The Client-Centricity Lie in Consulting

“We are client-centric” – oh, if we had a penny for every time we’ve heard or read this line from a consulting firm.

What a meaningless statement! Is there a single consultancy that’s not “client-centric”? Isn’t that the entire purpose of the consulting industry – to centre knowledge and resources around a client issue?

When digging deeper into what each consulting leader meant by that, we usually discover that more often than not, this statement is a symptom of a set of foundational cracks, and “client-centricity” is the outcome, not an actual business framework.

So let’s dive into what client-centricity is, what approach to it makes it dangerous, and what, in our opinion, makes for true client-centricity.

Client-Centricity ≠ Putting Clients in Control

There’s a famous mantra from McKinsey’s past: “Client first, firm second, you third."

And it sounds noble, doesn't it? It sounds right. We see what they were going for there.

But here’s the thing. In practice, this version of client‑centricity can very quickly turn into:

• Putting clients in control: “Clients first” can quickly turn into “clients decide”. So now, instead of guiding the agenda, the consultancy (which was supposedly hired for its superior knowledge of the subject) just reacts to whatever the client wants to prioritise in the moment.

• Becoming an order‑taker: The consulting firm loses its advisory status, and the relationship becomes transactional. And these transactions are billed on an hourly basis rather than based on the value they deliver or the importance of the issue they address.

• Delivering everything bespoke: Since clients come first and every request is accommodated, there is little to no room to establish repeatable processes, approaches, or methodologies. Knowledge transfer is nonexistent. Every project is a customised web of people, tech stacks, stakeholders, and approaches.

• Chasing what the client says they want instead of what they actually need: Consulting firms are supposed to be the experts on a subject. They should be able to see past superficial problems – which are really symptoms of the underlying issues – and intervene at the root cause. A client may want a new automation system set up, for example. But what they actually struggle with is process clarity and accountability. It’s the consulting firm’s job to spot that difference.

Client-Centricity ≠ Generic Statements

“We are passionate about helping clients deliver meaningful change.” This line shows up on a bajillion consulting firm websites and LinkedIn pages.

Our feedback? Nobody cares! No CEO starts a Monday leadership meeting with: “We need meaningful change. Let’s hire a passionate consulting firm.”

That is not how buyers think. Not. At. All. Never.

They have a problem that is hurting the business performance, slowing decisions, increasing risk, delaying growth, or creating internal friction.

• They want that problem solved.

• They want confidence that the consulting firm has solved it before.

• They want a credible path to success.

• They want the lowest possible decision risk (here’s where ‘change management’ can play a role).

• They want proof that similar work was done repeatedly and reliably.

Generic statements like this are either lazy or show a complete lack of understanding of clients' actual problems. In either case, it’s not a good look for consulting firms.

Yet the market is flooded with grandiose promises, “visionary” statements, and vague descriptions.

While thinking they are using client-centric language, these consulting firms are, in fact, inward-focused. 

• They are the ones that list a buffet of services, forcing prospects to figure out how to connect a service to their problem.

• Their messaging is centered around how they work instead of what problems they help fix.

• Their thought leadership is usually focused on their promises rather than on the outcomes they’ve helped clients achieve.

• In addition to the generic statements, they are big on using highly technical terms, genuinely believing it makes them sound “expert” and “credible”.

• They avoid specificity in their messaging out of fear of excluding prospects. They want to keep all their options open.

• They focus on “passion” and “meaningful change” because they can’t offer proof of consistently solving a high-value problem for a specific type of client.

Recommended reading: The Toxic Effect of Improvisation on a Consulting Firm’s Performance

Client-Centricity = Clients’ Issue-Centricity

We believe that true client-centricity is the ability to diagnose the root cause behind visible symptoms and expertly prescribe a disciplined path forward that leads to a specific business outcome.

What clients actually want is not “meaningful change” or a “passionate team”. They want to be able to see themselves in the consulting firm’s messaging. They want to be confident that this consultancy understands what they struggle with, that it has repeatedly and reliably addressed this issue, and that it has outcome risks under control.

“Passionate team” and “meaningful change” don’t answer these critical buyer questions.

Neither does accommodating every client request or letting clients take control of the journey. This type of client-centricity provides marginal value compared to what deep expertise grounded in repeatable processes and a proven track record can deliver.

True client-centricity is issue-centricity. It’s about:

• Being clear about the problem the consulting firm solves: Forget “transformation” and “meaningful change”. High-performing consulting firms clearly define a business issue that they recurrently help address – the type of issue that shows up in board meetings and has actual business consequences.

• Showing where it has done it before: The ability to demonstrate pattern recognition, list specific examples, and clearly state how certain methodologies achieve specific results – that’s what makes buyers feel like they can trust a consulting firm.

• Being clear about accountability and success factors: High-performing consulting firms know what they can achieve for whom. That means they also know the prerequisites for success. They do not hesitate to explain clearly what is expected of the client to maximise the value of the engagement.

• Explaining what can be achieved: No vague statements, no generic promises. It’s about articulating realistic outcomes.

• Making buyers feel confident in their decision-making: Clients should feel in control during the decision-making phase. They should feel confident about their decision to move forward with a certain consulting firm. The only way to do it? For the consulting firm to provide clarity on the scope, process, results, and expectations. Acting as a helpful guide as opposed to a pushy, will-say-anything-to-close-the-deal salesman.

In short, client-centricity is about centering a consulting firm around a high-impact client problem and the firm’s ability to resolve it.

Issue-Centricity Is Not Possible Without a Strong Consulting Proposition

Our advice to rethink client-centricity in terms of issue-centricity only works if the consulting firm is willing to make that choice. Most consultancies say they want more focus, then refuse the trade-offs that make it possible.

And none of this is possible without a laser-sharp, issue-driven consulting proposition.

Phrases like these don’t cut it:

• We help unlock trapped value.

• We improve performance through digital.

• We fix your broken tech stack.

These are not consulting propositions. They are not even real issues. At best, they mirror issues or objectives clients already know and have while merely gesturing vaguely toward generic prescriptions. At worst, they sound like some AI-written mash-up of what a firm's competitors say on their websites.

In fact, a rule that we apply to every client engagement is: if your proposition names an issue or outcome that any other firm could have named, you haven’t made it yours yet.

A strong, issue-led proposition doesn’t just name a problem. It reframes it and then gets really specific about everything, from pains to root causes to solutions.

In other words, it says: 

• Here’s what we see

• Here’s why it matters

• Here’s how to fix it - our way

Conclusion

Consultancies that do this turn observation into ownership, pattern recognition into prescription, and the issue itself into something so clear and specific that clients can't help but nod and think, "Oh, yes... this is what we're up against here."

And when a firm frames a client’s challenge better than they can themselves, it wins before it delivers.

That’s how a consulting firm stops sounding like everyone else and becomes client-centric – in a meaningful way, not in a chest-pounding “we care more than anyone else” soundbite way. 

Recommended reading: The Ultimate Guide to Consulting Value Proposition Design

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