Known for possessing deep industry expertise and the ability to deliver wide-ranging transformational business results, management consulting firms are often the first resource companies turn to when faced with significant challenges or problems. Management consultants are indeed well positioned to bring an "outside in" perspective and to share relevant suggestions, thoughts and experiences based on adjacent areas relating to the project that they are directly supporting. This type of additional client assistance is often referred to as "thought partnering".
Understanding when thought partnering can be an effective tool to build additional goodwill with a client — while balancing the desire not to give away intellectual capital or obviate the need for advisory engagements—can be a tightrope act for consultants to navigate. Here are three key tips for approaching thought partnering opportunities.
Tip #1: Recognize new opportunities for thought partnering. In most cases thought partnering opportunities happen when a consulting firm is already engaged with a client and a good working relationship has been established between key client managers and the consulting leadership team. In such cases, client leaders tend to be more comfortable asking open-ended questions of the consulting team, such as "Could you share what other companies in our situation have done to address these types of issues?", or "What does your firm generally see across the clients you've supported relative to this particular topic?" Being attuned to how these types of questions can present the opportunity to share some details and perspectives, outside of a formal engagement with the client, will help ensure that when they are asked, the consultant can quickly and efficiently consider whether or not a thought partnering approach may be beneficial.
