A Consulting Paradigm Shift

The traditional sense of management consulting sprouted into existence during the Second Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. Manufacturing methods became more mechanized and electrified, and therefore more efficient; as a result, a need for process improvement emerged.

From there, consulting continued to grow to meet the strategic and organizational management needs of new and expanding firms. Of late, consulting has diverged into a multitude of specialties—information consulting, franchise consulting, professional engineering consulting, performance consulting, etc. While most believe that the further stratification and granularization of consulting fields is imminent, another alternative exists—the hybridization of consulting and staff augmentation.