The Consultant's Way Podcast

The Consultant's Way
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In The Consultant's Way Podcast, we dive deep into the dynamic world of management consulting and professional services. Through insightful case studies, personal experiences, and expert interviews with industry leaders, we explore strategies to enhance consulting skills, refine business practices, and drive success in the consulting field. Whether you’re a seasoned consultant or new to the professional services industry, this podcast offers valuable insights to elevate your consulting career and business. 

  1. 1D AGO

    Season 3, Episode 12: Speed To Value Is the Strategy

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast  The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:   • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams  • Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth  • Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes   Brought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/   Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com   Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  In this episode of The Consultant’s Way Podcast, Stuart Millward shares a candid look at what happens when a legacy software company decides not just to “adapt” to change, but to sprint straight at it. Set against the backdrop of AI disruption and shifting market valuations, the conversation explores how companies can no longer rely on product features or recurring revenue alone to stay competitive. Instead, differentiation is being redefined in real time. Stuart walks through how his organization is responding by doubling down on vertical expertise and repositioning professional services as a true strategic advantage (not a supporting function). A major theme throughout the discussion is speed; specifically, speed to value. Customers are no longer willing to wait months (or years) to see outcomes, and that expectation is forcing a rethink of everything from product development to implementation strategy. Stuart shares a compelling example of how AI is being applied not as a buzzword, but as a practical lever to dramatically accelerate delivery timelines and improve customer outcomes. But this shift isn’t just about technology...it’s about people. The episode digs into the evolving role of the consultant, highlighting why the “build whatever the client asks for” mindset is being replaced by something far more challenging: guiding clients toward better decisions, faster. That requires a different skill set, a different posture, and in many cases, a different kind of consultant altogether. If you’re in professional services, SaaS, or any organization trying to figure out what actually creates value in an AI-driven world, this conversation offers a sharp, practical perspective, and a clear message: the old playbook isn’t just outdated, it’s a liability.

    55 min

  2. APR 13

    Season 3, Episode 11: Why Professional Services Must Lead Growth

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast  The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:   • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams  • Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth  • Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes   Brought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/   Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com   Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Professional services organizations are entering a period of real change, and many leaders may not fully realize how much the ground is shifting beneath them. In this episode, Dean and Anthony sit down with Steve Beckley and Martin Roxby from J21A, two longtime professional services leaders who have seen the industry evolve across multiple eras. Together, they dig into what’s happening right now across SaaS and technology organizations, and why traditional models of professional services are under increasing pressure. A major theme that runs throughout the conversation is the shift from product-led and sales-led growth toward services-led growth. As markets mature and growth becomes harder to sustain, organizations are being forced to rethink how value is delivered and how customer outcomes are achieved. That shift creates new opportunities for professional services teams, but also new risks for leaders who remain focused only on operational efficiency. The discussion explores why many executives still misunderstand the true role of professional services, and why that misunderstanding creates both challenges and opportunities. The group also tackles the growing expectation that professional services leaders step into more strategic roles, communicate differently with the C-suite, and rethink how they demonstrate value to the business. Along the way, the conversation touches on the realities leaders are facing today: changing market dynamics, pressure on margins, the rise of new delivery models, and the growing need for stronger collaboration across organizations. Whether you lead a professional services team, support one, or are simply trying to understand where the industry is heading, this episode offers perspective on what’s changing, what’s at risk, and what leaders should be thinking about as they look toward the future. If professional services is part of your world, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

