10 Key Takeaways from Strategy Consulting ??????

Today marks the end of an incredible chapter of my life and professional journey. After +3 years of multiple projects, serving clients in +8 countries from the most diverse industries, from local/national and up to Global 500 companies, I have now decided to part ways and leave strategy consulting.

Following this period of significant development and experiences, I am embarking on a new professional path in which I'll be facing even newer challenges with great uncertainty, excitement and pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone.

However, I would not like to flip the page before looking back at some of the most relevant lessons I have acquired along the way. In the end, becoming a part of corporate "war rooms", engaging with members across the entire C-suite and consistently participating of a high-performance environment allows you to become familiarized with some of the best practices for work (and life) and understand how decisions are made in the corporate world.

In this article, I would like to share with you 10 of the most memorable takeaways from these experiences:

1. What Do We Want To Believe?

Because strategy is forward-looking, there's always a sense of uncertainty embedded in every project. Data-driven assumptions and hypothesis testing are always great resources to directionally steer any company's path ahead. However, there is not one single source of truth and it is unlikely that the results for a particular choice can ever be guaranteed.

One must be able to overcome the "illusion of certainty" by embracing the unknown. This openness, as well as the conviction, intuition and keen business perspective are key to push our initiatives forward, or else, to proactively make changes along the way.

2. Perfect is Enemy Of Good

80/20. Classic lesson, yet true and relevant across all professions. It is important to understand that striving for perfection can oftentimes lead to missed opportunities, inefficiencies and unnecessary complexity. Instead, focusing on delivering a good solution that meets the vital few needs and requirements translates to better performance in the long run.

3. So What?

This is a crucial question, not just for the sake of presentations or reports, but in every decision we ever make through our lives. It forces us to consider the reason behind our efforts, the implications of our insights, the relevance of any action, and the true impact of our choices (sometimes, even before these are made). It serves as a reminder to focus on what truly matters and to discard what is superfluous or distracting. This approach helps ensure that every effort is directed towards adding real value and making a meaningful difference.

4. Focus On Your Strengths

The never-ending dispute on whether doubling down on what makes us stand out or leveling up our shortcomings. What consulting experience has taught me, and after having learned from many multiple successful cases of clients across all the industry and market spectrum, is that striving for outstanding performance entails focusing on what you can do best (and if you get lucky, also significantly better than the rest).

If I were to quote from 思略特 's trademark Capabilities-Driven Strategy, "differentiating capabilities are the key to sustainable success; but if you try to be great at many things, you'll fail [...] Winning companies invest heavily behind a few capabilities". Additionally, according to the testimony and results from the many cases that were able to leverage this framework, "Companies with a capabilities-driven strategy are:

• 3x as likely to grow faster than their industry
• 2.5x as likely to be more profitable than the market"

5. Control Your Controllables

In an environment as volatile and dynamic as the consulting industry (or any other, for that matter), it's easy to become overwhelmed by factors outside your control. One of the most empowering lessons I've learned is the importance of focusing on what you can directly influence—the "controllables." This means identifying what are the most significant levers of change and impact at our nearest disposal and also deprioritizing actions based on where you cannot influence as much.

By concentrating on your controllables, you can maintain composure, drive outcomes more effectively, and remain resilient in the face of challenges. This approach not only enhances your efficiency but also bolsters your ability to navigate uncertainty with confidence.

6. Too Much Analysis Causes Paralysis

This expression encapsulates a common pitfall in both consulting and decision-making at large. Specially in modern era, where data has become the most valuable commodity and the bandwagon effect around digital resources has taken over, learning to recognize the threshold between sufficient insight and decision paralysis is key. This involves balancing the need for detailed information with the practicality of timely action.

There is an infinite number of analyses that could be explored. However, effective leaders understand that making a well-informed, yet prompt decision is more valuable than waiting for perfect clarity, which may never come (once again, victims of the "illusion of certainty"). This agility enables quicker adaptations and often leads to better long-term outcomes.

7. Don't Boil The Ocean

For any given problem, there can be a 1-hour, 2-week, 6-month or even a 10-year answer, as simple or as detailed as one desires (and bound to how a client or other counterparts may require). When "boiling the ocean" becomes self-inflicted complexity to solve an issue, it can sometimes be detrimental to reaching said solution.

This popular metaphor in consulting speaks to the need for focus and setting manageable tasks. This approach allows for more targeted strategies and hopefully achieve successes quickly and incrementally, while also meeting the needs.

8. Have an Aim

This is a tricky one. If we were ever a part of any basic business or project management course, we have heard that goals have to be clearly defined (oftentimes, alluding to the SMART objectives structure) and provide a guideline of how these should look like. What is often not discussed enough, is what these objectives need to be exactly and how important these can become for the sustainability of any company, team, initiative or project to succeed.

What I was able to see in my experience when interacting with some of my clients is that, in the bustling day-to-day routine, it's easy for them to get sidetracked by immediate tasks and minor issues that may not significantly impact the main goal. Having a clear aim, but also one that can be embraced and shared across all levels of a company or team, helps prevent these distractions and keep every member focused on what is most critical.

9. Pursue Work that Is Purposeful

One of my personal favorite perks of pursuing a consulting career is being a part of multiple initiatives with massive impact potential, with oftentimes equally great outcomes that can be seen and manifested in the most rewarding ways: having the project become the front page of a business newspaper, the main topic on the agenda of an annual report, contributing to an investment decision of multiple millions of dollars or having influenced in the creation of jobs, opportunities or further innovations for the better.

Similarly, when talking about defining aims or goals, I've observed that organizations and individuals who prioritize purpose and trascendence in their work (like the one I was able to witness and blissfully enjoy) tend to have higher levels of engagement and overall collective drive. This dedication often translates into better customer service, innovative solutions, and a stronger competitive edge.

The lesson here is clear: when work resonates with deeper personal pursuits or collective goals, it transcends mere employment to become a passionate endeavor. This kind of purpose-driven performance is key to sustaining enthusiasm and achieving long-term success in any professional field.

10. #WishYouWereHere

The dynamic of a consulting office usually feels nothing like that of other traditional companies. Different from having a predefined team of collegues on the same department indefinitely, there are multiple subsets of consultants distributed across different projects (sometimes even in different places around the world), not being able to interact and share as much about the challenges, inquiries or interesting experiences they may have with the rest of the team.

To fight this "dispersion", we established a tradition on our consulting team where we shared pictures of moments of joy, frustration, fear or excitement in our group chats with the #WishYouWereHere tag. While this was the only rule for the #WishYouWereHere movement, what seemed to be a common denominator for all of these is the one that stood out to me the most: These were all SHARED moments.

What makes professional (or life) moments like the ones in the pictures so fulfilling is the sense of belonging and lasting bonds with the people around us. What became clear to me early on in my consulting career is that one, if not the main reason behind our teams great success was the deep connection and mutual support with each other to navigating the complexities of our roles, making each success more rewarding and every challenge more manageable.

In the end, while our work can be done independently, the journey and the achievements are always better shared. It is always about the people around you... it has always been.

Before wrapping up, I would like to thank the partners for investing in me from my first day; as well as for their multiple lessons that guided and accelerated my development as a professional - and better yet, as a person-.

Also, I'd like to thank managers and directors, with whom I had the opportunity to form exceptional teams and work experiences; Because with their guidance, we carried out together projects of genuine social impact.

Finally, I would like to thank my fellow consultants because collaborating and being surrounded by people as dedicated, passionate and talented has been a privilege.

Today, I get to say goodbye, but these lessons (and many more) will remain with me forever...

Thanks and Farewell! ????

PwC Strategy&

Accenture Strategy & Consulting