The article “The Consulting Crash Is Coming” makes a strong point: the old consulting model is collapsing.
For decades, big firms sold time and slides, embedding themselves in clients for years, billing by the hour, and creating dependency instead of real progress.
We agree. But we also know something deeper:
While technologies and tools evolve, human behavior stays remarkably the same.
And it’s human behavior – how people think, react, and adapt – that ultimately determines whether change sticks.
Why Traditional Consulting Is Failing
The old model isn’t keeping up:
- Firms bill by the hour, incentivizing longer projects rather than better outcomes.
- Junior consultants do work that AI can now do faster and cheaper.
- Clients are left dependent on outside expertise rather than building their own.
It’s no surprise companies and governments are rethinking how they spend on consulting.
Why Human Behavior Still Matters
Even as tools and strategies change, one thing stays constant: Human behavior – and the challenge of changing it.
That’s why building adaptive capacity – the ability to adjust how we think, act, and lead – is more important than ever.
At CLA, we help leaders and organizations:
- Apply practical leadership behaviors to real-time challenges
- Face loss, conflict, and resistance head-on
- Track and reinforce scalable, sustainable behavior change
- Name what others avoid, surfacing root issues and building capacity to lead through discomfort
- Iterate and experiment with leadership interventions that work in practice, not just on paper
How CLA Works Differently
We don’t use the old playbook.
Instead, we align our work to your goals, not to billable hours.
- Project-based pricing: No endless hours billed
- Build your adaptive capacity: We work to leave you stronger, not keep you dependent
- Focus on human behavior: Because that’s what drives lasting change
- We teach you to fish: So you can thrive long after we’re gone
The Bottom Line
The consulting industry is changing…and it should.
But the need for leaders who can adapt and help others adapt has never been greater.
AI can analyze your data. But it can’t shift your culture or change how your people behave.
That’s the work of leadership, and it’s not going away.