What’s the Diagnosis?

I was having breakfast with a friend last week and we were talking about some of the things I do as a consultant.  He was listening attentively as I rambled on about the various things I do for my clients in many different areas.   When I took a breath, he said to me “at your core, you’re a diagnostician.  You can call it a consultant, but in reality you are a business doctor, performing diagnoses.  Just as a kidney guy specializes in one area but knows about the rest, you do that with digital media but you need to know about the rest as well because like a kidney, it’s all connected.”I’ve been thinking about that statement since then and I feel as if it’s spot on. More importantly, I feel as if it points towards the need many organizations have for people like me.  Just as it’s a fool who has himself for a lawyer or doctor or agent, I think organizations need to step outside of themselves sometimes to get a good read on where they are, what the opportunities are, and how to capitalize upon them.

Selfish? Self-serving? Maybe.  But I worked a lot of years in companies big and small and I know that organizational myopia was often rampant. Organizational diagnostics and operational diagnostics require someone who has a broader perspective than is usually available inside a company.  As I tell my clients, I don’t have any agenda other than solving their problem. How many insiders can say the same thing?

Do you think organizations can self-diagnose or do you believe they need an outside perspective?