    51 min

  3. APR 6

    Season 3, Episode 10: Judgment Matters More Than Speed

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast  The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:   • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams  • Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth  • Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes   Brought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/   Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com   Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does consulting look like when AI is no longer “the future” but part of the daily workflow?  In this episode, Dean and Anthony sit down with Michael Muse, a senior consultant who’s early enough in his career to have grown up alongside modern AI tools, but experienced enough to understand what they can’t replace.  Together, they unpack what’s actually changing inside consulting teams as AI accelerates timelines, expands capacity, and raises expectations. But speed alone isn’t the story. The real differentiator, as Michael shares, isn’t how fast you can produce output...it’s how deeply you understand it.  The conversation explores what it takes to stand out in a world where everyone has access to the same tools. From building reusable workflows to maintaining discipline and curiosity, Michael shares practical habits that help consultants move beyond simply generating deliverables and toward driving real outcomes for clients.  They also dig into how expectations are shifting—for junior consultants, project managers, and leaders alike—and why traditional consulting fundamentals like judgment, communication, and client trust are becoming even more valuable, not less.  If you’ve wondered whether AI is leveling the playing field, or quietly raising the bar. this episode offers a grounded perspective from someone navigating the shift in real time.  Whether you’re early in your career, leading teams, or simply trying to understand how consulting is evolving, this conversation highlights one central idea:  Tools can make you faster, but only thinking makes you valuable.

    32 min

  4. MAR 16

    Season 3, Episode 9: The Future Shape of Consulting

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast  The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:   • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams  • Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth  • Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes   Brought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/   Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com   Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consulting is changing faster than many firms realize. In this episode, Dean McMann and Anthony Paluska step back from the headlines to explore several signals they’re seeing across the consulting world, from hiring trends to new expectations around productivity and how consultants actually get work done. Some firms are rethinking how they build teams. Others are experimenting with how they measure performance. And across the industry, there’s a growing question about what future consulting careers will actually look like. What happens when the traditional consulting pyramid starts to shift? How will consultants develop the experience they need to lead clients? And what capabilities will matter most as organizations become leaner and more selective about when they bring in outside help? Dean and Anthony share observations from conversations with consulting leaders, compare notes on what they’re seeing inside firms, and debate what the next version of consulting organizations might become. The answers aren’t fully clear yet—but the direction of change is starting to emerge. If you’re building a consulting career or leading a professional services team, this conversation will give you plenty to think about.

    43 min

  5. MAR 2

    Season 3, Episode 8: Lifecycle Ownership Is the Missing Link

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast  The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:   • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams  • Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth  • Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes   Brought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/   Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com   Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  In many professional services organizations, delivery doesn’t break down because of talent, effort, or intent. It breaks down because ownership is fragmented. Consulting, professional services, managed services, and customer success often operate with different incentives, different measures of success, and different leadership structures. Each function is optimizing for its own outcomes. But clients don’t experience those internal boundaries. They experience one relationship and one expectation for results. In this episode, Dean and Anthony sit down with Jerry Loscalzo, a longtime services leader with more than three decades of experience operating inside large, federated organizations. Together, they explore why fragmentation shows up so consistently, how it reveals itself operationally, and what it actually costs organizations over time. Jerry shares firsthand observations from environments where service lines competed instead of compounded, where handoffs created hidden risk, and where organizational design quietly worked against client outcomes. He also challenges some of the conventional thinking around service packaging, leadership structure, and how organizations measure success across the client lifecycle. The conversation moves beyond theory into the realities leaders face when trying to align multiple service functions around a single client journey. What seems straightforward on paper often becomes far more complex in practice. If you lead, operate within, or work alongside professional services, this episode offers a clear lens into why so many organizations struggle to deliver consistently across the full lifecycle and what leaders should be paying attention to before those gaps show up in delivery, margins, or client relationships. Because in services, the real question is not just how well each function performs, but whether the organization as a whole is designed to support the outcome the client expects.

    32 min

  6. FEB 23

    Season 3, Episode 7: Leading Through Change Without Losing People

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:  • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams  • Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth  • Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes  Brought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/   Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com   Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this episode of The Consultant's Way Podcast, John Bigenwald joins Dean and Anthony to talk about what it really takes to lead through change — especially when the pace of technology feels relentless. From the early days of the internet to today’s AI wave, John shares why every “revolution” feels different… yet the fundamentals of leadership remain the same. The tools evolve. The expectations shift. The pressure increases. But the core responsibility of a leader does not. We dig into how to guide professional services teams through uncertainty without creating panic, how to reinforce your real value when expertise alone is no longer the differentiator, and why clarity and care matter more than ever during transformation. If you’re navigating AI adoption, shifting business models, or simply trying to lead your team through the next big change, this conversation offers grounded perspective without the hype. The more things change, the more leadership matters. Tune in now!

