Professional service firms provide value based on applying expert knowledge in practice areas that are not typically in the core competency of the hiring client’s organization. That is the driving factor for the engagement―providing advice and counsel that addresses an unknown or technical challenge that is having a negative impact on the client’s goals.

Accountants, architects, design consultants, engineers, financiers, management consultants, organizational development, and technology advisors each add value to a client’s need to analyze and develop solutions to facilities, economic, personnel, or communication issues facing their enterprise. And each of these professionals comes with a vocabulary unique to their practice. The best translate their expertise into terminology and supporting explanatory communication that illuminates the issue at hand, in language easily understood and applied. These become trusted advisors and enjoy long-term relationships that broaden and deepen over time.

However, much too often, the worst hide behind generalization, complexity, obfuscation, and acronym-laden reportage and presentations that mask or substitute good advice with garble and garbage (e.g., ‘garbage in, garbage out’ was once the information technologist answer to everything; rather than actually addressing the why of the ‘in’ or the definition of ‘garbage.’).

You don’t have to look very far to find some great (often sad, but very humorous) examples of business-speak, archi-speak, techno-speak, or really bizarre acronyms (e.g., “Our BPX used a VRIO framework, which identified the FPY issues that must be addressed to systematically realize the solution.”) to illustrate the ‘synergistic and contextual paradigm-shifting concepts’ that are used to demonstrate their mastery of the problem (or worse, the solution). I won’t bore you with lists, they are easy to find (and you consultants know who you are).

When the results are tallied, the advisors who provide clear, concise data, analysis, and pragmatic (both strategic and tactical) recommendations will build business. Those that do more than just consult―who provide support for the solution―will be increase their repeat and referral business. Those others―who continue to ‘leverage integrated massive-aggressive strategies that lead to the logical evolution of exceptional results’―will burn and churn through their customers. Be the former, avoid the latter.

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