How do you find unique insights?
Finding unique insights is extremely challenging for consultants. But it's a critical skill to be successful. Learn how you can do it effectively.
How do you find unique insights?
One MBB consultant asked me this tricky question.
Partners often demand to produce unique insights.
They need them to communicate with clients.
But most consultants struggle with that. They simply don’t know how to do that. It’s an extremely confusing skill to master early in the journey.
Consultants make a very common mistake.
They look at data, hoping to find insights there.
But it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
That’s how they ‘boil the ocean’ and waste tons of time.
Instead,
Think of insights you want to find.
Create them in your mind first.
Form your hypotheses.
Then, look into data to prove or disprove them.
At my consulting times, I liked to use this neat trick.
I would think about the boldest and most scandalous insight imaginable.
The one that would have the effect of an exploding bomb.
Then, I would generate a few hypotheses and execute them.
Yes, some ideas won't work out.
It’s a game of chances and probabilities.
But if one of the ideas works out, the impact would be asymmetric!
This will pay off for the time you invested in other unsuccessful ideas.
Over time, with practice, you get better at this. You develop intuition and pattern recognition.
If you consistently find unique insights, the impact on your performance and career will be hard to underestimate.
For example, once we discovered that our client launched a new product that cannibalized their revenue.
If they continued selling this product, they would destroy one-third of their company's value.
Now, imagine sharing this insight with a client CEO.
That was one of the most memorable moments in my career. I still can remember the face of the CEO. He was thoroughly impressed by our work. He started respecting us much more.
Working on this project became ten times easier and more enjoyable.
That's the power of a game-changing insight.
Try to find them, and you can impress your clients and partners.
That’s how you become successful in MBB consulting.
The consulting journey is complex and treacherous.
Walking it alone is extremely difficult. It’s helpful to have the support of someone experienced who has gone through this journey and helped many others.
That is why I developed a coaching program for MBB consultants to help them achieve high performance and become successful.
If you are an MBB consultant and sick of struggling with performance and development, I would like to speak with you.
Book a Free 1-1 Consultation to discuss whether I can help you through my coaching program. There is no commitment, and you can ask any burning questions in a risk-free environment.
Read this post to learn more about the Hero’s Journey coaching program.