Being a Consultant: Master vs Jack of all trades

In this article is not about being a master and his trusted advisor, this is about trying to find out what are the necessary traits for a successful consultant. I'll be comparing the ideas of 'Master of one' Vs 'Jack of All' Vs 'Master of All'.

Let's start from the last one 'Master of All' and with a bit of self reflection, do you really think it is possible for anyone to be a master of everything? I am not quite a believer of this, although, theoretically it is possible but practically in the ever changing world it is impossible to master all the technologies because human psychology says when you start analysing deeper into a technology you will start hitting limitations of it and then start evolving it, hence new learning starts. So there is no end to it and this is more of a scientist not a consultant.

'Master of One', Master means “you are in complete control of technology at hand” so you have an in-depth knowledge to handle it. I have worked with people working in one technology for 20 years, they call themselves pioneers of it but there have been instances when they had no clue on the solution to an issue, however given their confidence in the technology they were always able to find a solution. I remember while working on one of the integration projects, this guy was an expert in Hyperion but had no enthusiasm towards any other technology, even for TM1, so he could only contribute to questions related to Hyperion. He was one the respected and sought after members of the team when it comes to anything on Hyperion and everyone called him a very good developer not a consultant.

'Jack of All', as a consultant you cannot restrict yourself to a technology, you should be experimenting with different integrations and technologies because when you visit a client and come across implemented systems in their organization, you should be able to think the best way to integrate them with your consultancy specialization. The solution that we provide should be able to assimilate and should be robust enough to evolve itself with different technologies.

There is no single right way of doing things and I do not want to judge anyone on their skills but looking at the pace of change and upgradations in technologies in today's world I would recommend a combination of “Master of One “ and “Jack of All”, if possible strive to be a “Master of All”. The whole idea is to keep learning in a fruitful way so that your clients reap benefits from you and you reap benefits from them.