Value-Based Fees: How to Charge—and Get—What You're Worth: A Guide for Consultants, Second Edition

2.2. ETHICAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AND OTHER SMALL MATTERS

Whenever a consultant accepts work on the basis of being paid for time spent on the project, an immediate conflict of interest arises. There is no way around this, the problem is always present, and it is caused by the following.

2.2.1. The Basis for Profit

First of all, the consultant only makes money when physically present or able to demonstrate that time is being expended somehow, somewhere for the client. This tends to compel the consultant to do the following:

• Maximize, not minimize, the number of physical activities (focus groups, interviews, observations, meetings, and so on)

• Accept peripheral assignments that may not be integral—or even important—to the actual project

• Encourage and not discourage scope creep, since there is no penalty for blurring the project boundaries

• Recommend nonessential tasks that don't contribute to results but do contribute to billable hours^[]

  ^[] I know there are many of you saying, "Yes, but honorable people wouldn't do that." Maybe, but honorable people regularly cheat on their taxes, cross the street against the light, and rip off the phone company simply because an opportunity presents itself and the incorrect action is only a brief rationalization away (what's the government done for me lately, there's no traffic that I can see or can't outrun). We need to eliminate temptations that lead to unethical behavior, not expect that everyone will act honorably.

NOTE

Value-based fees are far ...