We are a strategy consultancy, so there is an obvious conflict of interest in answering this question. We will try to be honest anyway. External strategy support is not always the right answer. There are situations where it adds genuine value and situations where it is an expensive way of avoiding a decision that the organisation needs to make for itself. This article tries to distinguish between the two.
When external support genuinely helps ¶
External support is most useful in three situations. First, when there is significant disagreement within the leadership team about direction, and the disagreement has become stuck. An external party can name the disagreement, structure a process for working through it, and hold the space for a difficult conversation in a way that an internal facilitator cannot. Second, when the organisation is navigating a major transition: a leadership change, a significant shift in funding, or a move into a new area of work. Third, when the organisation has been operating on instinct for long enough that nobody is quite sure what the strategy actually is.
When external support is not the answer ¶
External support is not useful when the organisation already knows what it needs to do but is avoiding doing it. A consultant cannot make a difficult decision for you. They can help you think through the decision, but if the real problem is that the leadership team is not willing to have a hard conversation, bringing in an external party tends to defer rather than resolve that problem. It is also not useful when the organisation is in genuine crisis and needs operational support rather than strategic thinking. Strategy is a medium-term tool. It does not fix an immediate cash flow problem or a staff crisis.
The question of sector knowledge ¶
One of the most common mistakes in hiring a strategy consultant is prioritising general strategic capability over sector knowledge. A consultant who has worked extensively in commercial retail is not automatically useful to a cultural foundation, even if they are very good at strategy. The sector context matters: the funding structures, the stakeholder dynamics, the governance norms, the language. At Absolute Derive, we work in three sectors only, and we are honest when an enquiry falls outside them.
What to look for in a proposal ¶
A useful proposal names the specific people who will do the work, describes the diagnostic process in some detail, and is honest about what the engagement will not deliver. It does not promise transformation. It does not use the word 'partnership' as a synonym for 'we will do what you tell us'. And it should be short enough to read in twenty minutes. A forty-page proposal is a sign that the firm is better at writing proposals than at doing strategy.
The first conversation ¶
The most reliable test of whether a consultant is right for your organisation is the first conversation. Are they asking more questions than they are answering? Are they willing to say that they might not be the right fit? Are they more interested in your situation than in their own methodology? If the first conversation feels like a pitch, that is probably what the engagement will feel like too. Our common questions we get asked page has more on what to expect from a first conversation with us.
If you are trying to decide whether external strategy support is right for your organisation right now, the most useful thing is probably a short conversation. We do not charge for first conversations, and we will tell you honestly if we think you do not need us.