ABSTRACT
The staff of Epsilon had been invited to a meeting of consulting firms intended to explore the creation of an association for consultants. There had been associations that consisted solely of consultants as members, and a few of the largest human resources (HR) associations had attempted to provide forums for their members who were consultants. The Academy of Management had long served the academic community and the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology had existed for those academics and OD practitioners within organizations. The organizers of the meeting were from large consulting firms and their stated goal was to provide a forum for people in the profession, whether they worked for firms or were individual practitioners. Don Howard, Annette Howard, Rob and Kathy McKee considered attending the gathering but had their reservations. Kathy began by sharing her amazement at how similar their perceptions about their careers were.
