The Management Consultant Industry should practice what it preaches and embrace technology disruption expected to create major spasms in the way the industry will be shaped in the foreseeable future. Admittedly in spite of being an ambassador for change, the management consulting industry has been a laggard when it comes to technology adoption and even then, it has done little in changing how its services are delivered. Of course we have seen some action from the large traditional big firms in commoditising knowledge through the creation of knowledge platforms and subsequently selling standardised “insights” to their customers to fuel their strategies. But in practice, this is antithetical to the basic concepts of strategy which by definition implies uniqueness and differentiation as opposed to standardisation.
I contend that whilst there is indeed a market for the commoditisation of knowledge in the management consulting industry, the real deal consists in radically transforming the industry from one which is transaction based and intermittent to one which is relationship based and continuous.
Under the present model, consultants deploy armies of analysts to carry out a painstaking data collection and stakeholder interviewing exercise over a fixed period of time. The data is then mined, organised and subsequently analysed through spreadsheets or through special purpose software. The grey-haired experts typically come in at the end of the process, review the data and subsequently impart their advice. A report is prepared and delivered to the client.
Typically in most management consulting engagements, only around 20% of the time is actually used for the provision of advice with the rest being utilised specifically for data collection. The problem with this model, is that the advice is provided on the basis of a snap shot of data collected at a particular point in time. In today’s fast pacing world, such advice is likely to become redundant by the time you press the print button. This is a bit like taking your car for a service where diagnostic tests are completed and maintenance performed only to be hit by another car once dispatched on the road. In order to assess the impact, the car would need to be taken back to the workshop to start the process again.
Organisations get hit hard and unexpectedly all the time and need to be agile enough to withstand the impact. This creates the need for management consultants to also adopt a lean and agile model for helping their clients.
As data acquisition costs are rapidly in decline, the operating model can be turned on its head. Taking the car as an example, all the main systems may be retrofitted with sensors which emit signals and data on a continuous basis to a central controlling unit. The data is analysed automatically using machine learning and predictive analytics enabling technical specialists to promptly notify clients of potential issues with their car as a result of the reported performance. Such systems are commonly used across organisations that traditionally operate large fleets of cars and vehicles.
Taking this analogy, it is believed that the management consulting industry should focus its priorities in helping clients develop and build better systems for collecting data and information that may be used for making decisions rather than collecting the data itself. Once the basic building blocks are in place, there is room for developing what can be termed as @realtimeconnectedthinking. Just as in the car example, through a process of continuous and real time data collection in relation to several key performance indicators, management consultants are able to monitor on an ongoing basis the performance of the organisation, carry out automated predictive analytics and at the same time impart real time advice with impact through special purpose “communities of practice”. This means that management advice remains relevant, up to date, real time and based on an ongoing relationship with clients as opposed to being limited to a one-time transaction. This clearly however requires a complete shift in mindset in an industry which is quick to advocate change to its clients but is not so apt at heeding its own advice.