Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

Spending over 10 years working in a Big 4 environment and culture had more of an effect on me than I could have ever imagined. In the endless pursuit of chasing the proverbial brass ring, I did whatever it took and did it whenever it needed to be done. Emails were responded to as if I were on instant messenger at any hour of the night. I spent endless hours waiting in airports and dealing with all of the fun that comes with traveling the US commercial airline system. The work is one thing. But the lifestyle becomes second nature. From the outside looking in, people think you are crazy for doing what you do. On the inside, it's perfectly natural. The people you work with become your second family because you all know that this is just the way life is. Unlike many of my very successful friends that went on to big titles, more responsibilities, and bigger paychecks, I made the decision to do similar work...

For those of you that have read my past blog posts, there was a post that I wrote about getting a small(er) computer . As a refresher, in my old firm, Analysts through Sr. Consultants / Managers got the big computers (because they actually do the hard core analysis and development of deliverables). I, on the other hand, got the small computer which is not quite a smart phone, but not quite the brick of a computer that our staff had to endure carrying. Fast forward and now I'm with a smaller firm and one of the of many Consultants that start on the ground floor if you will. I guess everyone that is in the management consulting profession is a 'consultant' when you think about it. It's just that as you move up, it becomes more about selling work rather than delivering -- in general I mean. I will disclaim that by saying that there are some Partners that do a great job of both. And I learned a great deal from them for which I will always be grateful. So that means I now ...