Consulting isn’t dying—it’s evolving. The traditional "finder, minder, grinder" framework that has defined the industry for decades is being disrupted. As client expectations shift and technology advances, the reliance on junior-heavy teams and leverage-based profit models is under significant pressure.
The future of consulting lies in a new model where hands-on leadership is paramount. Corporate and Private Equity clients expect senior-level Partners to actively drive strategy execution. They want seasoned professionals with deep expertise to lead from the front, ensuring that solutions are not just designed but delivered with measurable impact.
Successful consulting firms will focus on outcomes rather than hours. By integrating AI and other technologies, they will accelerate efficiency and enable senior leaders to focus on delivering real value. Clients are increasingly drawn to results-driven approaches that prioritise entrepreneurial thinking and experimentation over time-based billing.
As technology advances over analytical tasks, human consultants must excel in areas machines cannot replicate: creativity, emotional intelligence, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Coaching clients on how to leverage technology effectively will become a core skill, alongside curiosity and adaptability.
Hey LinkedIn, I've been thinking about impact of AI on consulting recently. My take on what's coming: in the short term, it's going to be an amazing time to run a consulting firm. In the mid-longer term, this industry is going off a cliff.
There's a form of Clay Christensen style disruption happening. AI is increasingly able to do the work of a junior analyst/associate in consulting: basic research, competitive mapping, literature review & summarization in healthcare, compliance and tax guidance, etc. It can do it way faster and less expensively than human labor. Additionally, just about anything that gets outsourced by consulting firms today can be automated.
For consulting firms, this is a boon for margins. They can charge the same price for their service while meaningfully cutting costs. Or they can undercut less tech-enabled competitors on price because they have a lower cost basis. They can even build new high margin offerings on top of AI - where AI does basic research and then the firm's experts offer insight on top of it.
But as the caliber of the analysis that foundational models produce gets better and better - and it's already fairly good - it begins to transition from being a powerful tool to becoming a threatening substitute. Why pay top dollar for McKinsey if you can get instant access to equivalent analysis at a fraction of the price? Eventually, the only thing that can't be replaced is the white glove handholding of the c-suite and the industry-specific relationships that the consulting firm has.
What's the takeaway? Today is a great time to own a consulting firm. But I'd get out in the next few years.
My 2 cents for the day.
Don't reach out cold until you have spoken and reconnected with all these people first and have asked for AIR + explained exactly what you are looking for.
🎈 Advice - career advice, job search advice, career pivot advice
🎈 Information - What's going on in the company, industry? What trends are they seeing?
🎈 Recommendations - Who do they recommend you speak with to learn more? What professional associations or groups do they recommend? Where do they go or what do they read to stay current?
🎯 Contact ALL these People So They Know What You Are Looking For
1. People You Used To Work With
Your past work colleagues have seen you perform in the job and know your strengths and work ethic. These people make an excellent source of information to find out what changes are going on in the business and industry. You want to let them know you are looking for a new opportunity.
2. Friends, Family, Neighbors
People you know are most likely to want to help you if they can. Your friends have a vast network of contacts you don’t know about.
3. Past Managers
Assuming you and your previous manager or supervisor got along, it’s a good idea to reach out to them. Your past boss may know of upcoming opportunities at your old company
4. Target Company Employees
Talking with people who work inside a company you're interested in allows you to learn what it is really like to work there. Plus they can provide advice and/or insight on the best way to apply.
5. Alumni/Classmates
Don’t forget to tap into classmates, professors, and alumni as another potential pool of people to network with. Use LinkedIn's Alumni tool plus your school’s Advancement or Alumni office database.
6. Customers/Clients
The people you’ve served already know you and are familiar with your work. Lean on them as a source of information about what’s going on. Your customers and clients have a feel of the work landscape and future needs. This information will help you position your most important skills and experience.
7. Vendors/Suppliers
Similar to your clients and customers, these people know what it’s like to do business with you. They also have a finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your industry because they are still servicing businesses.
8. Service Providers (Doctors, accountants, hairdresser, etc.)
Don’t overlook the business relationships you have with professionals who provide you with services. These people have their own vast network of contacts.
9. Fellow Volunteers
If you volunteer, you’ve likely established relationships with other volunteers and people within the organization. These people have seen you give your time and effort.
There’s been a lot of chatter in the press lately: Is AI going to replace consultants? Is this the end of the industry as we know it? Are consultants adding value in the age of AI?
