The consultancy of the future: can there be three halves in the same body?

An activity full of people who should also have highly developed critical analysis skills, a desire for innovation, curiosity, a vocation for contrasting and, if possible, a healthy obsession with capitalizing on theory that is applicable. Luckily for the attractiveness of this note, millions of people are dedicated to consulting, an occupation that has something for all tastes. There are many of us, in very varied formats: grouped in corporations or one by one; with many years of experience or for a while while we see what to do in traditional job transitions; working in very different disciplines; aimed at providing service to large or small companies, mature or startups; in a particular geography or globally; specialized in one or several industries; aiming to work alongside boards of directors, executive levels or at the staff level in general; etc., etc. Because it amuses us, because we understand that we have something to contribute, because it is our livelihood or because we have nothing else to do.

Beyond the vast consulting audience, I also decided to write something for any reader who wants to read it, stripping the content of technicalities (although at times it may confuse my somewhat baroque language).

I'm not going to discuss the probability of proposing something interesting if we have 8,000 million inhabitants and hundreds of generations have passed in which we have some record of their ideas. Since it's easy for me to say yes, let's try to write this note.

«The consulting of the future» should be analyzed in terms of what we understand by Consulting and what as the Future.

As for Consulting, I am going to focus on that whose mission is to transform ideas into realities, generating concrete and sustainable results that impact the multiple stakeholders of a company, working in joint teams during a limited period of time.

As for the Future, it seems to be or we perceive, probably like every generation, that it appears to be more uncertain, disruptive, accelerated, interconnected, with our Rockstars VUCA and BANI more present than ever?

For this Consulting and this Future here are some ideas of what should characterize the consulting of the future.

Here the three halves appear, playing with the idea that to achieve a self-respecting Consultancy, one of the key issues is to expand and complement talent, without limits. Talent to think, design, develop, execute and lay the foundations for continuous evolution or, more than ever, permanent and rapid transformation.

And what are the three halves?

The first is Intelligence, that comprehensive and comprehensive intelligence, which allows us to add value, structure, confidence in achieving the goal and also confidence that the means we use are appropriate.

And what changes for the future?A human intelligence increasingly complemented by artificial intelligence. It will increasingly be about HI + AI. Human intelligence creates artificial intelligence, the good use of this will be a sample of good human intelligence. Non-use or procrastination of artificial intelligence, whether generative or not, does not seem to be a very intelligent decision and, even less so, in the consulting of the future. And this note does not use anything from ChatGPT!

What a challenge it is to put together the appropriate blends between both intelligences and what a challenge it is to reinvent many practices, methodologies and even ways of working. As always, what a cultural change challenge!

The second half is about the contribution of Experience, concrete experience in having done what is proposed, in knowing how to do it, having a method, in knowing what to do in different circumstances, in how to capitalize as much as possible on the associative capacity and enrich the work with experiences in other industries, cultures, processes, organizations and technologies, experience in managing expectations, involvement, change, adoption, in leading transformations and in building powerful, motivated and capable teams. a common purpose.

And what difference is there between the consulting of today and that of the future in this half? In the future, more and more concrete contributions with tangible results will be required, diagnoses that are a means and not an end. Ready-made experiences Solutions, already tested and embedded in digital technologies, not just propositions, designs or action plans; experiences that are nourished not only by our own consulting staff but also by an ecosystem of collaborators, experts, academia, partnerships and alliances, which allow us to enrich, expand or integrate more and more value, creativity, innovation or execution force. In the present future, these articulations are facilitated by connectivity and new ways of working.

And finally, the third half, which I leave for dessert, is about now and forever about the emotional human bond between the consultant and the client.

Consulting, today and always, will continue to be differentiated by values that are not only proclaimed, but also evidenced throughout the relationship with clients and especially in moments of truth, such as predisposition, commitment, empathy, sensitivity to circumstances and the environment.

Be close, be close, take maximum care of relationships, not just pursue a result, be close to people and close to facts and action. It's not all about remote work. You have to feel with all five senses, not just the two that today's widespread technology allows us.

Challenges of a more remote present/future, with fewer borders, with multicultural teams, in multi-schedules and, not to mention, if in the future we go full with Consulting in the metaverse. (Do not confuse with consulting being a metaverse).

Well, I'm finishing up so as not to end up losing the attention of all the readers. I didn't have the grade to add many other halves, so please excuse the ones I chose or the lack of space.

Synthesis is another key attribute of a good consultant and resilience to criticism as well.

See you in the next future.