The other half of the toolkit

Where frameworks stop

Give two consultants the same Kraljic matrix or the same SCQA and they will not produce the same result. The difference is clearly not the framework itself, but how well they framed the question, how they handled the people in the room, and whether they could turn the analysis into something a client acts on.

Those skills are usually coached with qualitative feedback hard to act on, so a quarter of effort can go into attempting to fix the wrong thing.

Six capabilities behind the tools

Consulting Edge scores the below six capabilities. Next to each is a short description and the useful consulting frameworks on this site that lean on it most.

• Framing

  Deciding which problem is worth solving before you start solving it.

  • Cynefin Framework
  • First Principles Thinking
  • Ohmae's 3C Model

• Presence

  Reading a room and holding it when the pressure is up, especially during change.

  • Bridges Transition Model
  • Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

• Stakeholder Algebra

  Working out who decides, who influences, and what each of them needs.

  • RACI
  • Miller Heiman Strategic Selling
  • McKinsey Influence Model

• Synthesis & Story

  Turning a pile of analysis into one message a client can act on.

  • SCQA
  • SIPOC

• Leverage & IP

  Building methods and assets that make the next engagement easier than the last.

  • Core Competencies
  • Resource-Based View

• Commercial Acumen

  Tying the work to money, for the client and for you.

  • Price Elasticity of Demand
  • The Challenger Sale
  • Economic Value Added

How Consulting Edge works

1. You answer three different question types

   Scaled questions about how often you do things when the situation gets harder, short scenarios with trade-offs to defend, and recent episodes from your own work.

2. You get the Edge Report within 24 hours

   Six scores, a map of which capabilities are strong and which are limiting you, and the one capability to fix first. All plotted on the Leverage Quadrant.

3. You get a plan

   A set of detailed personalized actions for this week, a four-week plan to make it habit, and a 90-day focus with clear “done when” criteria.

Who Consulting Edge is for

Consulting Edge is an essential instrument for consultants at a firm, independent consultants, and consultants working in-house who want to improve their performance, no matter where they are starting from.

Please note Consulting Edge is not a personality test.

The tool asks what you do when the work is on the line, benchmarks your answers against other global professionals so a score has a reference point, pinpoints the capability you must address first based on Theory of Constraints, then gives you an actionable plan you can follow to improve your performance.