It’s important for a consultant to be able jump into a situation and quickly evaluate and assess the dynamics involved, in order to serve the client efficiently and effectively and economically. While a lot of people dislike military metaphors, there are a lot of good lessons to learn from military thinking. This is one area where military lessons can help, in my opinion.
In his book, The Face of Battle, John Keegan writes about a skill:
“…best described by the French word formation, aims if not to close his mind to unorthodox or difficult ideas, at least to stop it down to a fairly short focal length, to exclude from his field of vision everything that is irrelevant to his professional function, and to define all that he ought to see in a highly formal manner.”
The general idea, fleshed out later in the book, is to view the current situation tactically, assessing the threat level of each component or “sub-situation” in terms of responses to potential actions of these actors. Formation is about prioritization with a bias for action. If you’ve read The Alchemist you know “beginner’s luck” is really a combination of the inevitability of opportunity combined with a bias for action.
The ability to conduct a fast and accurate assessment of a situation is an important consulting skill.
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