xvi ◾ Welcome from the Authors
Worldwide, professional practice and consulting firms are part of a $120
billion industry, with an estimated growth rate of 16% per annum.
You only need a fraction of 1% of this market opportunity to build a suc-
cessful professional services firm and to be wealthy as a partner or senior
consultant.
Whatever role you fill or hat you wear in this professional world, you will
need to take three steps to become a successful Odyssey Consultant:
◾ First, make a decision to join the top 10% of your profession—in terms
of expertise, financial independence, and how you build relationships
and serve your clients.
◾ Second, learn how to become the best you can possibly be by applying
best practice and leading edge techniques and methodologies to your
interventions.
◾ Third, make a commitment to integrate proven best practices into your
business. Odyssey: The Business of Consulting offers you a process and
system which can assist you in fulfilling that step.
I wish you success and happiness in the fulfilment of your purpose in life.
Imelda K. Butler
Odyssey: The Business of Consulting
Is a Process Not an Event
Hundreds of people from all over the world have experienced Odyssey in
one form or another over the last ten years. We have found that each per-
son’s experience with Odyssey is unique to them. But no matter what your
personal journey, no matter where you start from, everyone gains value from
the process. I would like to acknowledge the Odyssey graduates who com-
mitted to changing the way they run their consulting businesses. I applaud
their success.
Your experience with this book will most likely start with a significant
paradigm shift. As you embark on your Odyssey journey, you will begin to
view your consulting “self” and how you are running your professional ser-
vices business differently.
It takes time to internalize the methodologies and adopt them as your
own. Nothing happens overnight. It takes dedication to continue the process