Understanding Industry Trends for Consulting

Consulting isn’t dying—it’s evolving. The traditional "finder, minder, grinder" framework that has defined the industry for decades is being disrupted. As client expectations shift and technology advances, the reliance on junior-heavy teams and leverage-based profit models is under significant pressure. The future of consulting lies in a new model where hands-on leadership is paramount. Corporate and Private Equity clients expect senior-level Partners to actively drive strategy execution. They want seasoned professionals with deep expertise to lead from the front, ensuring that solutions are not just designed but delivered with measurable impact. Successful consulting firms will focus on outcomes rather than hours. By integrating AI and other technologies, they will accelerate efficiency and enable senior leaders to focus on delivering real value. Clients are increasingly drawn to results-driven approaches that prioritise entrepreneurial thinking and experimentation over time-based billing. As technology advances over analytical tasks, human consultants must excel in areas machines cannot replicate: creativity, emotional intelligence, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Coaching clients on how to leverage technology effectively will become a core skill, alongside curiosity and adaptability.

CIOs are leading a transformation focused on strategic, long-term value rather than just adopting the latest tech. 🌍 Lenovo’s Global CIO Study shows 96% of CIOs plan to boost tech investments, focusing on AI and security. From my conversations, it’s clear they’re also thinking about sustainability and future-proofing in a rapidly evolving tech landscape. 💡 However, 61% of CIOs face challenges in proving ROI from these investments, highlighting the need to not only innovate but to deliver measurable outcomes. Here are four strategies to tackle this challenge: 1️⃣ Align Tech Investments with Business Goals Tie each technology decision directly to business outcomes. Whether it’s enhancing customer experience, increasing revenue, or improving operational efficiency, measurable goals make the case for ROI clearer. 2️⃣ Build Cross-functional Alignment Involve key business leaders in the early stages of technology planning. Demonstrating how investments benefit various departments, from marketing to operations, builds stronger support for technology initiatives and ensures alignment with broader company objectives. 3️⃣ Prioritize Long-term Value Creation While short-term wins are important, CIOs must invest in technology that continues to deliver value over time. AI, for instance, plays a pivotal role in future-proofing organizations in a rapidly changing digital landscape. 4️⃣ Leverage Sustainability and Future-of-Work Strategies New growth areas, like sustainability and adapting to the future of work, are top-of-mind for CIOs. AI is central to addressing these trends, from optimizing energy use to enabling more productive environments - key factors in demonstrating ROI over the long term. For me, leading through this transformation isn’t just about adopting AI or new tools. It’s about building a roadmap that is thoughtful and strategic, building a solid foundation today for tomorrow’s growth. How are you navigating your business’s tech transformation to demonstrate ROI? I’d love to hear your insights on the challenges and opportunities. 🤝 #WeAreLenovo #TechTransformation #AI

Mark Cuban is worth $6.2 billion but refuses to say "EBITDA" on TV. There's a million-dollar lesson in this difference. I was just working with a PhD client who kept using industry jargon in his posts. Smart guy. Knows his stuff inside and out. Getting 47 likes per post. Meanwhile, people with half his expertise were getting thousands. Here's what I told him that changed everything: Your expertise isn't the problem. Your packaging is. Mark Cuban could walk into any private equity boardroom and discuss CAC, LTV, and burn rates all day. But on Shark Tank? He talks like your mom is watching. Because your mom IS watching. And so are millions of other people who aren't in his industry but are fascinated by the stories. Here's the thing most experts miss: The best content makes smart people look smarter AND makes everyone else feel included. Cuban doesn't dumb down his analysis. He translates his expertise. "What's your customer acquisition cost?" becomes "How much does it cost you to get one customer?" "What's your monthly recurring revenue?" becomes "How much money do you make every month?" Same intelligence. Different packaging. My friends, this is why your content isn't getting the reach it deserves: When you use industry terms, only industry people engage. When you translate industry concepts, EVERYONE engages. More engagement = more reach = more of your actual ideal clients see your content. It's not about dumbing down. It's about opening up. Here's the framework that's generated over $2M in client results: 1. Write your insight using all the technical terms you want 2. Rewrite it like you're explaining it to a brilliant 12-year-old 3. Keep the sophistication, lose the jargon     My client tried this approach. His next post got 2,847 views instead of his usual 200. Same expertise. Better packaging. Here's your reality check: The most influential experts aren't the ones who sound smartest to their peers. They're the ones who make complex ideas feel accessible to everyone else. That's how you build a personal brand that transcends your industry. That's how you create content that gets shared beyond your immediate network. That's how you turn expertise into influence. The game changed. Did you? While you're trying to impress other experts with your vocabulary, the smart money is building bridges to bigger audiences. If Mark Cuban can explain private equity without ever saying "private equity," you can explain your expertise without the buzzwords. 🧱🧡 PS: Check the comments for my full framework on building a brand that actually impacts

