Luk’s Bi-Weekly 'Think Piece' For Consultancy Owners

EDITION #110

OCTOBER 2, 2024

Dear reader, 

Here comes the 110th edition of my newsletter. 

In my new article in this edition, I discuss the importance of internal alignment among boutique consultancy senior leaders and owners/partners.

Getting boutique consultancy partners aligned on their strategic agenda is by far the most challenging aspect of my consultancy performance improvement work.

I sometimes think that getting boutique consultancy partners to agree on their firm's identity and focus is like trying to herd cats—everyone goes in their own direction. Yet, it's one of the most crucial foundational elements that can define the consultancy's business growth prospects.

As always, I hope to create a bubble of calmness with my bi-weekly ‘think piece’, a place of stillness in the face of everyday stress—a chance to reflect on what really matters in your consulting work.

Enjoy reading, 

Luk

MY NEW ARTICLE

Without Internal Alignment, a Boutique Consultancy Is Doomed

A few months ago, a consultancy of around 40 consultants hired me to review its overall performance and assess the clarity of its consultancy proposition.   

Established in 2018, it has three founders and four director-level senior consultants. It offers services in the data and analytics expertise domain.

I had a separate call with each founder and three out of four directors. “Who is your ideal client?” I asked. I received six completely different answers, ranging from “a multinational company in retail” to “any large company that needs help centralising and optimising their first-party data efforts while being compliant with data privacy regulations.”  

In this article, I discuss the profound impact of internal misalignment on the growth prospects of a boutique consultancy.

READ MY NEW ARTICLE

MY RECENT ARTICLES

POSITIONING

How Boutique Consultancy Owners Can Reclaim Their Quality of Life

STRATEGY

Saying Yes to Non-Fit Projects with Existing Consulting Clients: Risks and Rewards

NARROW FOCUS

Why Repetition Is the Path to Becoming a High-Performance Consultancy

REPUTATIONAL FOOTPRINT

9 Ways to Assess a Boutique Consultancy’s Expertise Reputation

MY MOST RECENT LINKEDIN POSTS

MANAGING A CONSULTANCY

The most challenging thing in my consultancy performance improvement work? 

STRATEGY

Why do so many boutique consultancies make the same costly mistakes repeatedly?

BUSINESS GROWTH

Hiring more to grow more in a boutique consultancy? That’s a trap! 

STRATEGY

The sales success of a high-performing consultancy is a side effect.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Consultancy leaders often tell me they don’t know what to write about. 

SERVICE DESIGN

The toxic outcomes of having to chase new consultancy clients (vs. attracting them).

MY WEEKLY BITE-SIZED ADVICE

In this section, I recap the pieces of advice and inspiration I share with my followers on LinkedIn every Monday – all learned or observed throughout my personal journey as a consultant.

Follow #consultingmonday on LinkedIn to never miss a dose of inspiration at the start of the week.

CONSULTING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Chasing new consulting clients is a road to trouble. 

If a boutique consultancy can’t organically attract new clients with its expert reputation and has to chase them to keep the ship afloat, it's heading for rough waters these days. The reality is that competition has dramatically increased in the past years, and chasing clients has gotten much harder—prospects are more sceptical of all the sales emails, have smaller budgets, have become more risk-avoiding and are better informed. Having to chase new clients all the time is a toxic cocktail. 

CONSULTING MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

You can't scale what you can't repeat.  

In a boutique consultancy, repetition isn’t about doing the same thing endlessly. It’s about refining processes, building on narrowly defined expertise, and leveraging that expertise across multiple clients, which ultimately leads to scaling. Repetition is the path to process standardisation, standardisation is the path to efficiency, and efficiency is the path to scalability. I love repetition.

HERE'S HOW I HELP CONSULTANCIES

If you knew a way to become a high-performing consultancy, would you adopt it?

Stupid question, I guess.

My High-Performing Consultancy Review provides a 360-degree evaluation of challenges such as:

- market positioning and target audience definition;

- visibility and reputation in the market;

- new client acquisition;

- existing client development and retention;

- pipeline management and revenue predictability;

- expertise differentiation;

- non-linear scaling/growing;

- business performance measurement (financial & consulting KPI's);

- key player attraction and retention.

You'll receive a detailed report of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and areas for improvement, along with quick wins and actionable insights to help unlock your consultancy's full potential.

Don't settle for mediocrity. Book your High-Performing Consultancy Review today and take the first step towards a brighter future for your boutique consultancy. 

Here's a detailed article explaining the Consultancy Performance Review. 

PS. My ideal clients: founder-led boutique consultancies with revenue between 2M and +/- 20M and/or between 20 and +/- 100 consultants. 

BOOK A CALL →

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