Tulsa King is a Management Savant

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Tulsa King is one of my favorite shows. Not because Stallone is in it or because it's like a pocket edition of The Sopranos, but because it teaches so many management lessons. I binged watched it on the plane on the way back from New York City last week, and after the last episode I watched before the plane landed, I heard Dwight Manfredi - Sly's character - say something so profound that I had to write it down.

"This is why people become criminals. Everything legitimate is too complicated."

Manfredi had gone into a bank to open an account and get an ATM card. His driver's license was accurate but had expired years earlier while he was incarcerated, so they wouldn't open the account.

Now I'm not saying the bank's policy was right or wrong, but it does accurately depict where we are as a society today, and nowhere is this more evident than in our organizations. Since being on my own for nine months, I can tell you how liberating it has been to be free from all the ridiculousness of the modern organization.

Consider the field of endeavor I (think) am now a part of: consulting. Every time I hear the world "consultant" I think of a processes that involve a lot of words, most of them unnecessary.

First, there is the "approach". Everybody has to have their approach, right? And you know that approach is going to be documented with many, many words. I worked with a consultant in my previous job that sent three binders that when stacked up were six inches thick. So, are you paying a consultant for their advice or for the time they spend following the processes in their approach? The approach, I'll remind you, is not the product you asked for. A well-crafted and supportable solution is what you asked for.

Second, there is the reporting. My god, how many times have you engaged a consultant and had them provide you with a long, detailed report with graphs and charts and the whole nine yards that didn't answer the mail regarding your problem?

Here's what I commit to do: Unless you tell me very specifically that you want more words, I'm going to give you a one-page summary of my approach, one page status reports at your desired frequency, and a one-page summary of findings and recommendations. I'm not going ask you to pay me for spending hours on anything other than the solution to your problem.

If you're definition of a successful consulting engagement is lengthy written report that passes the weight test, there are plenty of companies out there that will be happy to provide one for you. But If you have a knotty problem involving complex delivery processes and systems that require an experienced problem solver who will provide you the most direct and timely solution set with the least amount of unnecessary blathering, I'm your guy.

#thatisall