Strategy consulting isn't just a service business. It's something far more powerful: A training ground for generations of corporate decision-makers and leaders. The current model's pipeline: → MBB firms hired the top 1% of MBA graduates → Partners emerged through a "up-or-out" selection → Junior consultants gained accelerated experience → Alumni networks shaped global business leadership The leadership impact: → 15%+ of F500 CEOs have consulting backgrounds → Alumni manage trillions in corporate assets → Ex-consultants dominate boards and startups → Created a common business language This doesn't just disappear without consequences. When AI eliminates the base of the pyramid: → Where will tomorrow's partners come from? → How will methodology transfer continue? → What new leadership training emerges? → Who maintains influential business networks? New pathways are already emerging: → Expert networks rising in prominence → Growth in experienced hires vs. campus recruiting → McKinsey acquiring technical talent laterally → BCG's "expert track" hiring specialists instead of MBAs → Bain's "returnship" programs for former consultants These strategies may preserve elements of the talent pipeline, but they can't prevent a more fundamental transformation. Consulting hasn't just created business leaders; it has shaped business thinking itself, a monoculture maintained for generations. For decades, one talent pipeline has defined what good leadership looks like. Its decline won't just change who leads; it will transform what leadership means. As consulting's leadership monopoly fades, which industries or experiences will shape tomorrow's leaders? Next week in this series: How AI is inverting the client-consultant power dynamic forever.

Lately I've heard top AI companies offering seven-figure packages for specialized talent from San Francisco to Singapore 🤯 🇺🇲 U.S. reports confirm this: AI roles saw 10.4% wage growth in 2024 (3x national average) according to Veritone, with AI freelancers earning 21-40% more than peers per Oxford Institute research. 🌎 We validated this with Deel's global data spanning 150+ countries across full-time and contract roles. Turns out, these trends are even more pronounced globally: - Contracts with "AI" in job titles surged 585% from 2023 to 2024 - We've processed more AI-related contracts in 2025 than in all of 2023 - AI Engineers saw a 340% increase in contracts, while senior AI leadership roles tripled - The median AI salary is 120% higher than all other roles – up 6% YoY What's the impact? In the short-term: a widening pay gap between AI and traditional tech positions. But in the long-term: I see three major shifts coming: 📈 1 - Rising compensation across tech roles as market adjustments ripple out 💰 2 - Premium salaries for professionals combining AI with domain expertise (finance, healthcare, etc) 🌐 3 - Innovation hubs diversifying globally beyond traditional tech centers The AI talent wars will rewrite the global playbook for how technical talent is valued everywhere. What are you seeing? I'd love to hear from others who’ve experienced this firsthand. And we’ll unpack this global trend more deeply in our upcoming AI Jobs Report – stay tuned.

