A Consultants' Oath

I came across this story of a Who's Who of world class offshore outsourcers - GE who trashed over 100,000 manufacturing jobs in the US, Motorola who wiped out 60,000+ families who made the mistake of betting their financial security on them, TI, Ericsson, Philips, Dover, Polaris who is a newcomer to the anywhere-but-the-USA club and believes snowmobile parts are better made in Mexico than in a place with snow - and their sad tales of woe in getting parts through their absurd supply chains.  Hundreds of millions in sales lost, premium prices for parts, and expediting costs this year alone.

My first instinct was to write a piece comparing the consultants who prescribed these ridiculous strategies to doctors who mis-diagnose and end up harming their patients.  The jobs and communities trashed, and millions in shareholder value lost are really nothing more than very harmful side affects the consultant failed to warn about.  After all, the consultant who determines that the root of the problem is labor cost - and is proven to have missed the critical issue by a mile - ends up trashing the quality of life to a much greater degree than the doctor who treats you for a cold when it turns out you really have allergies.

Where is the accountability for such horribly wrong advice from people who bill themselves as experts?  Not just doctors but the CPA's and the client companies themselves are held accountable and face severe penalties for mistakes in their work product.

Then it occurred to me that the starting point is a Hippocratic Oath for manufacturing consultants.  The modern version of the oath that doctors pledge to uphold is:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

I have tweaked it a bit, and suggest that all manufacturing consultants be required to put their left hand on a copy of Shingo's Green Book, raise their right hand, and pledge:

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won manufacturing gains of Ford, Ohno, Deming and others in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the unprofitable, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of advising unnecessary work in order to increase my billable hours, and suggesting nothing because what the client needs is outside of my scope.

I will remember that there is art to management as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the short term bottom line gains.

I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in a competitor when the skills of another are needed for a client’s success recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that I may profit from writing books and lecturing about their misfortunes. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of economic security to the stakeholders. If it is given to me to create a job, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take away the livelihood of a dedicated employee; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a balance sheet, a performance metric, but a group of people, whose job security may affect their families and the economic stability of whole communities. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the unprofitable.

I will prevent short term thinking whenever I can, for long term success is the preferable cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those with MBA’s as well as those skilled in trades.

I am willing to sign up for it.  What do you think?  Think I can get the boys and girls from McKinsey to join me?  I'll even sign up for the malpractice liability idea, but while I may be an optimist I am not such a fool as to even suggest that McKinsey will go that far with me.