“I would like to become a consultant. How do I get there?” I get that question quite often. While the answer might not be a simple one, I can tell you it’s more than the proverbial “guy with a PowerPoint presentation from out of town.”  While there’s no ultimate consultant’s manual, here are guidelines I have followed in consulting that have served me well :

• You must genuinely like people, or you’ll hate consulting.
• Know your stuff. People’s future depends on that.
• Listen more than you talk.
• You first priority is to solve a problem, not to sell a product.
• You must understand the pain of the leader  before you can help him fix the organization.
• Be truthful, be firm, but be kind.
• Some people respond to the potential loss they want to avoid, others to the opportunity they can seize. You better know which one you’re talking to.
• You can only lead as far as your client is willing to follow. Know when to stop.
• Be able to connect the dots between where you client is and where they need to be.

What else would you add to the list?