Praising Patterns

We're about half-way through our podcast series on AI and I've discovered an uncomfortable truth. A lot of consultants need to change their role radically. And now.

Consultants' value proposition is changing

For years it was really all about pattern recognition. The first article I ever published on our website 10-12 years ago was on positioning. It took me about 10 years of client work to build the knowledge to write it. I worked with dozens of clients. Looked at hundreds of websites. And after a decade of hard-earned wisdom, the patterns aligned enough in my head to write it down.

By contrast, Chat GPT provided all those positioning options (and more) in less than 30 seconds. It found those patterns simply by processing thousands of articles on strategy and positioning (including my own) and predicting each word that might come next. In essence, it found the pattern through the "wisdom of the crowd." It doesn't really know why those answers make sense, but its language prediction models can say pretty accurately that they do.

As it turns out, AI is FAR BETTER at pattern recognition than we are. It can identify patterns far faster than we can. And, unlike previous "compute models," it can find patterns we don't see. It can draw from millions of data points. Almost instantaneously.

AI is disrupting the value proposition of many consultants. Individuals who have built their tradecraft on pattern recognition -- finding patterns in data, finding patterns in their client work, finding "best practices" and applying them or re-applying them.

In a world, where an AI co-pilot does that pattern recognition much better and far faster than we can, the role of the consultant has to change.

Tomorrow's most successful consultants...

The modern consultant won't be a pattern recognition machine. That image of an analyst with a spreadsheet paired with an industry expert is fading quickly.

Yes, they'll need to interpret patterns that their AI co-pilots find when prompted. But more importantly, they'll need to know when best practices are worst practices. And, when to tell a client to ignore the patterns and choose an entirely different path. They'll need to use intuition far more than analytical rigor.

The most successful consultants will be those with an innate ability to think and operate creatively. With the knack to see around corners. To lean into their ability to inspire, lead, and empathize. To laugh, cry and inspire change. Dev Patnaik , Ryan Baum and all the other "Jumpster's" .... I'm looking at you.

Tomorrow's most successful firms...

The firms that win will be the ones who develop "learn-it-all" cultures in lieu of "know-it-all" ones. They'll hire and cultivate hybrid thinkers. They'll have an incredibly keen sense of the psychology of their clients. They'll embrace their role as creative advisors.

And, I have a hunch .... they'll embrace AI.

This article was first published to the Rattleback weekly newsletter on professional services marketing. Visit our website to subscribe.