Clarity without execution is just theory. Over the past few months, I’ve felt a shift – not in the core principles of consulting, but in the shape of what clients expect from an advisory firm. Strategy is still crucial, but it’s not enough on its own anymore. Clients don’t want ideas in one phase and action in another. They want results – faster, clearer, and more embedded in how they work.
Advisory partnership in 2025
These expectations have fundamentally changed the relationship between the organization and the advisory firm. The boundary separating strategic advisors from implementation partners has effectively collapsed.
Boards and investors grow intolerant of leaders unable to translate vision into tangible results. McKinsey research indicates that 70% of transformational initiatives fail–not because of poor strategy, but due to strategy execution gap. This accountability has now extended to advisory firms, with businesses demanding measurable return on investment rather than accepting premium fees for strategic advice alone. Simultaneously, technology and data analytics ceased being specialized service lines and have become foundational requirements.
These changes redefined what constitutes advisory excellence, setting the stage for 2026, where agile, outcome-driven, expert-led models will separate market leaders from those unable to adapt.
Seven qualities you need in your advisory partner in 2026
Unified strategy and execution
Only 12.5% of strategic projects are completed, causing separation between “strategy firm” and “execution partner” to fade – and rightly so. A strategy’s purpose ultimately should be to ensure effective execution. Leading firms now deliver insight-to-impact engagements, embedding transformation teams through execution.
That doesn’t mean every advisory firm should have an army of delivery resources. But it does mean the strategy needs to be implementation-ready from day one. You need to know what good execution looks like. This sets the path to a successful transformation for an enterprise.
Technology and data-driven at core
Technology and data have moved from specialized bolt-on services to the foundation of every engagement. Firms are no longer advising on digital transformation as external observers. They're embedding AI, advanced analytics, and automation directly into workflows, diagnostics, and delivery methodologies.
According to a 2025 Gartner survey, organizations that operationalize AI in core processes achieve significantly higher productivity and are more likely to sustain transformation outcomes.
Your advisory partner must leverage data and AI that sharpen analysis, improve execution precision, and drastically shorten delivery cycles.
Deep industry fluency and operator experience
Industry agnostic frameworks lack effectiveness compared to industry specific expertise and operational experience. An Everest Group 2025 advisory outlook notes that nearly one-third of organizations globally have delayed or reprioritized transformation programs due to heightened investor scrutiny, underscoring the need for advisors who deliver measurable outcomes over theoretical recommendations.
That means deep industry knowledge is no longer a differentiator – it’s table stakes. So is operator experience. The best advisory teams will include former executives, product owners, and domain leads who’ve sat on the other side of the table.
That doesn’t mean frameworks are irrelevant, they just don’t carry weight on their own. Your credibility comes from demonstrating you can apply them in a context that feels real, tested, and grounded in the client’s world.
Intellectual property drives speed and repeatability
Businesses need advisory firms that turn proprietary insights into scalable products–diagnostics, benchmarks, and AI accelerators–that deliver consistent value. Leveraging tested frameworks and benchmarks compresses discovery and provides context-aware recommendations.
A 2025 Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report found that firms leveraging proprietary AI frameworks and reusable IP deliver up to 40 % faster time-to-value, underscoring how productized insights enable consistent, repeatable outcomes.
Flexible expert teams replace traditional pyramids
The traditional consulting pyramid–top-heavy with juniors–no longer serves enterprise transformation. In this new world, smaller, more senior teams win.
AI will create 170 million jobs globally by 2030 and automate 41% of roles, pushing firms to rethink the pyramid structure. This shift favors models like fractional executives and on-demand senior talent.
Businesses need advisory firms with a strong core team, then surrounding them with a broader network of specialists. It gives them scale without rigidity. And it gives organizations the expertise they need when they need it.
Outcome-linked pricing replaces time-based billing
Consulting is shifting from hourly billing to value-based compensation tied to outcomes.
An IDC 2025 report on outcome-based pricing models found that leading advisory and technology firms increasingly tie fees to realized value–through revenue-share, cost-savings, or equity-linked structures–aligning consultant incentives directly with client success.
Imperatives for leaders and clients
As boundaries between thinking and doing collapse, the advisory partners that will matter most to enterprises are those who combine digital depth, industry fluency, and measurable accountability.
For business leaders, this means rethinking partnership criteria. The right advisors aren’t just strategists–they’re execution allies who deliver transformation from start to finish.
AUTHOR - FOLLOW
Jeff Catalina
Head of Strategy and Advisory Consulting
