Why Consulting Just Got an AI Upgrade
1. Why Consulting Just Got an AI Upgrade
Welcome to the course! I'm James, and I'll be your instructor. Together, we'll explore how AI is transforming consulting and reshaping the way consultants work.2. The journey ahead...
By the end of this course, you'll leverage AI to support various consulting tasks, including synthesizing information across multiple sources, analyzing data, structuring compelling narratives, and designing impactful visualizations. Along the way, we'll learn effective prompting techniques and critically evaluate AI outputs to help us achieve success. The principles and techniques taught in this course will be applicable to any AI tool you choose, but we'll be using Microsoft Copilot here for its rich functionality and ease-of-use. Remember, the tool isn't important here, it's the mindset and approach. Let's dive in!3. Consulting in an AI-Powered World
Let's set the stage for how AI is becoming central to consulting workflows.4. Consulting in an AI-Powered World
Consulting has long relied on three high-level pillars: research, analysis, and client delivery - and AI is augmenting these pillars in different ways!5. Consulting Workflow: Research
Let's start with Research. Think about the last time you did competitive landscape research. You probably spent hours browsing competitor websites and building comparison tables.6. Consulting Workflow: Research
With AI, we can provide the system with reports and competitor websites, and it can extract key insights in minutes, giving us a solid starting point for further analysis.7. Consulting Workflow: Research
AI gives us speed and eliminates a lot of busy work.8. Consulting Workflow: Research
But it also introduces some challenges: hallucinations, outdated sources, and the need for careful verification. We'll learn to overcome these throughout the course.9. Consulting Workflow: Analysis
Next is Analysis.10. Consulting Workflow: Analysis
Let's say we're analyzing macroeconomic factors for a portfolio strategy. An AI system can give us an initial view of the data, which we can then refine and feed back into the model so it can generate scenarios, highlight risks, and suggest stress tests.11. Consulting Workflow: Analysis
AI can guide us, challenge assumptions, and help explore more scenarios than we would be able to ourselves.12. Consulting Workflow: Analysis
But again, watch out for false confidence in numbers, misaligned assumptions, and oversimplification. Never trust AI blindly.13. Consulting Workflow: Client Delivery
Finally, Client Delivery. AI can help produce slides, storylines, and other deliverables. Consider a tech-trends briefing.14. Consulting Workflow: Client Delivery
AI can generate three different narratives for the same insight: one for a CEO, one for a technical VP, and one for a government audience. AI excels at adapting narratives and tone.15. Consulting Workflow: Client Delivery
The benefit here is clear: faster and highly-tailored communication.16. Consulting Workflow: Client Delivery
Still, we must check for template-like outputs and ensure confidentiality.17. GSCE Framework
To be able to leverage AI effectively, we need to master the art of AI communication, often called prompt engineering. AI works best when it clearly understands our goals and constraints, and we'll use the GSCE framework to bring clarity and structure to our prompts.18. GSCE Framework
The first letter, G, stands for Goal. This is what we want the AI to produce. For example, instead of asking "Help me analyze this market", we can tailor the request and ask for a five bullet assessment using Porter's Five Forces.19. GSCE Framework
S stands for Style. Consultants rely on tone, structure, and formatting. Requests like "neutral analytical tone" or "MECE summary" make a real difference.20. GSCE Framework
C stands for Context, which is often missed and undervalued. Including our client's situation, any assumptions or constraints, and relevant data will better tailor the AI's output to our specific situation. To decide how much context to provide, ask yourself: "What additional background would I give a colleague working on this task?"21. GSCE Framework
Finally, E stands for Examples: the fastest way to steer AI toward the desired output. If possible, provide a sample email, slide, or storyline. If you don't have tailored examples for the task at hand, don't worry - they're optional!22. GSCE Framework
GSCE ensures that AI has everything it needs to get the job done. The ordering doesn't particularly matter either, so if rearranging it feels more natural, go for it!23. Let's practice!
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