When consulting lost its meaning

Sometimes I wonder when it happened. When consulting stopped being about solving problems and turned into selling time. When curiosity was replaced by sales targets. When advice became product. When relationships became strategy. Somewhere along the way, the craft disappeared.

It shows everywhere. Meetings filled with talk about rates, not value. Decks that promise more than they understand. Sales cultures hiding behind words like partnership, transformation, and innovation. The reality is simpler: it is not partnership, it is expansion. One consultant earns trust, and then more arrive. Not because the customer needs them, but because the model demands it. The more consultants in the room, the better the quarter looks.

I have seen it so often that it barely surprises me anymore. What should have been independent advice has turned into friend-selling. Consultants bringing in colleagues and contacts, not because they are the right fit, but because they belong to the same logo. It is presented as collaboration, but in truth it is self-preservation. It keeps the revenue flowing, the relationship warm, the illusion intact.

Overselling has become a habit. Every problem becomes an opportunity for more. Every gap becomes a new project. No one says, “You don’t need this.” No one says, “Stop.” There’s too much money in saying yes. I have seen customers drown in complexity that should never have existed, projects that grew because someone was afraid to lose influence or a bonus.

It is sad, because consulting could still be something noble. It could stand for courage, honesty, and craftsmanship. For the quiet satisfaction of making something work and then stepping away. For saying the hard thing, the thing nobody else wants to say. That is what the profession used to mean.

But the market rewards something else now. The ones who challenge get labeled “difficult.” The ones who flatter rise quickly. The industry has confused growth with success. It celebrates expansion, not integrity. The result is an ecosystem that looks busy but rarely gets better.

Sometimes I think about going independent. Just working alone, doing things properly, without the noise. But even there, the same trap waits. You start depending on relationships. You start softening your words. You start protecting your next invoice. Integrity slips away quietly, disguised as diplomacy.

I still believe consulting can change. But only if we stop pretending that selling is the same as solving. Only if we reward truth over loyalty. Only if we stop filling rooms with people who don’t need to be there.

If you call yourself a consultant, then act like one. Say no when no is the right answer. Recommend the best option, even if it is not your own. Protect the customer from unnecessary work.

Because consulting was never meant to be a marketplace. It was meant to be a craft built on integrity.