The Transformational Professional

The Great Recession’s effects linger. We will never be the same as a country. As individuals. As business-people. Transformational times call for transformational professionals.

·Professional service vendors perform a commoditized activity for clients in a consistent, reliable way. Nothing necessarily changes for the better in the client or their organization as a result of the service vendor but the client has ensured that essential, routine processes are effectively completed.

·Trusted advisors have earned the right to go beyond expert-task-performance to solve complex, important client matters. They are the whisper-in-the-ear consigliore that focuses on the client first, builds collaborative client relationships, maintains a mid-to-long-term view of relationships, and is transparent in their client dealings. And, while trust puts an advisor in position to better guide a client towards the light, it doesn’t necessarily take the client beyond the average, mundane or usual ideas they may consider. Remember, Tom Hagen, Don Corleone’s Consigliore from The Godfather? Sure he was a voice of relative reason and he never got “whacked” but neither did Hagen make a significant impact on the Corleone empire.

·Transformational Professionals are great technical experts and they also earn the trust of their clients. What makes them transformational is that they create engaging experiences that rocket the client forward and shift how the company and its people view their situation, marketplace and maybe even their lives. Because transformational professionals change actions, perspective and culture, they produce big results.


Do our clients like trusted advisors? Of course they do. But what they really need right now are professionals who can create experiences that transform businesses, people, profit, and customer impact. If we can do those things, we create economic value and raving fans.