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The Future of the Firm

Latest episodes

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Jul 26, 2022 • 21min

The new realism: Changing the way we talk about consulting

All our research during the pandemic suggested that the thought leadership produced by professional services firms was becoming more important to clients. If we look at our most recent client perceptions data and ask clients about the relative importance of thought leadership when considering which firm to hire, thought leadership has dropped from being the third most influential factor in 2021 to the seventh this year. This is leading us to wonder if professional services firms are missing a trick, and if they’re not producing the kind of material clients want, even need, to read.
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Jul 5, 2022 • 21min

The future of the mid-sized firm

Accepted thinking around the consulting and wider professional services industry suggests that being a mid-sized firm isn't a comfortable place to be, lacking both the brand weight and scale of the very large firms, and the personalised service and specialist know-how of smaller ones. Yet, here we are, two years on from the single greatest upheaval ever in the consulting industry and most mid-sized firms are still going strong. Our own research suggests that our assumptions about mid-sized firms could be wrong.
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Jun 21, 2022 • 21min

What does innovation look like to consulting firms?

Innovation has become a hot topic in consulting over the past few years: No longer content to be mere advisors, firms want to play a more proactive and hands-on role helping clients build and launch innovative new products and solutions. And clients seem keen to work in this way, too: Our client data consistently reveals that “having an innovative approach” is one of the most important attributes a firm can have. But what does all this really mean? To explore the topic of innovation in the consulting industry, we’re joined by Giles Colborne, CEO of cxpartners. Cxpartners is Sopra Steria’s digital innovation consultancy.  
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Jun 7, 2022 • 21min

Can consulting firms use learning & development to encourage the retention of talent?

It's almost impossible to glance at the business press these days without some kind of coverage on global talent shortages—and the consulting industry is feeling the pressure of these shortages particularly keenly. Is there anything consulting firms can do to increase retention, and halt the "great resignation" that's impacting them? To discuss the role of learning & development in consulting firms, Fiona Czerniawksa is joined by Nhlamu Dlomu, Global Head of People at KPMG.
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May 24, 2022 • 25min

How can consultants think more intelligently about their pricing models?

Pricing is one of the most complex issues in the consulting industry, and clients are often unclear on what exactly they are paying for; in fact, our latest research has shown that only 23% believe that consulting firms are transparent when it comes to their fee rates. What can be done to reduce this friction, and how can consulting firms take a more intelligence approach when it comes to their pricing models to ensure harmony on all sides? To discuss the topic, we're joined by Dr. Peter Colman from Simon-Kucher & Partners. 
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May 10, 2022 • 23min

Brand vs Expertise: What really matters?

To continue our discussions around brand in professional services, David Redhill, ex-Global CMO at Deloitte, joins us for this podcast episode. We explore whether firms can truly use their culture as a differentiator, the extent to which expertise is related to brand, and how mid-sized firms can compete in an increasingly crowded market.
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Apr 26, 2022 • 26min

What does disruption look like in the consulting industry?

Has anything truly disrupted the consulting industry in the years since Clayton Christensen's groundbreaking article in the Harvard Business Review? To discuss the issue of disruption within consulting, Fiona Czerniawska is joined by Julian Birkinshaw and David Lancefield from the London Business School.
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Apr 12, 2022 • 23min

How should professional services firms invest in their brands post-pandemic?

Our latest research reveals the greatest shake-up in what clients tell us is important when working with a consulting firm since we started tracking this metric seven years ago: Having an innovative approach has been replaced by brand & reputation as the most important attribute. Could this signify a flight to brand, caused by the pandemic? To discuss the topic of brands in professional services, Fiona Czerniawska is joined by Beth Ann Kaminkow, Global CEO at VMLY&R Commerce.
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Mar 29, 2022 • 21min

Building trust in consulting

The question of who and what we're willing to trust is one of the defining issues of this digital age. In the context of professional services, trust has always played a critical role in the purchasing decisions of clients, and the pandemic has only served to cement that. In this episode, we are joined by J.C. Lapierre, Chief Strategy & Communications Officer for PwC in the United States, to discuss the role of trust, and how firms can build it in this new age.
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Mar 15, 2022 • 22min

Women in leadership

Historically, the professional services industry hasn't been a place of gender diversity, but things seem to be changing. This podcast episode, recorded to celebrate International Women's Day, features Rachel Barton, Europe Strategy Lead at Accenture, and Alison Huntington, Director of Client & Brand Insights at Source, to discuss what it's really like to be a woman in the consulting industry today.

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