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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Seven reasons prospects don't want to hire IT consultants ]]></title>
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        <title><![CDATA[Been There, Done That....Both Pluses and Minuses]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3436367]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I've worked both sides of the equation-as a coonsultant and as someone who evaluates (and occasionally hires) consultants.First of all, I look at consultants from two perspectives - as outsurce providers of IT services, or as specialists that enhance my requirements. Yes, in one sense, all consulting work is outsourcing, however, I am refering to the situation we have here in San Diego County. The county &quot;outsourced&quot; all their IT to a consulting group, and the county supervisors just love to crow about how much money it saved the county. To THAT type of attitude, I say &quot;Bull&quot;. If you really evaluate outsourcing, you find that not all dollars saved are truly dollars retained. A &quot;typical&quot; outsourcing contract involves assuming ownership and control of an existing IT infrastructure, and if the consulting firm is on top of their game, there's a cushion included to cover future growth and expansion. However, reality sets in when new projects, new applications, or anything else &quot;new&quot; (and of a significant scale), enters the picture. These new projects normally fall outside the scope of the outsourcing contract, andincur added costs and fees. There's also the potential creation of the infamous &quot;islands of information technology&quot; that spring up-the finance department that doesn't want to deal with the outsourced IT vendor for some reason and creates a mini-IT system. Contrary to waht many consultants claim, the islands do rise up and quite often.On the other hand, with the increased sophistication and complexity of IT nowadays, you really cannot afford to keep a CCIE or dedicated C# programmer on staff at all times (unless your enterprise or business is of a size that would permit such), and going outside to a consultant can be valuable. I'm more of a generalist in IT-I can do a lot, but when it comes time to dig deep, I prefer to call in someone with more expertise than myself. You might compare that with the person who can change their oil and perform simple auto repairs at home, but when it comes time to perfrom a major engine and transmission overhaul-call the repair shop.With ANY consultant, the real key is defining the scope of the problem and then MANAGING the scope in conjunction with the consultant. Many consultants try and approach projects with a cookie cutter style of solution, however, the better ones will take the time to understand what the problem is and evaluate options in &quot;consultation&quot; with the client.]]></description>
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        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jay@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:01:39 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[I personally feel that this sort of thing is]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430776]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[obfuscation. If I've hired a consultant, I either know how hard it is, but didn't have time to do it, or I'm clueless, and wouldn't understand the explanation anyway.Either way I aren't playing some clown to BS me.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430776]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tony Hopkinson]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:36:09 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Sheesh &amp;lt;nt&amp;gt;]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430805]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430805]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tony Hopkinson]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:30:04 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Awesome, Tony]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430680]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Yeah, if we're going to talk about &quot;transparency&quot; then let's brush aside anything that obscures the plain and simple  results.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430680]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sterling "chip" Camden]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 11:53:17 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[If you showed me all that, I'd have two questions]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430187]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[1) Am I paying for this snowjob2) Where's my f'ing deliverable.Don't try this one if your customer is an IT professional, alarm bells would ring, and loud.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430187]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tony Hopkinson]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:30:47 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Both are a symptom..]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430149]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[... of poor communication, and failure of due diligence.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430149]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sterling "chip" Camden]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:15:33 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[That's the way I see it, too]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430148]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[All else being equal. which it never is -- or at least, the client tries not to make it appear to be.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430148]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sterling "chip" Camden]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:14:08 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[It's voodoo to me...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430177]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[... I don;t recognize any of the abbreviations you just named.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3430177]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sterling "chip" Camden]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:13:07 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Transparency sells]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3429144]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[It's good practice to show your clients some of what your do, bring them in on some of the math of things: Your WMFP and COCOMO cost model report, Market statistics report, even show them your tools like SEER-SEM, ProjectCodeMeter and SPSS, it really builds trust when the client sees some substantial work you do, so he'll see it as a science, not a 'voodoo'.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3429144]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[LogicalConsultants]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:04:51 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[The oh, we thought that was in the price manouevre...