You can squeeze a lot of value into an hour-long consulting call.

Diminishing returns then kick in immediately, and hard.

Should you send a 7-pages report bursting with charts detailing all the existing research to back your recommendations in a custom-designed PDF? Meh … An e-mail with a bulleted summary of the conversation will do just as well, probably better.

Most deliverables are just expensive palliatives for insecurity; sometimes for the client’s insecurity, but most often for the consultant’s.