You have been selected as the consultant to the mining company; and the contract is signed. Now you have to execute the project. Get it done in other words. Of course project management ability counts. But there is a lot more involved. Let me explain.
I have been privileged to work over many years with many who are surely the best consultants in mining. Here are some of the attributes of a great mining consultant.
- Superior intelligence
- In-depth knowledge of the subject from reading, doing, and deliberation.
- Vast experience from many past projects and places all over the world.
- A commitment to hard work for many hours a day and over weekends as needed.
- An insatiable curiosity about the details of the topic and the project.
- An in-born instinct for what is practical and implementable.
- A love of challenge to solve a new problem; and the ability to solve the problem.
- A magnificent ability to communicate thinking, analysis, and findings.
- The skill to lead others to reasonable and implementable solutions.
- An ability to compromise without yielding on basic principles, honor, and honesty.
- A complete absence of ego that gets in the way of understanding of the truth, the real issues, and the way to move forward.
- An absence of competitiveness regarding the ideas and suggestions of others.
- The ability to incorporate and build on the ideas and input of competitors, all to the benefit of the client.
- Peer respect and industry recognition based on past performance.
- Humbleness when necessary to acknowledge that a recommendation needs to be reconsidered in the light of new information.
- The ability to see and say that the recommendation is wrong and must be revisited
- Congeniality under pressure, pessimism, and the waffling of procrastinators.
There are surely other attributes, but these are the first few essentials that come to mind. Let us know if have other criteria.
Interesting reflection. I often think that consultants lose their way by placing their own organisation’s interests ahead of their clients. Adopting the opposite attitude in my experience leads to greater personal satisfaction and working friendships with mining company personnel. In turn, repeat business, based on mutual trust and respect, is almost guaranteed. Project-centric thinking seems to be absent in consulting culture all too often.
The ability to examine data, then make a fact-based decision in a timely manner, don’t issue “updates or revisions” to the decision, and thereby allow the study to proceed in an orderly manner.
The ability to predict realistic timing and cost of deliverables, and then actually delivering the deliverables within timelines and budget.
………and the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound!!
The good consultants I’ve worked with over the years have a keen corporate political sense and are able to gently steer around office politics without enraging clients.
Unfortunately, nowadays too many young engineers go straight to consultants without getting any practical experience. Items 2, 3, and 6 are missing in those cases.
Jack,
This is a great summary.
Kay
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