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September 2004
Small, Medium, and Large:
Silicon Valley Companies Rely on Consultants to Fill Needs
By Linda Popky, President, L2M Associates, Inc.
Executives from these three Silicon Valley companies participated in a panel discussion at the July 2004
WIC meeting, where they shared their experiences—good and bad—and discussed why they hire consultants on a
regular basis.
Changing with the Times
Carol Montgomery-Adams is the former vice president of worldwide marketing for NetManage, a
Cupertino-based software company with $65 million in revenue and 300 employees. She notes that
the recent economic climate has changed the equation when it comes to consultants. Supply
(available assignments) and demand (available consultants) are out of balance, and the engagements
themselves have also changed. In the past, Adams would hire consultants for longer-term
strategic-planning and marketing projects, but now she often uses consultants to augment her
current team, filling gaps in particular skill sets or areas of expertise. Ability to execute
therefore becomes critical. “We’re looking for people who can show that they can deliver what
needs to be done—people who’ve done it before,” said Adams.
Agencies Fit the Bill for Larger Companies
At Cisco Systems, Jere King, vice president of corporate communications services, is inundated
with calls, email, and mailings from consultants who want to do business with the networking vendor.
Interestingly, she notes that most consultants at Cisco aren't hired directly; rather, they’re
contracted through a few strategic agencies who then subcontract with individual consultants.
This process helps the consultant avoid the paperwork and extended application process to become
an approved vendor, and it allows Cisco to work with a smaller set of prequalified sources that
can supply the talent required for a particular assignment.
King said that Cisco continuously evaluates what’s key to the company’s strategy versus context.
Core functions are filled by employees, and contextual activities are most likely outsourced to
consultants. Increasingly, the company is outsourcing administrative functions, she noted.
Start-ups Supplement Staff
Joe Sipher, senior vice president of marketing for start-up Virgin Pulse is in a different
situation. Virgin Pulse is backed by the well-known Virgin Group and licenses the Virgin brand,
but it acts as a separate entity. With only 11 employees, Virgin Pulse has a greater reliance
on outsourcing than more established companies.
For example, Sipher uses an external PR firm to handle the entire public relations function
for Virgin Pulse without any dedicated internal PR resources. This means that Sipher expects a
tight relationship between his company and the consultant—with more responsibility and a higher
level of dependency. It also means he keeps a close eye on who’s doing the work at these firms.
He wants to be sure the team he’s hired is the team doing the work—and that the members aren’t
subcontracting work to other unknown players without his knowledge and input.
A Good Fit for All Sizes
Whether the organization is small, medium, or large, Adams, King, and Sipher all
agree—skilled consultants are a good way to supplement their existing teams and help their
organizations deliver projects and programs on target, on time, and within budget.
Linda Popky is president of L2M Associates, a strategic marketing firm that drives technology
companies to improve their bottom line by more effectively leveraging their marketing programs,
processes, and people. Visit her Website
to learn about common marketing myths and how to avoid them.
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