Excellent Commentary on the Perception of Operational Consultants

“OPERATIONS consultants sit at the front of the classroom,” says a partner at a strategy consultancy. “Strategy consultants stay in the back, not paying attention, throwing paper airplanes. But they still get the girls and get rich.” Like so many caricatures, this one is cruel but contains a grain of truth. Operations consultants—the fine-detail guys who tinker with businesses’ internal processes to make them run better—generally do not enjoy the same glamour or financial rewards as strategy specialists, whose job is to advise firms on make-or-break deals, adopting new business model s and other big stuff. The Economist.

Yes, we are the "goody two shoes" of the consulting world. While strategy firms sell the sizzle, we toil procuring the steak.

Of course, there is always room for big ideas as long they go hand in hand with the experience and skil sets to develop precise planning to bring them to fruition.

So next time, as a C-level exec with a limited budget for consultants, keep in mind that a dollar spent with us will arguably reflect a faster return on your upcoming quarterly P&Ls.