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.
Tip #2: Consider the timeliness of thought partnering. Once a consultant has identified a viable thought partnering situation based on their firm's knowledge or insights, they need to determine whether a specific, funded engagement could be a possible immediate outcome relating to the request. In considering the thought partnering approach, the consultant will want to be careful in considering how much knowledge or intellectual capital is "given away" to the client as a means of establishing credibility and developing the overall relationship between the parties. Relative to thought partnering, it is important to be able to strike a balance between providing enough insight and perspective to establish strong credentials while retaining specific details and deep knowledge for future potential paid engagements.
In cases where it is less likely that the client requesting thought partnering assistance has immediate budget to fund a specific consulting engagement, or where the area the client wishes to explore is relatively immature within and across the client organization, a more immediate paid engagement is probably less likely. In these types of scenarios, a willingness to share some insights and thoughts relating to the ask can help ensure the firm is viewed as a partner invested in a longer term relationship. This willingness to provide some valuable intellectual capital helps ensure the client has limited reason to seek other outside expertise and assistance.
Tip #3: Solidify a burgeoning client relationship with thought partnering. Whether it is likely to turn into a more immediately funded engagement or not, consultants should remember that making small investments in thought partnering can translate into significant benefits in strengthening a client relationship while also limiting how much that client looks to other firms to present additional perspectives or experiences. Opportunities to develop and maintain a trusted partner role with a specific client can go a long way to impacting a future relationship. Consultants that are able to provide repeated and meaningful thought partnering support often find themselves being engaged directly (and often in non-competitive situations) when additional future funded engagements come along.
Thought partnering is not meant to share free intellectual capital and sacrifice a paid engagement. If considered appropriately, opportunities to thought partner with existing clients can translate to stronger client-consultant engagements. This, in turn, often helps fund future consulting projects with the client. Recognizing when and how to thought partner is a key component of strengthening client relationships and can help to ensure those relationships continue to grow for the long term.
Adam Cummins is a director at Pace Harmon, an employee-owned business transformation and outsourcing advisory services firmproviding guidance on complex transactions, process and operational optimization, and provider governance.
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