HPMD Bullet: Small Packages

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BULLET # 60
GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES

There was a time when big name brands were everything. The conventional wisdom was that "no one ever got fired for buying IBM." Well times have changed. Companies long ago got the message that big usually means big bureaucracy, with its attendant slowness and inflexibility. The fact of the matter is that for high service, small is beautiful. The attached articles sing this tune with remarkable clarity. Here are some summary points worth pondering for consulting firms:

It may sound redundant, but bears stating: personal service is crucial for service industries.
Smaller customers have as critical issues as larger customers. They deserve equal attention.
For consulting, you aren't buying the company, you are buying individual expertise.
The ongoing relationship is fundamental. That relationship is person-to-person, not company-to-company. The practice of switching clients among junior consultants --the "churn and burn"-- runs counter to this principle.
The smaller firms usually have the lower overhead. These savings are reflected in the fee schedules.
"The effective ones are the one-man shows. The institutional ones are disastrous.[1] -- Robert Townsend, former Avis CEO, writing on management consultants.
Smaller companies are usually more innovative than large ones. Why? It's hard for large, bureaucratic organizations to move fast.

Notes
[1] Robert Townsend, Up The Organization, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1970, p. 104."

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