It has taken a while, but consultants have finally begun to catch up to the idea that, in the 21st century, business success is not a question of ruthless efficiency driving, but of unleashing human brilliance to inspire innovation. This has led to some interesting developments in the industry.
The likes of Deloitte and Accenture have been on a creative industry acquisition spree, buying Acne, ?What If! and Karmarama, among others. Advertising agency, Grey, has sensed which way the wind is blowing and founded a consulting division. Design practice, IDEO, has launched a "university" in the hope of teaching innovation skills to clients and consultants alike.
In short, fearful for its survival, the consulting end of professional services is trying to integrate creative industry competencies. And by way of response, creative businesses are trying to become more consultancy-like.
The cross-over makes sense: for a client to require external support in solving a problem, it is essential to have both the ability to think laterally and commercially. Yet these skills have often been mutually exclusive, self-contained within different industries. But here’s the rub: however hard it tries, a management consultancy will always struggle to perform creative industry functions and vice-versa. This is because both types of business bring with them significant legacies which conspire to create challenges of integration and expansion.
Competing revenue models
Most professional services businesses sell hours for money. But consultancy businesses have typically been more project-driven than creative industry ones, many of which rely on retainers. These different revenue models bring with them wholly different approaches to client management, business development and resourcing. Why can it can be difficult to blend them together?
Sourced from Forbes - Contributed by Phil Lewis