They're not the only ones willing to sacrifice good sense for notoriety. Scroll through blogs and twitter feeds and you'll find attention seekers there too. They're easy to spot. Usually, they're saying something outrageous just to be in the spotlight.
What I find puzzling, though, are the people (some of them consultants), who seek attention by tearing down others. When responding to a blog or twitter message, it seems that some people feel they can abandon the basic rules of civility they would observe toward anyone they met in person.
And some obviously relish the buzz that Internet fights can generate. It's a shame that so many of these arguments devolve into childish name-calling and other insults. When I see these exchanges, I'm sure the consultants involved have lost touch with three realities of our business.
First, problem solvers are collaborators, not aggressors. Who wants to hire a person who goes on the attack over every disagreement?
Second, every word you put out into the market is there for clients to see. If you throw a hissy fit on your blog because someone didn't like what you said, a client may rightly wonder how you'd react if the issue was truly important.
Third, clients expect consultants to respect them and their teams. If you're willing to unleash a public tirade against a total stranger, what might you do once you land in their office?
When I first started in consulting, a mentor offered a guiding principle about behavior toward others, especially in tense situations: "When you're upset, the most emotionally satisfying response to an argument is usually the worst possible one." This simple point seems more relevant now than ever.
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