Mark Smith
· 1 min read
What separates good consultants from great consultants?

This post was originally published in 2024. Some details may have changed since then.

Empathy is a consultant's X factor.
What separates good consultants from great consultants?
Great consultants can empathise with the people for whom they are building solutions.
Empathy is vital to understanding the people we engage with when we build solutions.
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An example without empathy
Traditionally, the daunting nature of MRI machines caused immense fear among children, leading to a high sedation rate of 80-90%.
The solution with empathy
Designers approached the challenge from a child’s perspective and reimagined these scanners into whimsical, storybook-like adventures, significantly alleviating children's fear. This human-centric redesign massively reduced the sedation rate to less than 10%, showcasing the power of empathy for better outcomes.
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While the technical solution remains constant, focusing on the users' experience through a human-centric lens can revolutionise real-world problem-solving.
What do you think?
Get in touch to find out how I can help.

Mark Smith
Principal AI Strategist · Microsoft MVP
Helping people build practical AI skill in the Intelligence Age.
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