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The Consulting Reset (MiniSeries): Why What Worked Before Won’t Work in 2026 · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you've noticed it, but the consulting industry and even the corporate space has changed quite a bit.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it really does feel different.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's not the same anymore.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've been feeling like your strategies aren't landing the way that they used to, that things are not flowing as easily as they used to, it's not just you.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's the market, it's the buyer, it's the fact that the rules have changed.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Everything is different.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just because we have artificial intelligence and AI and all of the new tools available to us.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's a huge factor.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: But there's so many other things that are at play.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are a consultant who is brilliant but not booked out yet, then there may be some of these things that are causing a problem right now for you, just like it is for others.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to know how you can go into 2026 by understanding what's happening today and knowing the trends that we see on the horizon for tomorrow, then you're going to want to stay tuned because we are about to get all into it.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is a great time for us to have a conversation about what we see on the horizon and how we need to best position ourselves to take advantage of it.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into it.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So is this your first time tuning in?
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let me just start by saying I'm Dr.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Angelina Davis.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: I am the host of the Black Girls Consult 2 podcast.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: I am also a healthcare consultant and strategist.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that I know is that over the past three to five years, we have really watched the consulting space in particular balloon.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of this was something that came about once we broadened from being in person to being able to meet and secure business globally.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it just gave us so much more access to opportunity.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Also, we saw many of the larger consulting firms become flooded with business.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: That led a lot for many of us as smaller firms and solo entrepreneurs to take advantage of that and be able to offer our services to clients that otherwise felt out of reach before.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: So there's been a lot of growth in our space that has been, number one, exciting.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: It has been lucrative for many of us.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that has been something we've enjoyed for a number of years now.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: But also what's come with that is the fact that you have a lot of people who are entering into the consulting space without truly being able to offer consulting services that are of higher caliber.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean by that is many people think that consulting is just a matter of giving advice.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's led to people going in with possibly good intentions, but not being able to deliver.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: And whenever that occurs in a very saturated market, it causes a problem and a shift among the consumer base.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that's true whether or not you're working with individual consumers or even with corporate clients.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Buyers are tired.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're tired of investing in consultants and leaders who overpromised but under-delivered or didn't deliver at all.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they are tired of being able to see and appreciate frameworks that sound great in theory.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: They sound inspirational and motivational and exciting, but they aren't operational.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: They're not practical.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: So now we are in a situation where many buyers are just moving slowly.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: They're skeptical.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: They want receipts and they want to understand that you truly do know what you are doing beyond just coming up with ideas.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because at the end of the day, what they are implementing is changing their lives, whether it's their individual lives and livelihood, or if it is the life of their business or corporation.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: So they don't need us to be vague with messaging and not honest with the value that we offer.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: We truly have to show up in a way that is going to build credibility and earn trust.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: So this is somewhat new for many of us as consultants because historically you had a number of larger firms that ruled the marketplace.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And because they ruled the marketplace and they were so large and had so much money and marketing access and capital, they could offer services and give insight and not be questioned, not be asked to show specific return on investment to the degree that we have to do now.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: But times have changed.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's not enough just to promise what we can do.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: We have to also be able to show it by doing it for others and then being able to show that proof, but then also being able to deliver on it and justify in with hard, concrete numbers, dollars, and data that we are delivering on what we promise.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: Those things are new.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And in all honesty, many of us have not been structured to number one, capture that information, but then two, be able to tell a story around that data and what it means to the life of the business or the life of the client that we're working with.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: So all of these things come into play when we're talking about standing out in a very crowded and saturated market and not being seen as maybe some of those who entered the space that were not as qualified as you going into 2026.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: We need to be different.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so that means that we need to take a different approach than what we have likely used in the past.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one of the reasons why some of consultants have found success early on, and I'm talking about those who may not be as qualified to carry out their task, but may have found success.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Often that's because they have become great at marketing.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: And marketing is one key aspect of what we have to do in order to get our services out there and have our clients, even though who we are, begin to build that credibility and trust that allows them to buy and to work with us.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: But we're not just thinking about that initial transaction.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: We want to consider what it's going to take to build relationships that last, that turn into repeat, you know, contracts of revenue and extended lifetime value, all those things that we want to grow over time.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: But one of the reasons why some of these individuals were successful is because of tools such as AI.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: When you have so much information at your disposal, then information, which is something that many consultants used to lean heavily on, providing information and data that most people didn't know or understand, that becomes more of a commodity.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to begin to build businesses around something else that moves us away from just knowing information, but being able to take that information and understand the nuance in it.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because, see, many of our clients, especially in the corporate space, they're looking for consultants that understand how this information fits into their current system or what power struggles are at play, what it means to have a smooth implementation.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: They want to know that we have lived through these experiences and can pull from some of the things that we have seen work in the past, or maybe not work, and that it's not just a cookie-cutter solution or textbook solution to their problem.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because nine times out of 10, many of these individuals, the clients that we want to serve, have already tried the textbook way.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: So they're coming into our space looking for consultants that are going to offer something different.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: When you go and you're pitching or selling what they've already tried and seen fail over and over again, it's hard to convince them that the result is going to be different.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things about appreciating your lived experience and what it offers is that you begin to see the value in how you're thinking differently about a problem has greater impact on a client's success because they are appreciating your learned experiences so that they can move further along without repeating your mistakes.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that is something that builds relationships.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: It helps to build that trust and that loyalty when it comes to working in this industry and in this field.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, people truly do want to have connection.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Even in corporate space, they want connection.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: They want relationships.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: We are humans that lean on humanity, not perfection.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not about having just this right textbook answer.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's about how do we apply those things to the problems that we're seeing in this new world, this new era that we're living in.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because everybody's facing the same threats.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Your clients are facing the same challenges as you are.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: And they have to have a better understanding with your help of how to navigate it.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so it doesn't require just strategy, but it also requires empathy in 2026 moving forward.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: We have to start leaning more heavily on our lived experience and what that brings to the table and not solely relying on what we may have learned behind a degree or a certification, but then also positioning our businesses around that so that it is reflected in the work that we do.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because if that's not reflected in our work, then when clients go to search for that help and they want to see something different, something innovative, something new, you're not going to look like the person that they need.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where we have to understand how to reposition ourselves and our message so that we are meeting our clients where they are.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's going to be the biggest challenge as we move into 2026 is thinking about how we do that.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: How do we create businesses that cannot be impacted significantly by AI?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: How can we be different and know that we offer something that will have value beyond what someone can easily outsource?
