Why the consulting fashions failed
Let’s be direct about what occurred. The consulting trade found that digital transformation was extremely worthwhile. They might promote their methodologies, vendor partnerships, and “finest practices” frameworks, and cost premium charges for implementation help. The issue was that these frameworks have been largely one-size-fits-all approaches disguised as bespoke options.
A significant international financial institution doesn’t have the identical necessities as a regional healthcare supplier, but each have been offered the identical transformation playbook. The consulting corporations had invested too closely of their methodologies to confess that the true reply is likely to be to start out with enterprise necessities and work backward towards know-how. As an alternative, they assembled prepackaged options optimized for vendor partnerships somewhat than shoppers’ precise wants.
The expertise drawback was equally extreme. The consulting corporations may actually discuss digital transformation; they’d wonderful slides and compelling narratives. However when it got here to implementation, the talent gaps have been obtrusive. These organizations assembled options by following playbooks somewhat than understanding how the know-how elements truly match collectively. The end result was programs that have been overengineered, overprovisioned, and in the end underperforming.
