Generalist vs. specialist.

Productized vs. customized service.

These are perhaps the two most common forks in the road for a new consultant.

Each of these two decisions should be made intentionally.

But it’s helpful to think of them in tandem.

This leads to 4 permutations:

• The customized generalist: you’ll do anything for anybody
• The productized generalist: you’ll do one thing for anybody
• The productized specialist: you’ll do one thing for one type of person
• The customized specialist: you’ll do anything for one type of person

And what consultant doesn’t love a 2x2:

I’ll continue breaking down this framework, but start to consider:

• In which quadrant are you currently operating?
• Was that an intentional decision?
• Where would you want to be if you were to move quadrants? Why?

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Hit 'reply' and tell me where you think you are, and where you want to be. You might be in more than one. (I won't share your answer.)

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*Note: Another major fork in the consultant’s road is hourly vs. fixed vs. value pricing, but see ​Jonathan Stark​ for a clear and definitive answer on that. :)

💡

-Wes