2.4Generalist and specialist services

In consulting, there is a long-standing debate about the pros and cons of generalists and specialists. Some contend that only an all-round generalist is a “real” management consultant; a specialist may be an industrial engineer, a financial analyst, an expert in compensation techniques or an industrial psychologist, but not a management consultant. Others object to this, considering that generalists lack the in-depth knowledge required fully to understand and resolve problems and provide added value in today’s business; therefore to be really useful a consultant must be a specialist.

The history and the current profile of the profession indicate that both generalists and specialists have their place in management consulting. The issue is not generalists versus specialists, but how to combine generalist and specialist skills and perspectives to achieve a better total effect.

Specialist work viewed from a generalist perspective

Managing an organization is an interdisciplinary and multifunctional task, and measures taken in one specialist area will affect other areas. Therefore a management consultant should always aim to view specific (and often narrow) problems, requiring the intervention of a specialist, in a wider context. To be a good consultant, the specialist has to be able to look at the problem from the generalist point of view. He or she must be able to apply diagnostic and other