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Great Scott! Scott McArthur talks about ‘Consulting’

Breandan hEaghra
11 May 2021

In our latest blog post we spoke to Scott McArthur of Sculpture Consulting about the realities of life as a top class consultant. The answers are great… (I especially loved the unwinding in the local with some Guinness!)…

Q1.  Did you always want to become a consultant, or did you fall into the role?

I had no idea what a business consultant was until I commissioned CapGemini to help with a transformation programme and then I saw what they could do and fancied a piece of that.  They and KPMG then approached me to join, and I decided to join the latter.

Q2.  What makes a good consultant?

Deep knowledge, able to learn new disciplines quickly, first-class relationship and storytelling skills and lots of coffee. (I used to run the induction training programmes for new consultants at Cap and Atos – it was like SAS training for leaders).

Q3.  Do you feel you manage yourself well or is it a case of ‘the cobbler’s shoes’?

Manage myself pretty well

Q4.  Are there enough hours in your day?

Of course not – I’m addicted to reading and learning.

Q5.  If you could magically stop your clients from making one mistake – what would that be?

Buying the cheapest deal – that rarely ends well.

Q6.  What do you find is the best way to market yourself?

My network from 20 years in consulting is terrific and a sprinkle of social media stuff (vlogging, broadcasting etc.)

Q7.  What do you do to unwind?

Down the local with the gang and a few pints of Guinness.

Q8.  What advice would you give a starting consultant?

It really depends on the type of consulting you are going into.  If you go into big four consulting, get ready for long days, multiple projects, way too much travel, and lose the ego (you won’t be able to keep up with the kids) – it doesn’t matter what level you were at in business – welcome to ground zero.

Q9.  What’s your guilty pleasure?

TikTok cooking videos

Q10.  What’s your goal for next year?  

Publish book called “My Grandfather’s Foot.”

Want to know more about Scott? Check out https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-mcarthur-the-future-of-work/