The 11pm Reality Check

After two decades of consulting, the research slog of a growth strategy project remains depressingly the same: weeks of late nights with multiple junior- but still highly trained and expensive- associates grinding their way through 10ks, company websites, syndicated reports, industry association articles etc., etc. 

They sit in conference rooms, hotel rooms and cubicles first finding, then reading, and then trying to organize a tsunami of information so that the team can eventually develop some insights. During one such recent effort, a tired teammate sarcastically quipped, "Here we are again... living the dream... one Google search at a time"

He wasn't wrong. 

The reality? Most strategy projects follow the same painful pattern:

-Clients pay premium rates for multiple junior consultants to conduct research

-Teams spend 4-6 weeks gathering data

-The actual strategic thinking and options generation gets squeezed into the final weeks

For small firms and independent consultants, this model is even worse. You either: 

a) Do weeks of research work yourself (at a fraction of your rate) 

b) Hire junior staff and pray you have enough future work 

c) Pass on great opportunities

The industry is ready for change. And it's coming faster than you might think...

More on that next week. But first: what's your most memorable "this can't be the best way" consulting moment?