One of the big changes that the consultancy industry must make is to its business engagement model. Traditionally, consultants have engaged with clients via a pyramidal model in which senior partners occupy the narrow band at the top, their involvement in projects often stretching little beyond presenting the initial proposal, turning up at a few key meetings, and summing up the final results. The wider base of the pyramid consists of junior and mid-level consultants, who are not only tasked with carrying out the majority of the actual work but are also the main day-to-day contact for the client.
This model worked - or was at least tolerated ≠ when the consultancy was hired to undertake relatively generic activities, with the assumption that business processes that had been successfully rolled out at one company could simply be applied to another. As such, little senior involvement was required. However, as companies look to embrace new organizational practices and seek out disruptive ideas to provide a competitive advantage, this model is increasingly untenable.
Regardless of how capable a consultancy's junior and mid-level consultants are, they won't possess the same level of industry knowledge and insight as senior partners. The one-size-fits-all approach of legacy consulting is a woefully inadequate model for any business striving to be genuinely innovative. The future of consulting should be predicated on greater senior partner engagement because increasingly there are no "generic" projects.
Clients can no longer afford to waste time and money on junior consultants data crunching and trying to come up to speed with their business. They want demonstrable value creation, not just analysis and strategy. Increasingly, senior experience and high-level expertise will be demanded to ensure the fast and successful execution of projects.