier a good consultant is worth his weight in gold, and if you find yourself in a position of needing a fresh perspective then I invite you to consider the firm of Mario Rotanelli Project Management Consulting. Thank you Thomas A. Rothstein Mario Rotanelli Consulting can advise you on every aspect of construction and project development.