Crack the code of consulting. My 5Cs of Consulting
ConsultantCafe 5C framework for a balanced career.
Latest
Do I really need multiple CVs?
I don't have time to tailor my CV. Ill give them my everything CV.....
Download my Benefits Management Playbook now
Paid subscribers can download my benefits management playbook now.
The standard we should expect from EVERY consultant
Consulting has a reputation problem. The draft ConsultantCafé Code of Conduct sets a practical baseline for integrity, transparency and rebuilding trust. Download it now and provide your feedback.
Am I allowed to bill for that? Seven timesheet questions answered
Timesheet questions are rarely about timesheets. Seven I get asked most, from billing morning tea to why your manager wants yours in by Tuesday.
The timesheet trap: why consultants confuse hours, billing and value
Timesheets aren’t just admin. They sit at the intersection of effort, billing, and contracts. This article unpacks four types of time, why they often differ, and the simple test that helps consultants record time honestly, bill correctly and apply better commercial judgement.
The Myth of Seniority that comes with title
The myth of seniority is that titles create authority and value. They don’t. Some of the best leadership on a consulting job can come from the most junior person on an engagement.
Being present v your presence
You don’t need to be everywhere to be valued. The best consultants build a presence that keeps working when they’re not in the room
My Delivery Certainty Risk Framework
Download my Delivery Certainty Risk Framework to give you a practical framework for choosing the right commercial and consultant model based on delivery certainty
Anatomy of a Good Status Report PowerPoint Template
Download the anatomy of a good status report PowerPoint template
My Change Management Playbook
Download 44 pages. Six parts. One practical method for turning change into an organised, measurable program.
If clients are capping day rates, stop selling days
If clients are capping day rates, stop selling days. Learn how fixed-price services can help consultants build more valuable, scalable businesses....including an LLM script to help you get started.
News
Whats Brewing after a year
One year, one award, 50+ articles and countless coffees. A look back at how ConsultantCafe grew into something bigger.
Radical transparency, ethics and integrity can't be a competitive edge. They're the price of entry for every firm, every consultant, every day.
Notes from our open CaféShot: two dozen consultants agreed that radical transparency, ethics and integrity aren't a competitive edge. They're the price of entry.
Best Self
Build a Moat Around Your Career
Build your career moat with rare skill stacks, a visible reputation, wider networks and measurable wins.
Consulting Insight
Every Facilitated Session ever
A tongue-in-cheek sketch of 29 personas who show up to a facilitated session, and the serious truth about meeting each of them where they actually are.
Consulting Insight
Are you contracting or consulting?
There is no write or wrong when it comes to contracting or consulting. It just means trying to notice the opportunity cost.
Technique
The ConsultantCafe underground map with 80+ methods, frameworks and the like
Every consultant has a method drawer. Mine became a London Tube map with 89 stations across several lines in one slightly nerdy ride. Mind the methodology gap.
News
Its time to start the ethical consulting movement
This is an open invitation for anyone to join a ConsultantCafe Cafe Shot Master Class on ethics in consulting. Subscribe to the free mailing list, and you will get an invite.
Change Management
My Change Management Playbook subscribers can download now
Enjoy these 44 pages of my Change Playbook. I have tried to capture everything I have learnt over the years about change management.
Consulting Insight
4 more Laws Consultants should know how to deal with
Consulting is messy. Another 4 timeless laws help you spot patterns early, manage the chaos, and steer complex work toward outcomes that actually stick.
Technique
So you have been asked to do business development!
Business development is a long game of building trust and earning the right to ask for the work when the timing is right.
News
Winner of the Breakthrough Business Award
Queanbeyan-Palerang Business Awards, 2026 winner of the Breakthrough Business.
Technique
Project Burn-Downs: From Old-School Spreadsheets to AI-Powered Forecasts
I wrote the original article anchored in the old-school way of tracking project burn-downs. The fundamentals still hold, but AI now gives us a not-so-old-school way to keep forecasts current....and it will blow your mind.