ABSTRACT
As I started planning this chapter, I polled a number of colleagues at different schools across the country about consulting. This informal and decidedly unsystematic poll yielded some interesting reactions. One respondent, with a look of disdain on his face and clear distaste in his voice, said:
Why would any scholar want to sell his soul? The moment you start consulting is the moment you give up hope of a real academic career. If people want to consult, they should leave this place and get jobs in business. It's not scholarship. You're paid to do scholarship. Having people on a faculty consult sullies all of us.
A second individual's response was markedly at odds with the first:
Consulting, huh? Boy, those guys really make money. I wish I could do more of it. I've given a few talks, but I'd like to do more. The money is great and it's easy work if you can get it. All you do is entertain, and they pay you a lot. What we need to do is find a way to get more consulting deals for everyone. We could all get rich!
A third person reflected back on her years of consulting by saying:
It's the toughest work I do, but it's also the most rewarding. You deal with real people coping with real issues in the real world. You've always got to be prepared. The people you work with are paying serious money for everything you offer and they want bottom-line answers. They aren't paying for gloss. They know when you don't know your stuff. The way I judge how helpful I am is by whether I get invited back again. If I do, it isn't because I'm entertaining or fun, it's because people can see I've worked hard. I've offered my expertise and it counted in their lives.
