The Problem with Consulting’s Image

For decades, consulting has carried a mixed reputation. At its best, it’s been a trusted advisor guiding corporations through transformation. At its worst, it’s been caricatured as an army of well-dressed advisors parachuting in with glossy decks, billing millions, and flying out business class on the client’s dime — leaving execution behind.

The past few years have only intensified scrutiny. Clients increasingly question whether the value matches the fees. Younger executives, raised in a culture of accountability and execution, see consultants less as problem-solvers and more as outsiders who profit without responsibility. 

Why the Stereotype Stuck

The “deck-maker” stereotype resonates because it often reflects reality. Too many engagements stop at advice, forcing internal teams to figure out execution. In today’s boardrooms, that gap can be costly.

As one CEO put it:

“If the strategy doesn’t survive the boardroom, it’s not strategy — it’s theater.”

Where Consulting Fell Behind

To dismiss the profession outright would be short-sighted. The talent is there. The issue is that while other industries adapted to technology and AI, consulting stood still.

• Banking & Finance: shifted core systems to the cloud, embedded AI for compliance and portfolio optimization.

• Retail: embraced predictive analytics to understand customers and anticipate demand.

• Airlines & Automotive: invested in predictive maintenance and logistics tech to keep fleets and factories running.

Consulting, meanwhile, largely clung to legacy practices — high fees, short stints, and low accountability. 

A Roadmap to Reinvention

1. Focus on non-AI-resistant sectors
AI can’t replace nuanced restructuring. Post-merger HR transformations — like Accenture’s work on BMS/Celgene and Walgreens/Boots Alliance — still require human judgment and long-term execution.

2. Expand into overlooked markets
Blue-collar and mid-sized businesses represent untapped potential. A plumbing company in Arkansas expanding into new states, or an HVAC installer resisting a predatory buyout, needs guidance and advocacy — not Wall Street bankers. Consultants could bridge that gap.

3. Shift from advice to execution
Executives want more than decks; they want delivery. That means consultants embedding for years, not months, and carrying operational weight until strategies succeed.

4. Move beyond efficiency obsession
Companies don’t just need automation. Many need better insight into their products, customers, and sales. Growth, not efficiency, should be the pitch.

The Missed Opportunity

Consulting firms should have monitored their own value chain the way they monitor clients’. Instead, they kept selling efficiency without embodying it.

Now they face a trust deficit — and a generation of executives who don’t want outsiders in suits, they want partners who will deliver and stay accountable.

Conclusion

Consulting isn’t dead, but its playbook is outdated. Reinvention means moving from deck-makers to value-builders.

Because the next generation of clients won’t pay for advice.
They’ll pay for results.