Is there a sound growth strategy for consulting firms?
Treacy: There are a lot of other complexities, but half of success really is about providing value to clients. And, I have to tell you, the value propositions most consultants put forward these days aren’t worth much. There’s a cancer that is eating away at the stability of this industry, and that is the cost structure. The costs drive outrageous rates that, in turn, demand either superhuman levels of value or a real compression in the client-consultant relationship. Clients have to use consultants in just so precise a way that they can get enough value in a short period of time. What’s almost as bad is consultants’ lack of perspective on the value of what they do. It brings to mind the old Saul Steinberg poster of a New Yorker’s view of America. Somebody needs to produce a consultant’s view of impact. I’ve talked to many consultants who actually believe that the delivery of a strategy is more than 50% of what it takes to drive results for clients. And I look at them like they’re insan
