Over the years I have gained perhaps uncommon insight into human nature from the process of product development and manufacturing. This is not a tell all article but a personal collection of thoughts and observations from 35 years of being in and around products, the companies that make them, and the people that design and develop them.

Consultants, besides their primary discipline or service, come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, skills, experience, capabilities, work ethic, and temperament. Some are suits in large global firms, while are others are one-man bands. They range in focus and commitment from "would rather be working as an employee", to "can consult in my spare time/off hours" to others like myself who are into their umpteenth year of running their own consulting business.

To understand my slant you can view my areas of expertise and business model on the Focus page of this site.

Webster defines Seasoned as:…to make used to; accustom; inure; acclimate [seasoned to a hard life] and to make less harsh or severe; temper; soften [seasoned with kindness] and Webster goes on to define it as: in or at the suitable or proper time.

I chose the word seasoned in the title because to use quality or good is to label it as one judges it and this might not be as all judge it. However, I can relate, without any hesitation, that any one-man band consultant who has lasted and survived for 20 years must have had successes and generally satisfied the market place. Consultants who say they have 100 % happy clients are in denial or live a charmed life.

Seasoned partially describes the theme of this article. Seasoned also can be defined as to make things more interesting or as Emeril would say "kick it up a notch". My temperament and experience can lend a certain amount of sage and excitement to projects.

Sage advice is included in this article where I relate some learned lessons and acquaint the reader with some nuisances of consulting. Perhaps to better prepare the reader in selecting and working with consultants. Perhaps Sage was a poor word choice after you finish reading the article, as Sage means wise or quality.