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&lt;b&gt;Part I: The Carrot and the Stick&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;You got the call late Friday afternoon: good news, a new project!  You showered and shaved, because you were beginning to look like a cross between a Geico commercial and Cousin Eddie.   Now you&#39;re in a smelly taxi at 5 am Monday morning, trying to beat traffic to O&#39;Hare to be at the client in who-knows-whereville just shy of 11 am. While you&#39;re waiting in the Premier security line, your thoughts race off ahead of you with newfound purpose and anxious curiosity.  &lt;p&gt;Without fail, you will hear two things about your assignment (possibly before you even arrive).  The first is that X person (partner, project manager, etc.) is expecting you to &quot;hit the ground running.&quot;  It is often mentioned just before or after that person tells you about other team members who have been or might be &quot;rolled off.&quot;  One could frame this positively as a challenge or motivation, and it is, but it is also a threat.  Rolling off a project is what one does naturally at some point in time; consultants must leave eventually, that&#39;s the whole idea.  However, in this context, it means doing so prematurely or letting you expire without getting an extension.  It should be noted that if the project is not a good one for you, for whatever reason, this could be a blessing in disguise (albeit not one without some negative ramifications for your career). &lt;p&gt;The second emphasized communication you will always hear is some version of a &quot;carrot.&quot;  For example, it might not be a great position, but it might be said once you are on a project it is easier to roll in to other roles.  As a new consultant, this situation is highly probable, and could quite possibly work out nicely.  Joining a project early on and meeting all the contacts really facilitates staffing later on.  I have used this to my advantage once, coming on to the PMO (Project Management Organization) team and then swinging to several functional roles.  A PMO role can be part secretary, part financial management and part project management.  I will speak more of this type of role in an upcoming post.  However, this carrot should be taken with a coarse grain of Morton&#39;s kosher salt.   A temporary role is fine, but do not lose sight of your goals and let them be defined for you. &lt;p&gt;Try not to let anyone get you worked up with these parroted Machiavellian moves.  Stay cautiously optimistic.  Welcome to the project—it honestly could be a great opportunity for you.&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;- Taylor O&#39;Neal is a supply chain consultant for a major consulting firm.  He graduated from Miami University School of Business in 2005 and Indiana University&#39;s Kelley Masters of Information Systems program in 2006.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;

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