What A Business Consultant And Professor At Lucid Morpho Wishes They Knew Before Entering The Business Consulting Industry
Richard wishes someone had told them that in the business consulting role, it's "okay to be a little bummed out sometimes" and that it's important to acknowledge and feel the negative experiences because choosing to feel allows for continued growth and prevents becoming a "granite wall that's impenetrable". Ultimately, feeling the lows makes the highs so much better and facilitates the search for a "bigger boat" and new challenges.
Resilience, Overcoming Challenges, Industry Realities, Workplace Challenges, Candid Advice
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Richard Clarke
Business Consultant and Professor
Lucid Morpho LLC
College of Charleston
University of San Diego (MBA, MS Finance, PhD)
Economics
Education, Manufacturing, Operations & Supply Chain
Consulting
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Transfer Student, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. The role will impact you, you're not just a bystander.
2. It's okay to be bummed out sometimes; feeling those things is better than becoming callous.
3. There's always a bigger boat or a part of the ocean you haven't sailed to yet, or projects or clients you haven't met yet.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
This is going to have an impact on you, not just on a professional level. For me, it's important to acknowledge that I'm not made of granite, and I don't want to be.
I've experienced being fired from projects and having contracts not extended. I've also had people say unkind things. While most of the feedback is positive, those negative comments can sting and stick with you.
I think it's human nature to experience these things. Earlier in my career, I wish I had understood that it's okay to feel a little down sometimes. It's better to feel those emotions than to become callous and treat work as just another task.
While you can reach a certain career level by simply going through the motions, I don't believe I'm done growing. There are still bigger opportunities, unexplored areas of the ocean, and projects or clients I haven't encountered yet.
Knowing that it's okay to feel the lows makes the highs so much better. Ultimately, I don't want to become an impenetrable granite wall, because that would also mean I can't move out of my own way.