We see it every week, and most of the time it was avoidable. There’s someone in the business who needs to go. You know it. Their co-workers know it. Half the management team knows it. But nobody has actually done anything about it. That delay doesn’t help. It makes things worse.
Most professional services firms treat compliance as a burden.
More rules.
More documentation.
More audits.
The natural instinct is to do the minimum required and move on. We initially approached it the same way at ACE Consulting.
When the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requirements began affecting federal contractors, the first reaction was predictable. It looked like friction. It looked like overhead. It looked like something that would slow us down. Instead, it strengthened our firm.
Imagine a private equity investment committee reviewing two nearly identical companies. Both generate $30 million in revenue. Both operate in the same industry and serve similar customers. On paper, their historical financial performance looks remarkably similar.
As boutique professional services owners, most of us are trying multiple ways to profitably grow our business. For organic growth, this includes investing in AI, improving sales effectiveness, or cutting unnecessary costs.
If your outcome-based pricing proposal hit my inbox, it would likely get rejected. Not because the concept is wrong, but because the attribution is lazy. Here’s the good news: I’m going to tell you what folks like me need to see to accept these proposals. I’m having these conversations right now with clients.
As professional services founders, we all understand that in the course of founding and scaling a business, there are times when an infusion of cash becomes helpful, if not crucial: funding a hiring surge, acquiring a competitor or bridging a gap before a large retainer kicks in, just to name a few examples.
I’m getting whiplash from my professional services network right now.
Every conversation is about AI. Every conference session is about AI. Every LinkedIn post is about “revolutionizing your firm with artificial intelligence.”
Greg Alexander is right. The founder bottleneck is real, it kills firms, and if you’re still the one doing everything three years after you should have delegated it — that’s on you. I’ve read the book. I believe the thesis. I’ve spent years pulling myself out of day-to-day client work, building a team, and trusting the people I hired to do the job I hired them for. And yet. Here I am, personally involved in three active engagements right now. Before you close the tab — hear me out.
As pilots and FAA professionals we have friends that fly the Pitts S-1, one of the most legendary aerobatic biplanes ever built. When asked what it’s like to fly the Pitts, those pilots don’t start the thrill of inverted flight or the rush of a perfect aerobatic maneuver. they often say something I related to: “It’s not a fun airplane to fly. It’s always trying to kill you.”
AI is reshaping professional services faster than anyone expected. The biggest consulting firms are using it to rethink how they develop strategy for clients. They’re changing their business models, restructuring how they deliver work, and planning for a very different future.