25 Skills Needed To Be A Consultant Of The Future

A very good friend of mine, Kendall Langston, is teaching an MBA class next week at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand on the topic of, “Consultant of the Future” and asked me what I thought were the necessary elements to be a successful business consultant. Here is the quick list I came up with off the top of my head…

1. Global mindset
2. Insanely competent
3. Absolutely superb communicator
4. Extremely curious
5. Understands their customer’s business and their customer’s customers
6. Strong business acumen
7. Voracious reader
8. Understands their customer’s industry
9. Understands the consulting industry
10. Has a strategic mindset
11. Studies the impact of technology
12. Well-networked with other thought leaders
13. Has proprietary research/processes
14. Focused – works in a narrow niche area
15. Has strong sales skills – to sell their consulting services
16. Has a broad toolkit of best practices and methodologies
17. Has superb follow-up and customer service
18. Very, very strong work ethic
19. Passionate about being a consultant
20. Can deliver the required results / ROI
21. Has long-term relationships with their clients
22. Is respected and has a strong reputation in the consulting industry
23. Innovative/creative thinker – critical thinker
24. Nice person – 100% ethical, enjoyable to be around, humble
25. Works well with others – good team player

Did I miss anything?