Strategy consultants are experts in their field, helping companies remain competitive by analyzing business practices and designing improvement strategies. They can work in any industry, but are more common in the technology, financial services, supply chain, business and consumer goods sectors. Strategy consultants help define business markets, identify industry trends, and create strategies to improve performance and revenues. The pure strategy, in which a consultant is recruited to help design a concrete business plan from scratch, is relatively rare.
Rather than helping to redefine the corporate objectives of a trading giant, strategy consultants are more likely to be hired for their opinion on a specific strategic decision, at a precise intersection between industry and function. Strategy consultants with an MBA join consulting firms at this level and can manage their own teams and functional areas, in addition to analyzing information and developing project results. They usually have considerable knowledge of the industry and are expected to assess high-level business issues objectively. To gain the experience needed to get a strategic consulting job in the future, it is recommended to do internships at a consulting firm or in a high-demand industry during your time at school.
Giants such as McKinsey continue to occupy an exclusive strategic niche in the eyes of many customers, but in reality they offer a wide range of solutions that go far beyond the scope of traditional management or strategy consulting. Other firms with well-established or rapidly growing strategic consulting practices include Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Accenture, Oliver Wyman and CapGemini. Strategy & Operations: interaction between strategic consultants who focus on operational execution and operations specialists with a strategic vision. This is based on the strategic transformations of the company's internal structures that generate resilience to external change.
Finance-related strategic consulting provides qualified candidates with opportunities to address critical business tasks that an in-house team may not have the time or experience to address. Organizational strategy: designing organizational structures and corporate governance to ensure optimal fulfillment of a broader strategic mission. Digital strategy: using technology to create competitive advantages for companies. While there is no definitive education standard across the board for all consulting firms, they often prefer graduates with an MBA. McKee says that the interview process for strategy consultant positions can be very different from other job interviews and requires practice and preparation.
As the financial landscape continues to change, organizations large and small require the collaboration of professional consultants who can help them make key decisions about their operations and profitability. A strategy consultant works with a company's CEO, board, and senior management to provide strategic and impartial advice for various business decisions and objectives. These strategic consulting services are corporate strategy, business model transformation, economic policy, mergers & acquisitions, organizational strategy, functional strategy, strategy & operations and digital strategy.