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428876]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[or the you never asked for that, that will be more manouevre?Both are short sighted stupidities.Do it to a consultant,and any relationship you built with them , lost at a stroke and vice versa of course.If it's a genuine misunderstanding, then negotiations can proceed honestly, if some git is trying to do you up back, don't forgive and don't forget.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428876]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tony Hopkinson]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:41:01 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Been in that position]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428890]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Not fun.I earn most of my corn clearing up after incompetents though, far from all were salaried....When you hire a consultant, they are (in fact should be) specialists, have to remember that's someone who doesn't know a lot about anything else....One was a seriously clever electrical engineer, they had him do the interface programming as well. Not a good idea, as it turned out....]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428890]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tony Hopkinson]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:33:24 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Define too much]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428875]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[An employee costs much more than their salary, couple that with a consultant (should!!!) have nowt else to do but this one job they've been fetched in for, and as long as it's a well defined 'short' term engagement, a consultant will always be cheaper. Finding a good consultant is no easier or harder than finding a good employee.Generally bad employees are much more expensive, given you aren't the sort of dumbass who hires in consultants with no meaningful oversight, in whch case you almost certainly hire useless fwits as well.I've worked with consultants and I've been a consultant, the real question is and always has been do you need what this person provides permanently and exclusively, after that, the question is the answer...]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428875]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tony Hopkinson]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 10:25:29 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Everybody aboard...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428823]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Even though the sponsoring manager may understand the need and bring in consulting services, that does not inherently mean that the employee staff and their managers will be on board. Employees will sometimes lie, cheat, and connive in any way possible to undermine the efforts of consultants.The sponsoring manager should be concerned about knowledge transfer. It is fine if the client wants to have a one-off project that is done by outsiders. The client needs to know what they are getting and the consultant needs to know what they are expected to deliver.While the client may have expected deliverables that are not a contractual obligation, they cannot be ignored.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428823]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[paul.watson]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:31:21 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[you stopped too soon]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428798]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[you stopped too soon. Keep going...&quot;...so we can maintain the status quo...because we're really not interested in making things better. We're really interested in bolstering our positions politically so when the project fails (and fail, it will!), the fingers of blame get pointed in the directions we want them to go.&quot;]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428798]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[eric@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:21:02 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[#7 - translation --]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428741]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[7: We???ve had bad experiences with consultants.Translation - we made a big mess, so we needed a scapegoat. We brought the consultant in, then refused to take the suggestions or fund the work.Then we blamed everything on the consultant, so we can maintain the status quo.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428741]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[oldbaritone]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Mon, 14 Mar 2011 05:36:06 -0700</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[If you had made that into two comments instead of one...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428184]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[... I could have upvoted it twice.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3428184]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sterling "chip" Camden]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:24:52 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[Costs too much]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3427571]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I like how this one is right at the top. Unfortunately, in my experience too few managers know how to calculate the cost of their employees. And that's either the complex way or the simple way. Many of them don't even realize that there are costs beyond the salary or that they need to use less than every hour in the year. In part, that's the fault of Accountants burying the costs in HR. And partially it's the fault of the manager who just does not want to know.However, IMOSVHO, convincing a manager that the price he's got in his head for his employee cost per billable hour is out to lunch, is unlikely to work. (It's about as useful as trying to train internal managers in basic service company accounting). Better technique is to sell the manager on the increased value from using a consultant for a short term.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3427571]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[PMPsicle]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:44:18 -0800</pubDate>
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        <title><![CDATA[If you have to work too hard to convince them...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3426472]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[... then they might not be good business anyway.  But sometimes a prospect just has one or two inhibitions that, once overcome, make the relationship a fruitful one.What's your experience?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.techrepublic.com/forum/discussions/102-342136-3426472]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sterling "chip" Camden]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:10:02 -0800</pubDate>
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