A field reference, not a glossary

Why Useful Consulting Frameworks exists

Typical explanations about a framework you can find online give you a diagram and then let you figure out how you should apply it to real work. Essentially, you learn the four boxes and the author's name, and then you are on your own the moment a client asks whether it is relevant to their situation.

This site is a free resource designed to be useful (yeah, that's why it's called Useful Consulting Frameworks)!

Every card describes what the framework is for, names the situations where it should not be used, walks you through the steps, and lists the ways it tends to fail. The goal is a page you can open an hour before a workshop that will give you some good ideas you can put into practice.

What is in each card

Every framework follows the same outline, so you always know where to look.

• The question The one question the framework helps you answer, so you can tell quickly whether it fits.
• When to use it, when to avoid it The situations where it earns its place, and the ones where it will mislead you.
• Overview and parts What the framework is made of, in plain language.
• The steps How to run it on a real engagement, in order.
• Failure points Where it usually goes wrong, and what that looks like in the room.
• What you leave with The concrete output you can put in front of a client.
• Origin and further reading Who developed it and when, plus where to read the source.
• Related frameworks The neighbors you might reach for next, and why.

How the catalog is organized

Two ways in. The first is the field a framework comes from.

• Strategy Corporate strategy and competitive advantage (22)
• Problem solving Problem solving, logic, and communication (12)
• Organization Organization, culture, and change (14)
• Operations Operations, supply chain, and manufacturing (12)
• Innovation Innovation, product, and digital (12)
• Markets Marketing, sales, and pricing (12)
• Finance Finance and valuation (9)

The second is the job you need done. A strategy framework can help you explore, decide, or align, so each note also carries one of five uses.

• Explore Work out what is going on. (30)
• Decide Choose between options. (28)
• Design Shape how something should work. (11)
• Align Get people moving together. (9)
• Deliver Run the work and get it done. (15)

Credit and sources

You knew this already, but let's be clear: None of these frameworks were invented here! Each card names the person or firm that developed it, the year, and sources to read. The explanations, steps, and failure points are written for this site, so you can use a card as a starting point and go to the original when you want the full argument and are ready for a deep dive.

Who maintains it

Maurizio Cuna is a consulting partner with over two decades of experience across Europe, the US, Asia, and Australia. He is the author of #1 Amazon best-seller Beyond Slides and writes the Consulting Intel newsletter. You can find him on LinkedIn and X.

Maurizio is also the methodology advisor behind Consulting Edge, a performance measurement and transformation instrument for ambitious global consultants.

Spotted a mistake?

Corrections are logged on the errata page, with the date, the note, and what changed. Looking for something to pin on a wall? The print page turns the whole catalog into one poster.