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Everyone Picks the Hybrid Approach or Recommendation

The world of management consulting is filled with great recommendations. 

A conversation between a client and a consultant could typically go like this:


Consultant: "We've done a thorough analysis and have developed a few recommendations to help you increase profitability. We have a few options for you to consider in order to help make the decision." [Consultant then goes on to list the options.]
Client: [After listening to the options] "Those all sound great." [Client proceeds to poke holes in the analysis, presentation, and recommendations] "You know... what would the result be if we combined Option A and B and developed another option..." 

In the world of consulting, a client will always turn Options A and B into an Option C. Why this happens, I have no idea. I guess it's the same as me telling you to bet black 10 and green 00 on the roulette table and you end up spreading over black 10 and black 11 in addition to green 0 and 00. 

In a sense, clients probably feel that they are hedging their bets by not choosing one option. 

By choosing the hybrid, you've diluted all of the analysis that's gone into developing each of the individual options. More than likely, you've created an option that is no longer backed up by an analysis and will need an entirely new analysis. 

Maybe consultants should offer hybrid recommendations and let the clients separate them into distinct options. I think maybe that could work. 

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