In this episode, Brent sits down with Tom Rodenhauser, Managing Partner at K2 Consulting Research, to discuss why AI is forcing consulting firms to rethink the way they create value. For decades, consulting firms have been paid for outputs — deliverables, implementations, and billable hours — with the assumption those outputs would drive meaningful business outcomes. But, that assumption is starting to break. Demand is still there. Clients are still buying. The model is holding, for now. But beneath the surface, AI is rapidly reshaping the economics of consulting. Firms that continue selling effort instead of impact risk competing on speed and price, while the firms that embrace measurable outcomes will define the next era of consulting. In this episode, you&#x27;ll learn: Why AI is disrupting far more than productivity The critical difference between outputs (deliverables) and outcomes (business results) Why outcome-based pricing remains difficult to implement, despite years of industry discussion. How consulting firms need to rethink utilization, compensation, client relationships, and commercial models for the AI era. Tom&#x27;s predictions for the future of consulting Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep. 120 - Outputs vs. Outcomes: Why AI Is Forcing Consulting to Reinvent Itself w/ Tom Rodenhauser

The Professional Services Pursuit

Hi everyone and welcome back to another session of the Pursuit Power Half Hour. I'm Brent and I'm joined today by our friend Tom Rodenhauser, the Managing Director at K2 Consulting Research. Today we're going to dig into the shift from consulting outputs to outcomes. It's a topic Kantata and others have spent a lot of time on but continues to surface as a real point of tension across the consulting industry. We'll explore what Tom is seeing specifically about the business of consulting.

specifically in the consulting world where firms are getting stuck and why many of the approaches we see today could put future relevance at risk. Tom, as always, great to have you back and we look forward to the discussion today. Tom Rodenhauser, Great to be back Brent. So before we dig in to this topic, we're going to keep it very specific today. Let's frame it a little bit. We've had past episodes and a lot of really good content around the business.

Tom Rodenhauser, Great to be back to you. Tyler, teu. Tom Rodenhauser, Great to be back to you.

It's the great question. It's a great way to frame this discussion because I think you know, I've been covering the consulting industry for 30 plus years. I think everyone thinks of outputs as outcomes, the actual process of consulting. And we look at things like the actual hours spent. Those are outputs. There's materials that are produced, the infamous deck at the end of engagement.

That's an output. But the actual outcome, consultants talk about outcomes that the client experiences as a result of the work that the consultants have done. The problem is there's never been a real direct link to the outcome.

Ep. 120 - Outputs vs. Outcomes: Why AI Is Forcing Consulting to Reinvent Itself w/ Tom Rodenhauser

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Ep. 120 - Outputs vs. Outcomes: Why AI Is Forcing Consulting to Reinvent Itself w/ Tom Rodenhauser

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.