Comment by vonneumannstan
8 hours ago
So do you have to be a god tier Nobel Laureates to get this kind of gig where you just learn about a business and then offer random suggestions that might or might not help them and charge obscene fees for the privilege?
You definitely don't have to be god tier anything, you just need to know at least a little more than the companies you are consulting for.
This kind of work has been my primary income for the last 4 years or so. Nowhere near on the same level as Feynman, but I know enough about enough other things that I get a lot of reputational referrals.
>you just need to know at least a little more than the companies you are consulting for.
sometimes (i'd argue often, actually), you don't even need that. simply having an outside/fresh perspective and the fact that you aren't part of any of the existing groups/silos is valuable.
Often the most useful thing is just listening to the right people in the company. I wouldn't be 100% surprised if someone in the company in the story had already had the idea for the third electrode, but it took the suggestion from the high-paid consultant to get it taken seriously.
Probably true, but to get the job in the first place you probably need some sort of showy, impressive credentials.
I imagine you can also start by doing the same thing for a low cost, or for free. Find a local business that’s interested, give your advice, build reputation, repeat.
I think the story sounds fake because they listened to him.
Having the ideas is easy. Persuading and organization to change is not.
Perhaps it’s a cultural difference between the middle of the 20th century and now.
Often the highly paid consultants are there entirely to get the organisation to listen to the right ideas that already exist within the company.
That's basically what happened with Feynman's involvement in the Challenger enquiry, as he himself freely admitted in his memoir.
Why would a small company CEO hire a famous consultant only to ignore his suggestions? Absolutely not evidence of it being fake.
I’m not saying it is fake - I’m saying that’s the most absurd part.
Nope! There are consulting companies all over the place filled with bids and not filled with Nobel laureates!
Ergo...
None that offer that level of work life balance though…
Not really. Just need to be really good at your shit and cut through pointy-haired BS.