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is where we want to begin to build moving forward.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, we're just building something temporary.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And that is not going to be sustainable in the long term.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not just about getting things right.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: It truly is about can we hold the complexity around the work that our clients are doing?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And not talking at them, not telling them what they have to do, but truly empathizing with their situations, their circumstances, the challenges that they're facing internally in their businesses or in their corporations, or just in personally, and being able to help them through that, to navigate it in a very practical way that works.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's another level that we're seeing right now as well that unfortunately probably will go with us into 2026.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the fact that as women, in particular women of color, we are facing a new hurdle that we haven't seen in many of our lifetimes.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: If we are very truthful about where we are now, we know that it is extremely hard to not link being a woman or being a woman of color to our access to resources, whether that's loans or financing, or if it is getting into the right position where we can capitalize on opportunities.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: We are not best positioned for that in this current climate.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that is something that is just a reality right now.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: We watched this play out, in particular in the consulting industry and space when it came to DEI.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: So diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts were pretty much almost abolished, it seems like or felt like.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, we we saw a lot of disruption in that aspect of our industry.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that really did impact a lot of women, especially women of color who are working in that space.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: And although we are learning how to navigate through that and what changes we need to make and how we need to adapt and modify, it has become really hard to know how to best position yourself for success without being shut out of opportunities that you potentially once were a candidate for.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Although these challenges exist, the one thing that I do want to stress is that we are in a new era where the industry at large, a society at large, is finally hungry for many of the perspectives that we share.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so our ideas are typically not rooted in old school, outdated ways because we've had to navigate the space differently.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: We haven't been part of the boys club or whatever they may call it.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: We have had to navigate a different path.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: And because of that, it has led to cultural intelligence and systems thinking and all these things that truly are highly beneficial to the clients that we want to serve.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: They felt at times traumatic.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the one thing that I can say is that in the midst of all of that difficulty, the rainbow of it is that it created something that is highly valuable when it comes to consulting in your space.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So understanding how to capitalize on that and how to best use that to your advantage is going to be something that needs to be part of our game plan as we go into 2026.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because some of the things that we're seeing in our society by our administration right now, if you're living in the US, is going to still be here.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have to know how to succeed in spite of that.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think that we can use all of these things to our advantage that once maybe felt like a massive hurdle that we could not get over.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: It is not necessarily meant for us to stay stuck in this place in the long term.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: But it is going to require us to honor and know that we are in a world that is more complex right now, and that there are a lot of dynamics that is going to require us to be very emotionally intelligent in terms of how we show up and how we define professionalism for ourselves, the level of strategy and strategic depth we want to go into.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: We just need to be positioned to succeed.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that is really the overarching message with all of this, whether you're talking about the saturated market or if you're talking about the impact of AI and technology or the changes that we are seeing within our society around, you know, things such as race, relations, diversity, equity, inclusion, all of those factors.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: All of it requires us to position ourselves differently right now.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because nine times out of 10, you are not positioned for the world that we are currently in and entering into.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us are positioned for things in the past.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: So this is something that I want to dive deeper into and why I want this to actually be just a short mini-series around this topic because this episode alone is not enough for us to break down and dive into all that we are going to be facing as we move into 2026.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, I don't want you to feel like it's all doom and gloom because it's not.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is just highlighting some of the things that we see as being hurdles or challenges that have not historically been there.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: And they go beyond just what the new trend is right now.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: It truly is a change in the fabric of our industry.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted us to just have a better appreciation for that so that we know how we need to show up, which is embodying our lived experience more, being more empathetic to the needs of our clients, being more focused and centered on having a human-centered approach and just showing humanity in the way that we practice our skill set.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: All of these things are going to be essential for winning in 2026 because the cookie cutter methods and ways of approaching consulting is not going to work anymore.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: We are playing a different game, a new game now.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want us to be best prepared to win at it.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: So listen, I want you to tune in to the upcoming episodes because we're going to continue to dive deeper into what you actually need to do in order to succeed in the new year as we move forward.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is a time that we're planning a lot of what we all are going to be doing in our businesses, how we want to grow, how we want to shape our business models.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Do we want to pivot?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: How do we want to change?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: All these answers we need to solve and have answered in our minds, have that clarity before we even enter into this new year.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because if we do, we will have a clear edge on the competition and be aligned for opportunities that I know are going to present themselves.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we just need to put ourselves in the best position possible to capture that demand and to really build off of it.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what it's going to be all about, what the trends are, where we can find pockets to lean into and capitalize on and really just show up in a way where we can claim authority in that space more readily and be more successful in doing it.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: So if you enjoyed this episode, make sure that you share with a friend.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to leave your comments, subscribe to the channel.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are listening to this on Apple or Spotify, please leave your five star rating.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: It definitely helps the podcast to reach more people and to grow.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: And until next time, take care.