Far from it. In fact, expert consultants like myself and team are happily alive and well. I do think the technology consultancy space has become more crowded though; not crowded with more true experts like my team, rather more efficient operators of technology. In other words, I think the space appears more crowded, because more people use and have used technology for a while and feel empowered to advise others because of their tacit understanding of technology.
This is the social media age of, “everybody is an expert”! Would you like to know how to repair the brakes on your car? There is a video for that. Would you like to make your own mosquito repellent? As it turns out, there is a video for that too.
What happens though, when you’re on the Interstate and you push your car’s brake pedal to the floor without stopping? Perhaps that video skipped the part about ensuring all O2 is evacuated from the hydraulic braking system, so the master cylinder doesn’t compress the O2, resulting in a “spongy” response from your brakes? Do you really want to find that out on the Interstate when you really need your brakes to work the most? Who do you go to for support when your brakes fail? I guess you could leave a, “thumbs down” comment on that video…
I would say at this point in the universe, virtually all of human knowledge is available on the Internet in some way. While there is a TON of information freely available on the Internet; consumption does not equal expertise. I am the biggest proponent of autodidacticism; being an autodidact plays a large role in my personal journey. I will also confirm, being an autodidact does not also impart expertise; if it did, why wouldn’t our doctors simply watch an instructional video before preforming a surgery, why waste 8+ years in school and supervised training?
True consultants are experts in their field, not because they watched a few training videos; they are experts because they have a combined knowledge of training, years of experience, implementation and often times operations. Many expert consultants like the ones on my team were former operators of that which they consult on.
I’m not suggesting consultancy is the end-game of all career paths; to be sure, it takes in my opinion, a certain disposition combined with a deep well of knowledge and a professional attitude in order to develop into a truly useful and effective consultant that brings real, provable results to client’s bottom lines.
The final thought I’ll leave with is that there are reasons we have mechanics, there are reasons we have pest control technicians and there are reasons we have technology consultants. These fields are far too vast to become an expert simply because of a few social media videos. You may not discover this truth immediately, though statistics suggest you will discover this truth at the least convenient and most critical time (like on the Interstate when the car in front of you stops suddenly).
– Be well friends!