How to Break Old Work Habits and Adopt a Consulting Approach?

It’s very normal to face this challenge in consulting, especially if you’re used to bottom-up style of corporate sector. However developing skills in being top-down, 80:20 etc will also serve you will in more senior corporate leadership roles where there is often more information available than you can possibly process. 

The key is: 

1) Force yourself to a “day 1” answer based on desk research, expert inputs, and leadership views. You should literally have this on day 1. Even if it feels uncomfortable. Write down your assertion, the more direct the better 

2) Develop a plan to refine this answer with sequenced fact-based analyses on key choke points / areas of contention. Aggressively iterate these analyses (again, start with rough assumptions, then develop through research etc). 

3) Develop an early storyboard which lays out your slides to take the reader to the end-point, assertion 

Remember, as in your case interviews, you are not expected to have the perfect answer - just show that you understand the mechanics and then solicit regular input from your manager , partner team to iterate and build.  

I saw this happen often with Associates/Consultants I worked with as a manager, and I often mentioned the case prep process to them:  "Remember when you had to come up with an answer in ~30 minutes? You need to think more like that early in the problem-solving journey." Here are a few tips: 

• Start with the Deliverable in Mind: Whether it’s a slide deck, model, memo, or verbal update, envision the final product and work backward. This prevents over-analysis and ensures your efforts drive toward tangible results. Make sure you align with your manager on what good looks like -- there's a 30min / 3hr / 3 day / 3 month version of everything.
• Focus on the “So What?” Before diving into analysis, consider the key message or narrative you want to convey. Consider what the client or stakeholder needs to know, not just what you want to share.
  • Always start with the key insight or conclusion you need to arrive at (i.e., the final recommendation) and identify the supporting analysis and details required to substantiate it. This Day 1 / Week 1 view is a powerful prioritization and work planning tool.
  • Structure your communication hierarchically—start with the answer or recommendation, then explain the rationale and supporting data. Tools like Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle can help refine this skill.
• Actively Seek Feedback: Ask for specific and actionable feedback after every project or deliverable. Whether it's formal feedback over a call or in-person or informal feedback (e.g., Slack/email, comments in passing or on your documents), you need to push for as much input from your managers as possible. Make sure you understand their feedback! If you don't, please ask for clarifications/specificity/tangible next steps (after sharing some ideas yourself). This accelerates your learning curve and helps identify areas for improvement.
• Find resources to leverage: visual services (slide edits), internal experts or research analysts, or external industry experts are some of the resources you should be leveraging. For a given project, identify what these resources and tools are early on and use them to their fullest!