    38 min

  7. 12/15/2025

    Season 3, Episode 6: The Metrics That Really Matter

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:  • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams  • Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth  • Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes Brought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/  Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com  Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What if the most important metrics in your consulting business are the ones you are not tracking? In this episode, John Quirk joins The Consultant’s Way Podcast to challenge how leaders measure success in professional services. After thirty years leading consulting organizations and launching his own firm, ProServe Metrics, John argues that traditional KPIs like utilization and average bill rate tell you what already happened but reveal nothing about what will. He introduces a new way of thinking about performance that focuses on leading indicators, team dynamics, and the people behind every project. John shares how understanding personality and strength profiles, building complementary teams, and measuring early signals of success can transform both delivery quality and employee retention. The conversation moves beyond theory. John, Dean, and Anthony dive into practical examples of how to identify your firm’s “Moneyball metrics”—those overlooked numbers that predict client satisfaction, team health, and sustainable growth. They also explore why so many firms lose their edge when they scale, how to protect your culture in the process, and what role leadership must play in balancing short-term results with long-term development. At its core, this episode is about getting more scientific in the people business. Whether you lead a pure-play consulting firm or an embedded professional services team, John’s approach shows how better data and human insight can coexist to make consulting organizations stronger and more resilient. It is a conversation filled with sharp observations, relatable stories, and practical guidance that will leave you rethinking how you define success and how you build teams that consistently deliver it.

    37 min

  8. 12/08/2025

    Season 3, Episode 5: Consulting in the Age of Augmentation

    Send us Fan Mail About The Consultant's Way Podcast The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to: Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomesBrought to you by:  • McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/  • The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/  Connect with us:  • LinkedIn:  ○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/ ○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b • Email: podcast@consultantsway.com  Interested in being a guest?  We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this episode of The Consultant’s Way Podcast, hosts Anthony Paluska and Dean McMann sit down with Brandon Hammer, Senior Vice President of Global Services at Seismic, to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping professional services. Brandon shares a clear and grounded view of what the next phase of AI looks like for consultants, going far beyond the simple use cases of automation and efficiency. Rather than focusing on replacing people, he discusses how AI can expand the impact of consultants by freeing them from repetitive work and allowing them to focus on higher-value conversations with clients. He introduces the idea of “virtual consultants” that can support live engagements in real time, drawing from company knowledge and best practices to help deliver better outcomes. The conversation also touches on how organizations are changing structurally because of AI, moving away from rigid silos and toward teams that are built around customer outcomes instead of products. Brandon explains how his teams are using AI to identify risks earlier, deliver results faster, and stay ahead of client needs. Beyond technology, the episode dives into what this transformation means for people. Brandon describes how the profile of a successful consultant is evolving, with curiosity, communication, and adaptability becoming just as essential as technical expertise. He also offers a perspective on preventing burnout and building longer, more fulfilling consulting careers in an industry that is shifting faster than ever. The episode closes with a challenge to leaders: make space for innovation inside your organization. Brandon believes the best ideas for using AI in professional services will come from the ground up, not the top down. His message is both practical and inspiring; a reminder that the consultants who learn to combine human judgment with intelligent technology will define the next era of the profession.

    37 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

In The Consultant's Way Podcast, we dive deep into the dynamic world of management consulting and professional services. Through insightful case studies, personal experiences, and expert interviews with industry leaders, we explore strategies to enhance consulting skills, refine business practices, and drive success in the consulting field. Whether you’re a seasoned consultant or new to the professional services industry, this podcast offers valuable insights to elevate your consulting career and business. 

Information

  • Creator
    The Consultant's Way
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Consultant’s Way
  • Show Website
    The Consultant's Way Podcast

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