Why the traditional consulting model is fundamentally broken
After spending my career building and scaling consulting businesses, I’ve come to a blunt but honest conclusion: the traditional consulting model is broken. This model still revolves around outdated levers like billable hours, high utilisation targets, and layered delivery teams packed with generalists. It rewards activity over meaningful outcomes, sealing knowledge inside decks and brains instead of sharing it openly. Junior consultants often find themselves dropped into complex environments without sufficient context, while clients sit back, confused why their strategic initiatives take months to deliver yet feel generic and disconnected from their real needs.
This broken model no longer stacks up financially, operationally, or ethically. Clients expect clarity, speed, and consistent quality, but the traditional approach prioritizes filling timesheets with bloated processes and arbitrary deliverables. The incentives are misaligned, pushing consultants to churn through hours rather than focus on real impact. As a result, firms miss the mark on delivering true value, leaving both clients and consultants frustrated and underwhelmed in an era where rapid innovation and precision are crucial.
What clients really want, outcomes over hours
Clients today demand clear, tangible results rather than endless billable hours. They want precise guidance on where they stand, the path forward, and how to achieve their goals efficiently. Lengthy discovery phases and generic deliverables no longer cut it. Instead, clients expect swift, actionable insights that drive real progress without the typical consulting delays. They also seek consistency in quality — not a roulette of junior consultants rotating through projects without deep context or continuity.
Moreover, clients want insight that is not only accurate but also structured and reusable. They are tired of PowerPoint presentations that mask superficial analysis with polished visuals. Clients prefer meaningful knowledge transfer where intellectual property is accessible and tailored to their unique challenges. This shift puts pressure on consultancies to move away from activity-driven models and toward outcome-focused partnerships that deliver measurable business impact.
How AI-powered consulting is reshaping the future with Thresh AI
AI is transforming consulting by automating tedious tasks and delivering faster, more precise insights. At Thresh AI, we harness AI agents to conduct stakeholder interviews, analyze complex documents, and uncover process inefficiencies in real-time. This shift allows human consultants to focus on judgment, context, and quality control instead of repetitive grunt work. By combining cutting-edge technology with expert oversight, we create a streamlined, scalable consulting experience that provides clients with actionable, structured outcomes rather than generic reports or endless slide decks.
Thresh AI’s approach dismantles the old consulting model’s dependency on billable hours and bloated teams. Instead, we center every engagement around outcome-led pricing, transparency, and reusable knowledge assets. Our senior AI Directors guide each project to ensure relevance, rigor, and real impact. This AI-first model not only accelerates project timelines but also fosters consistency and clarity throughout the client journey. As a result, clients receive faster, more customized solutions that truly move the needle—ushering in a new era of consulting built for the demands of today and tomorrow.