I feel compelled to respond. 🙂
The reality looks very different for those inside the industry. Rather than displacing consulting, AI is reshaping it—creating a moment of enormous opportunity for those prepared to meet it.
AI is disrupting every sector. Leadership teams everywhere are rethinking their business models, operations, and capabilities. And that makes this a defining era for consulting—not because AI makes advice obsolete, but because sound judgment, real partnership, and hands-on problem-solving have never mattered more.
Yes, AI is rapidly transforming core activities like research, analysis, and content creation. And if you're a body shop—if you're simply doing rote work, assembling slides, synthesizing obvious answers, or engaging in staff augmentation—this moment is indeed threatening.
But the best consulting has never been just about those things. I’ve been on both sides of the table and have seen it my whole career.
The value lies in helping clients create competitive advantage and win—by navigating complexity, making hard decisions, driving change, and delivering real financial outcomes. That takes more than tools. It takes judgment earned from experience. It takes the ability to translate technology into action. And it takes trust—built by showing up for clients in moments of real disruption.
Used well, AI is a force multiplier. It elevates the work by automating the repetitive, accelerating the analysis, and freeing up capacity for what truly differentiates great consulting: creativity, problem-solving, and impact.
And remember: consulting competes in two markets—the market for clients and the market for talent—and the value proposition in both has never been stronger.
Even as AI changes how we work as advisors, the best firms offer the next generation of talent something unique: the opportunity to work at the frontier of technology and transformation. This next generation won’t just use AI—they’ll lead teams of humans, agents, and robots. And they’ll do it with tools and experiences that will shape their careers for decades to come.
What a time to be a consultant! The learning curve has never been steeper. And for the kind of people this industry has always attracted—people who want to grow, stretch, and solve hard problems—that’s an incredibly exciting place to be.
AI is changing consulting. That’s undeniable. But it’s not the end—it’s the next chapter in how we help clients create lasting advantage.
Big consulting firms rushing to AI...do better.
In the rapidly evolving world of AI, far too many enterprises are trusting the advice of large consulting firms, only to find themselves lagging behind or failing outright. As someone who has worked closely with organizations navigating the AI landscape, I see these pitfalls repeatedly—and they’re well documented by recent research. Here is the data:
1. High Failure Rates From Consultant-Led AI Initiatives
A combination of Gartner and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) data demonstrates that over 70% of AI projects underperform or fail. The finger often points to poor-fit recommendations from consulting giants who may not understand the client’s unique context, pushing generic strategies that don’t translate into real business value.
2. One-Size-Fits-All Solutions Limit True Value
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that 74% of companies using large consulting firms for AI encounter trouble when trying to scale beyond the pilot phase. These struggles are often linked to consulting approaches that rely on industry “best practices” or templated frameworks, rather than deeply integrating into an enterprise’s specific workflows and data realities.
3. Lost ROI and Siloed Progress
Research from BCG shows that organizations leaning too heavily on consultant-driven AI roadmaps are less likely to see genuine returns on their investment. Many never move beyond flashy proof-of-concepts to meaningful, organization-wide transformation.
4. Inadequate Focus on Data Integration and Governance
Surveys like Deloitte’s State of AI consistently highlight data integration and governance as major stumbling blocks. Despite sizable investments and consulting-led efforts, enterprises frequently face the same roadblocks because critical foundational work gets overshadowed by a rush to achieve headline results.
5. The Minority Enjoy the Major Gains
MIT Sloan School of Management reported that just 10% of heavy AI spenders actually achieve significant business benefits—and most of these are not blindly following external advisors. Instead, their success stems from strong internal expertise and a tailored approach that fits their specific challenges and goals.
AI has consulting firms scrambling.
Founders should be watching.
EY just launched Studio+, a new initiative uniting its design, marketing, and customer experience services. On the surface, it looks like a bold repositioning play to compete with Accenture Song, Deloitte Digital and even the ad holding giants like WPP. But peel it back and you’ll see something more existential: a fight for survival.
For decades, firms like EY made billions offering strategic advice, digital transformation playbooks, and large-scale implementations. But in the age of AI, much of that value is eroding. Deep research? Now done in seconds. Synthesis? Prompt away. Workflow redesigns and optimization? There’s a model for that.
Firms like EY know this,and they’re responding the only way they can: by trying to own more of the stack and insert themselves anywhere AI might disrupt. They’re saying, “We’ll help you do more with less. Let us advise your AI roadmap. Let us reshape your customer experience.”