McKinsey Faces Existential Crisis as AI Proves It Can Do Consulting—Better and Cheaper ⸻ Introduction: Even McKinsey & Company, the world’s most prestigious consulting firm, is feeling the heat from AI’s rise. With its own senior leadership admitting that AI could perform consulting tasks with near-perfect efficiency, the firm is scrambling to adapt—deploying thousands of AI agents while downsizing its human workforce. What’s unfolding is a revealing case study of a knowledge-based industry reckoning with its own potential obsolescence. ⸻ Key Developments in McKinsey’s AI Reckoning: 1. A Profession in Peril—From Within • McKinsey’s Kate Smaje, head of AI initiatives and a senior partner, told The Wall Street Journal, “Do I think this is existential for our profession? Yes.” • Despite the threat, she also framed AI as an “existential good”—if the firm can pivot effectively. • Internal meetings now focus almost entirely on AI’s disruption and integration, according to managing partner Bob Sternfels. 2. Massive AI Deployment Already Underway • McKinsey has deployed over 12,000 AI agents across its operations. • These agents are capable of analyzing data, generating reports, synthesizing insights, and mimicking many of the firm’s high-ticket services. • This move follows a significant reduction in headcount, signaling that AI isn’t just supplementing the workforce—it’s replacing it. 3. Automating the Consultants • AI tools can now replicate the core of what high-level consultants do: solve problems, simulate strategy, and generate recommendations—instantly and inexpensively. • This calls into question the long-standing business model of human-heavy consulting, particularly when fees often exceed six or seven figures. 4. The Irony of Self-Disruption • As a firm that has long advised clients on digital transformation, McKinsey now faces the ultimate test: consulting itself through an existential transition. • The company’s next challenge isn’t just adopting AI—but redefining the value of human consultants in a world where AI can simulate expertise. ⸻ Why It Matters: The McKinsey saga is a powerful symbol of white-collar disruption. If top-tier consultants can be outpaced by AI, it signals a seismic shift for other knowledge industries: law, finance, medicine, and even government advisory. McKinsey may survive—but it will have to reinvent what it means to offer insight in an era where algorithms can do the thinking. AI isn’t coming for the suits. It’s already in the boardroom. ⸻ I share daily insights with 22,000+ followers and 8,000+ professional contacts across defense, tech, and policy. If this topic resonates, I invite you to connect and continue the conversation. Keith King https://lnkd.in/gHPvUttw

Knowing your business isn’t as simple as it sounds – yet it’s critical.   Earlier in my career, it was tempting to simply focus on the job I was given. But the more I learned, the more I focused on the intersection of the strategic, operational and human sides of the business.   Solving for challenges and innovating in your business depends on understanding three areas:   - Industry trends: becoming familiar with headwinds and opportunities is a first step in understanding the environment you’re operating in and what’s required to thrive within it.   - Your organization: if you want to effectively solve for challenges that arise in your business, you have to know the mechanics of what’s going on below the surface and the parts that are (or aren’t) working.   - Your stakeholders: whether it’s your customers, patients or communities, your role exists to serve a need. But this can only be done effectively if you’re in tune with the minds and hearts of those you’re serving.   This requires time, research, listening and building relationships. But the resulting knowledge is invaluable – and in the end, you become an expert known for solutions.   How do you gain better understanding in these areas for your line of work?  

The interview in which I realised how important it is to know about the company! Every time I was preparing for interviews I read everywhere that know about the company and domain before the interview. I read this everywhere but didn't prepare well for this. When I attended my interview for CA industrial training, I thought I was ready. I had brushed up on my technical skills and knew the company’s basic details—its name, its CEO, and a bit about its business. The interview started smoothly, with some technical questions I was able to answer confidently. Then came the question: “What do you know about our company?” I answered what I had prepared, but soon the interviewer began diving deeper: “Who is the founder?” “What products or services do we offer?” “What makes us different from our competitors?” "What internal controls will you apply for our company?" That’s when it hit me—I hadn’t done enough homework. I lacked a deeper understanding of the company, its journey, and its unique offerings. And while I answered as best I could, I knew I hadn’t convinced them. I didn’t clear that interview. But I learned a valuable lesson: Understanding the company is just as important as technical preparation. To help my fellow CA students, here’s a checklist of what you should research about any company before stepping into the interview room: 1. When did the company start? Know its history and how it has evolved over the years. 2. Who founded the company? Understanding the visionaries behind the business gives you perspective. 3. Which industry does the company belong to? Who are its competitors? Industry knowledge shows you understand the bigger picture. 4. What products or services does the company offer? Be specific. If possible, try using or experiencing their offerings. 5. Does the company have an app? What services are offered through it? This demonstrates that you’ve explored how the company connects with its customers. 6. What are the risks or challenges in the company’s industry? Having insights into potential challenges shows critical thinking. 7. Visit the company’s website. Review their About Us, Leadership, and Press sections—they’re goldmines of information. 8. Stay updated on recent news about the company or industry. This reflects your interest in their current operations and future plans. 9. Relate your previous experience with the company and frame the questions that can be asked and prepare for the answers. 10. Any remarkable work done by the company in past years.(This saved my another one interview) Your interview isn’t just about showing your technical skills—it’s about proving you’re genuinely interested in the company and can be an asset to their team. Preparation goes beyond textbooks!! ~ I was even asked which kind of insurance they provide?? ~ Which internal controls should I apply for their one particular process?? Now the comment section is all yours! Follow Kavita Rayal

