Let us make one thing clear from the outset: theory is fundamental. Books, courses, strategic models give us the tools to think, maps to orient ourselves, a common language to understand each other and to tackle complex problems. Without theory you go nowhere, you have to study!
Those who say that theory is ‘fluff’ are making a superficial and dangerous argument, and the purpose of this article is not to get this message across.
BUT, there is a huge “BUT”.
That ‘BUT’ comes at a certain point that separates those who know marketing because they have read it in books from those who know it because they get their hands dirty up to their elbows every day. And I say this because online, especially on Linkedin, there are too many gurus parroting the same old stuff, to the point of making me nauseous. (Which then often what they say is not even the result of something they have read or studied, but of something ChatGPT wrote for them, but this is a latrine I don’t feel like putting my hands in).
In my opinion, the real task of a consultant, his greatest value, lies here: in the ability to know how to put ‘theory’ into a specific context, because every company is different. A consultant’s job should not be to arrive at a company and recite a manual by heart. It should be to understand the unique dynamics of that organisation, the unwritten rules, the silent problems and ingrained habits.
The only way to do this is to have a flexible approach: to understand situations, to be patient and understanding when necessary, but also to be tough and direct when it is necessary to push for indispensable change.
In this article and the next, therefore, we will not talk about how theory is useless and how studying and taking courses is useless. We will talk about how practice shapes and sometimes completely distorts what you find in books or on the web. We will talk about REAL problems.
Let us begin with the first three ‘truths’, those concerning the most unpredictable and powerful element of all: the human being. While in the next article (which will complete this one) I will talk about those related to the concept of “scarcity“.
But now let us begin because I already know that this article will come out too long.
Truth #1: relationships are worth more than an organisational chart
The Theory provides us with some excellent models: the company organisational chart, with its lines, boxes and well-defined roles. A model in which all responsibilities, tasks, hierarchies and processes are clearly distributed. All very well.
The real world is another matter. Reality requires us to apply this model in the best possible way (which is often not perfect), even to a family-run SME, for example. One of those where if the husband and wife (who are also partners) have argued at breakfast, they will let that bad mood weigh more heavily than any strategy. It means finding a way to reconcile the son who wants to innovate with the founding father who holds him back, as generational conflict blocks all progress. We are talking about companies (and I assure you there are many) where decisions are not based on business logic, but on relationships.
Decisions are not made based on market analysis or the famous data-driven strategies, but are made with the aim of not ruining Sunday lunch! And so, as a consultant, you have to realise that you are not working on a company, you are working on a family! And no strategy can work if you don’t first understand the emotional dynamics that govern it. The role of the consultant here is similar to that of a psychologist: you have to understand the emotional dynamics in order to then try to apply an organisational model.
Truth #2: fear and laziness are stronger than software
Theory tells us to be efficient: “Implement this new CRM! Automate your processes!”. There is cool software that allows you to improve productivity, crm, erp, you name it. The logic is simple: a technology investment leads to time savings and increased productivity.
The Real World is that you are not installing software, you are asking people to change. And change almost always generates fear. The employee who has been using his method for thirty years does not see the software as a help, but as a threat that challenges his competence and his role. Here we also relate a bit to the ‘generational’ concept, it is physiological.
And then there is laziness. Not everyone is willing to start studying again after decades of experience. If you have always done it this way and things are going well, why change? Here the consultant must be able to introduce change: patient in training, understanding in listening to resistance, but also tough in making it clear that change is necessary and not optional for the good of the company.
Truth #3: Your Customers Are Real People (Not “Buyer Personas”)
Theory provides us with a useful tool: the ‘buyer persona’, an abstract model to represent our typical customer. It is very useful for aligning strategy and I love those models.
The Real World however requires us not to let this abstract model replace real knowledge. Numbers are fine, KPIs, demographics, psychographics and all that stuff. But the owner of an SME often knows his customers by name, knows what ‘Mrs Giovanna’ wants and what ‘Mr Bianchi’ is complaining about.
The task of the consultant is therefore not to ignore this knowledge that we could call ‘instinctive’ and replace it with models and numbers to make decisions based on statistical calculations. The consultant’s task is to enhance it: to help the entrepreneur to structure it and transform it into a communication strategy that starts from the deep knowledge of real people, not from a theoretical model.
If there is one conclusion we can draw from these first three truths, it is this: every company, before being an economic entity with a budget and procedures, is a human system, made up of people before numbers.
Ignoring the emotional dynamics of a family, the fears that a team may have when faced with change, or the direct and intimate knowledge that an entrepreneur has of his real customers is not only a strategic error, it is like trying to force someone to wear a shirt that is not his size, sooner or later it will rip and he will be left naked.
In the second part of this article we will talk about other ‘truths’, the ones that keep the entrepreneur awake at night: resources. We will talk about budgets that do not exist, time that is never enough, data that looks like hieroglyphics, and the urgencies that devour any long-term strategy.