But here’s the irony: that promise of “do more with less” is exactly what threatens their model in the first place.
If you’re an early-stage AI and product-led founder, this moment is a huge opportunity:
1. Startups can now credibly win deals once dominated by the Big Four.
If you’re building a verticalized AI tool, (whether it’s for marketing ops, customer research, loyalty analytics, or personalization), you no longer need to displace a full-service consultancy. You just need to show you can deliver faster, cheaper, and more natively in the AI stack.
2. CMOs and GTM leaders are desperate for real ROI.
Budgets are tightening. Leadership wants automation. Teams want efficiency. A well-crafted pitch backed by working demos and a smaller services wrapper can get you in the door, even with enterprise clients.
3. Distribution has changed.
Legacy firms rely on legacy sales cycles. You can build your presence through LinkedIn, content, relationships, and direct channels. If you’re a founder who knows how to speak the language of efficiency and understands distribution, you can beat them at their own game.
The fact is that the consulting landscape has forever shifted.
EY might dress up Studio+ with slick branding and Cannes activations, but let’s be real:
This is a defensive move.
A bet that by owning more brand, design, and AI advisory capabilities, they can stay relevant in a world where much of their historical value can be automated.
It’s not the end of consulting, but it’s the end of an era. The firms that thrive will be the ones that build, not just advise.
Will AI rewrite the playbook for firms like EY, or will they find a way to stay indispensable? Lmk below in the comments! 👇🏾
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👋🏾 Want more startup advice and tech news? Follow me here: Justin Gerrard
And check out my podcast: Rush Hour Podcast
♻️ Repost if you think someone in your network would benefit!
#ey#consulting#ai#marketing
Consultants and contractors tend to be the first on the chopping block!
With tariffs returning and political efforts to cut federal spending on corporations and institutions that support DEI, we’re already seeing early signs of tightening budgets from our small business owners.
When companies look to reduce costs, one of the first expenses they look to cute are their 1099s/contractors—IT consultants, marketers, outsourced HR teams, architects, executive coaches, accounting/finance consultants even health and wellness professionals.
If you run a professional services OR more broadly a service-based business service, like mine, serving B2B clients, now’s the time to anticipate the ripple effects and reposition your value.
Here’s how to stay ahead, protect your revenue, and stay relevant in the eyes of your clients—industry by industry:
1. IT Services → Clients may delay digital upgrades as hardware costs rise. Focus on cloud-based solutions, automation, and cybersecurity—things they can’t afford to cut.
2. HR Services → Immigration and hiring pressures = demand for compliance and strategic support. Package your services as essential to workforce stability and stress the importance of having an expert that understands the ever-changing labor laws in each state.
3. Marketing → Clients want ROI, not pretty graphics. Emphasize measurable outcomes, reposition your services around lead generation and sales conversion.
4. Consulting/Fractional CFOs → Your clients need a calm financial navigator. Offer tariff scenario planning, cash flow strategy, and pricing model resets.
5. Architecture → Material cost spikes slow projects. Offer value-engineered design, highlight your ability to stretch their dollars.
6. Commercial Cleaning → Supplies are more expensive. Bundle value-added services (like deep cleaning or disinfection) and renegotiate long-term contracts.
🔔📌 You don’t have to panic—but you do need a plan. If you're a growth oriented business owner in one of these industries and you want to talk through how to apply this to your business, book a complementary financial consult at the link in the comments.<<<<<<
#CEOLife#womenentrepreneur#womeninbusiness#financialadvice#smallbusinesstips#tariffs
🚀 OpenAI is now officially in the enterprise consulting game.
Think McKinsey meets Silicon Valley, with fewer suits and more tokens.
In a move that could reshape the AI services landscape, OpenAI has launched AI consulting services for enterprises—bringing its world-class research, engineering talent, and foundation models directly to businesses.
This goes beyond just ChatGPT.....
It’s about co-creating custom solutions that unlock some business value for the enterprise with AI:
🔍 Tailored model development
🏗️ Integration with enterprise data & systems
🧠 Responsible AI & governance frameworks
📈 Scalable deployment strategies
💡 Think of it as AI transformation with the architects of frontier models themselves.
Why does this matter?
Because enterprises often struggle to move from pilot to production. And OpenAI’s new offering could bridge that “proof of concept to value at scale” gap.
💼 So if your company’s AI strategy is currently:
"We bought a ChatGPT Pro license and prayed" 🙏
…this might be your moment.
