The phrase is the bane of consultants everywhere …

“Too soon”

We’re so impressed with your qualifications! As soon as we do all the groundwork and get this project up and running, we’re totally going to bring you on board!

Um, no.

You can't be trusted to brown ground beef on your own.

That’s called being penny wise and pound foolish. If you’re so impressed with the expert sitting across the desk from you, why would you make all the investments in building infrastructure, developing branding and communications and all the other details to your project before bringing that expert’s insights into the process?

If you’re going to take the trouble to bring in an expert for a project, then bring that expert in as early as possible. Early decisions block off later possibilities. That technology platform that looked so good a few months back becomes a dog once you realize that it can’t support the kind of online interaction you need for the project to succeed.

You wouldn’t be talking to the expert if you didn’t have enough self awareness to know what you don’t know. You need the knowledge, don’t shield yourself from it.