What's the definition of a consultant?

According to a favorite joke of mine, it’s someone who comes in, borrows your watch, tells you what time it is, keeps the watch, and charges you an exorbitant fee.

And that’s exactly what came to mind reading The dean of design, an article in a recent issue of Canadian Business about University of Toronto Rotman School of Business Dean Roger Martin and his thoughts on the importance of design in today’s business environment.

The premise of the article is the “revolution” Dean explains is taking place in business; that among the most critical business success factors, arguably a company’s key competitive advantage, is design; design in your product, your support infrastructure, your customers’ experiences and more. To help illustrate, Martin cites three corporate case studies that exemplify the “design revolution” taking place around us.

The fact of the matter, as you will see, is that each of the “revolutionary” design principles illustrating the new design paradigm is, in fact, a pretty basic, Commerce 101 business principle. Yet, because it’s Martin, because he calls it a revolution, and because design is a yet under-exploited buzzword, we eat it up. Observe his three examples:

1) Four Seasons- rather than larger rooms, the globally renowned hotel chain pays immense attention to seemingly minute details of its offering to customers; the flow rate of its bathtubs and the ergonomics of its free shampoo bottles, for example. It would appear that the company strives to do things in a way that’s at least slightly different – and ideally better – than other hotel chains. Unless I’m mistaken, we already know this concept as “differentiating yourself from the competition.”

2) Air Canada – Martin’s “crowning moment” about the importance of design came during a San Francisco-Toronto flight on Air Canada, increasingly the poster child for how not to do business. It probably comes as no surprise that his less than stellar experience – and his realization of the importance of design in the customer experience – came from being neglected by his flight attendant, this in spite of the fact that he was the only passenger in that flight’s business class. Don’t get me wrong – I haven’t flown Air Canada in years – but I can’t help but think that what Martin heralds as part of the “design revolution” is in fact what I’ve heard referred to as “customer service,” and the concept of tailoring your product around your customers’ needs. To be sure, I suspect no less than 500 books have been written on the subject.

3) Research in Motion – The ultimate in Canadian technology success stories, Martin cites RIM as an example of revolutionary design because Balsillie and Lazaridis insisted on meticulous attention to design detail, for years before their first product shipped. Now, in this case, RIM is indeed deserving of recognition because of its commitment to make sure the Blackberry worked (technologically, ergonomically, etc.) thoroughly before bringing even a beta version to market. But at the same time, don’t we know this “design revolution” already as the Product, arguably the load-bearing pillar of any business and one of the fundamental four P’s that define a company’s market?

So there you have it. Three simple examples; three basic tenants of business theory; repackaged with a new buzzword in the “design” revolution…and we eat it up.

In the immortal words of another Martin, former Prime Minister Paul, let me be clear; this is not a rant against Roger Martin. Back when I was on a task force for the e-business Opportunities Roundtable, I saw first hand the vision and leadership that Martin brought to the table. I admire the work he’s done with the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity. And let’s face it…he’s definitely part of the “business royalty” in Canada.

It’s not his fault.

Rather, I would argue the way consultants get away with repackaging business basics as revolutions is a function of our underlying need for progress. It’s evidenced every month in magazines like Fast Company and Business 2.0. It’s rooted in our apparent boredom with the business status quo, and our need for constant change and new business challenges.

Put another way…does business ever really change at all?