11 sure things that distinguish a consulting business from a corporate:

1. Meeting the boss does not require a six week wait for a ten minute speed date (he’s sitting next to you)
2. IT Support are people that help, not an adversarial enemy
3. Reconciling monthly expenses does not require a degree in accountancy and/or computer science
4. Induction is a coffee-centric experience, not an agonising process of bureaucratic indoctrination
5. Attendance of a board meeting is not prefaced by the submission of a hundred page report (that nobody reads)
6. If you have to ask about the building’s seismic rating, you probably shouldn’t
7. Proudly displaying a gifted bottle of hard liquor on your desk will not create an HR incident
8. Any internal email can be supported by the inclusion of a relevant LOL Cat, actually it’s kind of expected
9. A row of empty desks in the office is a good thing – it means consultants are on site with clients
10. The office kitchen is so small you have to step out of it to open the fridge (…and yet the staff bar is cavernous)
11. The office dog is actually a dog (Bowie).

*Eamon O’Rourke has recently completed a three-years-brief tour of duty in corporate New Zealand and is still in a daily state of wondrous amazement at the radically different culture of big versus small.