Any consultancy worth its salt has a capability model. One that gets dusted down and used in all engagements to provide a framework and approach for modelling businesses and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. It’s often used to get an initial foot in the door and to then open up opportunities to grow the consultancy engagement, to broaden its reach and be used to facilitate sales conversations. Clever. It’s win/win for the consultancy – incredible insight into the client, a consistency in modelling and then lots of market intelligence that can be to support benchmarking which can be resold to that clients competitors.

Consultancies are of course well placed to bring that standard framework to client assessments. Internal models are nearly always unique to that organisation and don’t travel well. They use terminology that the organisation understands, yet they don’t translate into market friendly vernacular, making it somewhat difficult to re-use and apply the same model to competitors, to provide that consistent assessment.

So the capability model is a wonderful tool…when used correctly. You see pragmatic architecture is about using the right tool at the right time for the right problem for the right audience. And sometimes, just sometimes, the capability model in its entirety isn’t the answer. It’s the sledgehammer to crack a nut. It’s not necessarily the tool that will find the solution the quickest or provide the insight in the most effective way. It takes time to populate to get the most effective outcomes and it frequently serves to benefit the consultancy rather than the client.

So, check us out. A consultancy with a capability model, saying that we don’t always use that capability model and sometimes it’s not the default answer to every engagement we embark on.

Commercial suicide? Maybe.

Integrity and pragmatism? Always.

Come and talk to us about our capability model. Or not.

Simplify Consulting believe in a different kind of Consulting. One that is practitioner-led, personal and tailored and pragmatic. Talk to us today about how we can help you transform and improve your business, simply and effectively.