Tales of a Project Sherpa

I spent part of yesterday and will devote most of today to meeting with a variety of nonprofit industry consultants that Blackbaud has invited down to Charleston. It's a great opportunity to reconnect with some great people and to meet some new ones too.

I had the chance to chat a bit with Michael Cervino from Beaconfire last night and the topic of client projects inevitably came up. And we both seemed at a loss to describe the trend of client's hiring consulting firms to do more project oversight than pure strategy work these days. Somehow the term "project sherpa" came to mind and it seemed to fit the description the best.

The importance of having a project sherpa can't be overstated for both organizations and businesses. Having someone who knows the territory, has crossed treacherous caverns, and can help guide the client is a valuable service. And even when the project involves cutting edge ideas or new technologies the value of a project sherpa remains high. Proven consultants have acclimatized themselves to dealing with unknowns and working without guide ropes.

Before you start off on your next adventure stop to ask yourself: Who's your Tenzing Norgay?