Consulting Is Not Linear. Here Is What Actually Changes over time
A graph of how consulting changes over time that started as a bit of humour and turned into insight. One line says it all....
Latest
Is Your Program Actually Viable?
Missed dates and stressed teams aren’t the problem. They’re symptoms. The Viable Systems Model (VSM) can help consultants diagnose structural underlying issues.
So you're in the ADF and considering becoming a consultant
Leaving the ADF can feel like stepping onto a new map. What you need is the civilian language, a few consulting frameworks, and this 180 day plan to turn experience into influence.
The Hard Realisation About Utilisation That No One Tells You
Many consultants mistake high utilisation for career security. It is not! When the chips are down, firms don't value what you have done. They value the relationships you have built.
Timesheets Without Tears: How to Make Them Work for You
Timesheets are necessary commercial hygiene in consulting, but they also reveal culture. Done well, they’re quick and useful; done poorly, they steal Fridays.
ChatGPT Performance Review Simulation
A ChatGPT super script to gamify and simulate your next performance review to improve how you show up at the real one.
The Anatomy of an engagement Status Report That Builds Executive Trust
Executives don’t ignore status reports by accident. They ignore bad ones on purpose. Good reports surface uncomfortable truths early and make it obvious where leadership attention is needed.
ChatGPT script to give you a winning consulting approach
Win your next assignment with structure, not luck. This script helps you craft a best-practice consulting approach through guided questions that turn ambiguity into clarity, delivering clear phases, outcomes, deliverables, and tools you can adapt for any engagement.
Finding Your Consulting Superpower: 10 Ways to Uncover Your Unfair Advantage
In a world where AI and templates are swallowing the middle, being vanilla is a fast track to irrelevance. Your instincts, quirks and eccentric Éclat aren’t flaws; they’re what make you, you
Best of.....
Summer reading for those ConsultantCafe articles you missed or want to read again.
Lessons in developing an Investement Logic Map from the North Pole
Chapter 4: This is the 4th in a series on Santa's digital transformation. See my Investment Logic Map Framework here and lessons for consultants when they develop one with a client
You were made redundant. Now what?
Im so sorry you were made redundant, but here are some tips to get back on your feet again.
Tool
ConsultantCafe Executive Decision Support Super-Prompt
A decision-support super-prompt that asks consultants targeted questions to clarify the situation, uncover complications, interpret implications, and produce a clear “What → So What → Now What” advisory package with options, actions, and recommendations.
Consulting Insight
Lessons establishing a PMO from the North Pole (download the PMO framework)
Chapter 3: I'm going to try to bring consultant tools, templates and techniques to life using Pole Enterprises as my case study. This is the 3rd in a series on Santas Digital Transformation. See my PMO Framework here.
Best Self
Spot your common consulting bias
The smartest consultants aren’t the ones who are right the most. They’re the ones who notice when they’re wrong the fastest. Spot these biases fast, before they undo your deliverable
News
Consultant Café brews a new kind of learning culture for consultants — one that puts people before titles
In a profession defined by pace and pressure, former Partner Kim Moeller is building something different — Consultant Café, a space where consultants can learn, reflect, and grow through practical insight and real experience to build meaningful, sustainable careers.
Consulting Insight
Lessons in Customer Journey Mapping from the North Pole
Chapter 2: I'm going to try to bring consultant tools, templates and techniques to life using Pole Enterprises as my case study. This is 2nd in the series on how to do customer journey mapping. The 1st was Mrs Claus letter.
Consulting Insight
Consultancy Pricing Models
Every café has its menu, and so should every consultant. From flat whites (T&M) to tasting menus (fixed price), pricing models shape how clients experience your value. In this week’s Consultant Café, discover some price model blends that work.
Consulting Insight
Costing vs Pricing: Knowing Your Floor and Setting Your Ceiling
Cost is maths, price is reputation strategy. Get them confused, and you risk cash flow, clients, and credibility
Consulting Insight
Specialist or Generalist? (Spoiler: The Market Doesn’t Care)
My old career advice was simple: go wide before you go deep. But consulting has changed, and so has my view.
Consulting Insight
My Delivery Playbook to Turn Messy Engagements into Repeatable Wins
If your work blends into the background, you’ll be replaced by the next consulting firm promising something shinier.
Consulting Insight
Debunking the Most Common Myths About Consulting
Consulting looks glamorous from the outside—big clients, strategy decks, and corner offices. But beneath the polish lies a tougher, truer story. This article busts the biggest consulting myths to reveal what the craft is really about: grit, growth, and solving problems that matter.
Project Management
The Anatomy of a Change Management Dashboard: Cutting Through the Illusion
Change dashboards must tell the truth, support decisions, and reflect the human reality of change, not just make things look tidy. This article serves up the special brew for building a change management dashboard that gives executives the clarity they need to lead with confidence.
Tool
ConsultantCafe.com Tech Stack: What Keeps It Brewing Smoothly
A peek behind the scenes at ConsultantCafe.com, my tools, struggles, and progress as I build rhythm, share workflows, and grow a community for consultants.