Code of Ethics
(Sample)

Here is a thought on our relation with "the others" shared with me a while ago by one of the most experienced and bright senior consultant I was priviledged to meet. Pat W. wrote:

Being a consultant in an organization means that you have a skill set or experience that the organization needs at that point, which it cannot find within itself. That means that you are an asset. There must be some members of the organization that may not like the fact that they were not given a chance to do the job that you, "the consultant" have been given to do, but they will learn from that experience.

Those members, it seems to me, are "the ones that think", because they see the implication that they are not yet experienced enough for the assignment at hand, and perhaps they start to think about their careers. Those are the ones that you want to have as friends because they see the bigger picture, they will want to learn from you. They will want to understand why the organization makes the choice to use consultants, and if they choose to follow an organization career they could possibly be in a position in the future to ask you to come back again. Alternatively, they may even decide to become consultants at some point in the future. With these people it is hard to think of a losing situation.

The people you have to be wary of are the ones who resent the presence of consultants or "the nasty cubicle pets". It seems to me that they do not see the wider issues which are impacting on the organization, which consequently are forcing the organization to change its strategic direction and objectives. These people seem to be ill prepared to accept and adjust to the inevitable changes that happen. Naturally, they tend to blame "the cubicle pets" for those changes and not factors like the marketplace, the clients, the technology, nor the need for the organization to survive. These people just do not see it.

Yes we are "the nasty cubicle pets" to some people and we probably should enjoy that status, after all we have worked hard and earned it. Change is hard on everybody - even on us, but at least we have the good sense to adapt to it, to accept it and to be always ready to accept new challenges.