And what is the implication for consulting, SI, and platform players?
The AI stack is getting more vertical—and the IP and execution advantage may shift to those who build the models.
So to my friends in tech consulting and systems integration—
OpenAI didn’t just launch a service…
They launched a signal. 💣
Curious to see how this evolves.
Game on. 🤖
#AI#OpenAI#EnterpriseAI#AIConsulting#DigitalTransformation#GPT#GenAI#LLMs#EnterpriseInnovation
Communicating complex data insights to stakeholders who may not have a technical background is crucial for the success of any data science project.
Here are some personal tips that I've learned over the years while working in consulting:
1. Know Your Audience: Understand who your audience is and what they care about. Tailor your presentation to address their specific concerns and interests. Use language and examples that are relevant and easily understandable to them.
2. Simplify the Message: Distill your findings into clear, concise messages. Avoid jargon and technical terms that may confuse your audience. Focus on the key insights and their implications rather than the intricate details of your analysis.
3. Use Visuals Wisely: Leverage charts, graphs, and infographics to convey your data visually. Visuals can help illustrate trends and patterns more effectively than numbers alone. Ensure your visuals are simple, clean, and directly support your key points.
4. Tell a Story: Frame your data within a narrative that guides your audience through the insights. Start with the problem, present your analysis, and conclude with actionable recommendations. Storytelling helps make the data more relatable and memorable.
5. Highlight the Impact: Explain the real-world impact of your findings. How do they affect the business or the problem at hand? Stakeholders are more likely to engage with your presentation if they understand the tangible benefits of your insights.
6. Practice Active Listening: Encourage questions and feedback from your audience. Listen actively and be prepared to explain or reframe your points as needed. This shows respect for their perspective and helps ensure they fully grasp your message.
Share your tips or experiences in presenting data science projects in the comments below! Let’s learn from each other. 🌟
#DataScience#PresentationSkills#EffectiveCommunication#TechToNonTech#StakeholderEngagement#DataVisualization
3 Out of 4 Projects Fail Due to Misdiagnosis...
here’s how to change that.
The Doctor Framework:
In a consulting world crowded with “solutions,”
what if the secret to true client impact
was a shift to diagnosis first?
The Doctor Framework is designed
to help senior executives-turned-consultants
leverage their expertise in a
solutions-based sales approach.
Here’s why this method is a game-changer
for creating long-term client relationships
and real outcomes:
1. Diagnose the Pain 🩺
Much like a doctor would with a patient,
this phase is about identifying core issues...
not just symptoms.
Research shows that 80% of s
uccessful client interactions hinge
on active listening (HubSpot, 2021).
For consultants, that means asking
pointed questions and focusing on
what the client’s really saying...
often between the lines.
This phase sets the tone for
trust and accurate problem-solving.
2. Verify & Prioritize 📋
Too often, consultants jump to solutions
without fully verifying the core problem.
In fact, 75% of misaligned projects stem
from a misunderstanding
in the initial discovery phase (PMI, 2022).
Encourage clients to prioritize their biggest hurdles
and validate the diagnosis before prescribing.
This ensures they’re bought into the process,
which paves the way for collaborative solutions.
3. Co-Create the Solution 🤝
People support what they help create.
Rather than prescribing a
one-size-fits-all answer...
work with clients to co-create their roadmap,
personalizing it to their needs.
This consultative approach builds
trust and client ownership,
leading to better buy-in and outcomes.
According to LinkedIn, solutions tailored
with client collaboration
improve client retention by 42%.
4. Start with Small Wins 🏆
Quick wins build momentum.
In fact, research from McKinsey shows
that starting with small but impactful projects
leads to a 30% higher likelihood of client re-engagement.
The goal is to:
- secure initial buy-in
- build credibility
- set the stage for longer-term partnerships.
Propose a quick-hit project to
deliver immediate results,
reinforcing the client’s confidence
in both the process and the partnership.
5. Become the Trusted Advisor 🔗
Once the foundation is laid,
follow-up and deepen the relationship.
Check-in regularly, provide added value,
and actively look for new opportunities
to expand your impact.
By positioning yourself as a long-term ally,
not just a vendor, you’ll move from
“consultant” to “advisor.”
Statistics reveal that 90% of clients
who see consistent value are more likely
to refer additional business.
Ready to level up your consulting approach?
Implement the Doctor Framework and
start creating meaningful, lasting relationships.
Anything you'd add?