Preparing for an interview in Equity Research? Make sure you prepare for this... First up - think about it - what is a company seeking in a candidate? The ability to decode financial information, and make coherent deductions from it. Can the candidate analyze financial information? How do you showcase that you can do it? - Pick a sector, and a couple of companies in it.  - You should be in a position to speak for 10 minutes about the company and the sector - What you speak should be data driven. For example Pick 2 wheelers sector, and two companies Bajaj Auto and Hero Motocorp You should be able to talk about - How many 2-wheelers get sold in India every year - What is the proportion of bikes and scooters - What is the market share of Bajaj and Hero - What are Sales for the companies? - What is the overall market size in Value terms? - What is Operating Margin in the sector? - What is the revenue per bike and EBITDA/bike for both the players - Who sells more premium bikes? - What is the export market like? - What is the penetration of EV in 2-wheelers? - How has sector growth been? - What are key growth drivers for the sector? - New developments - like the CNG bike by Bajaj Auto You get the point. If you can answer all these, then you should be able to showcase the ability of decoding information about a company and sector, and how you can apply that to financial analysis. You can use Screener for a quick financial analysis of the company, to gather some key data points, that will help you in your analysis Here is a guide for the same https://lnkd.in/dFM9ypEa Subscribe to our channel for more such videos. https://lnkd.in/dR4nvGxd Pick a sector today, and start working! ----- Peeyush Chitlangia, CFA I help you build a career in finance!

In recent conversation with IT leaders across a range of industries, the topic of business model transformation has come up more than ever due to AI and AI Agents. Most companies are rapidly thinking through what the impact of their business will be in an AI-First world. Not all of the impact will be the same, and it’s clear that industries will evolve in different ways, including how each of the players in these industries adapt with AI. There are a variety of factories to consider, like whether your business model historically sold services by the hour vs. by outcome, how information-centric your product is, the level of critical thinking required to deliver your service, and more. For instance, if you’re a law firm today, AI Agents have the potential of compressing the hours needed for particular legal work. The industry often bills hourly, so fewer hours certainly can put more risk on revenue per account. However, firms are starting to think through multiple ways AI begins to drive growth or benefits firms. You can now expand with more customers because you can deliver more work at a lower rate, or you could deliver even better work in less time, which ironically could mean fees go up even over time. You can extend out this type of dynamic to a variety of other professional services firms, from marketing agencies to systems integrators. Or, take financial services, where large organizations like financial advisory firms are thinking through what AI Agents do to their business model. In this industry, client relationships and value add is the biggest imperative. Even as AI may lower the barrier to getting financial advice for anyone, AI equally provides the potential for even smarter investment decisions and closer customer relationships between the advisor and the client, which leads to greater stickiness. Ultimately, there isn’t a single industry that won’t be impacted in some small or large way due to AI. Some companies will use AI to win more customers, and others will be forced to compete with new AI entrants which deliver services at a lower cost. Not every firm will adapt to this new reality, however, and those will be at the greatest risk. One big implication to all of this transformation is it puts the technology department more in charge of determining the long term business model and execution of a company ever before. The right moves and partnership right now by those implementing AI in their companies are in a critical position to execute on this.