Are Consultants delivering real Value? How to differentiate Substance from Style
- Claas
- Sep 17, 2025
- 3 min read
In consulting, it’s often tempting to confuse activity with impact. With polished decks, crisp frameworks, and eloquent delivery, we can sometimes give the impression that we’re solving a problem, even when we’re not. In a world where presentation often carries disproportionate weight, the question is worth asking: are we delivering real value, or just selling well-packaged appearances?
The allure of style
Let’s be honest: style sells. Many consulting projects begin with a great-looking pitch. Slides are clean, language is sharp, and everything feels convincing. But presentation can only take you so far. When the initial shine fades, the real test begins: does the work lead to sustainable outcomes?
In some cases, style gets in the way. A project can feel successful on the surface, milestones ticked off, deliverables completed, but when you step back, nothing has fundamentally changed. The organization is no better off, and the root problems remain.
What real value looks like
One of the core challenges in consulting is that value is difficult to measure. Deliverables are visible - value is not. It's much easier to count how many slides were produced than to quantify whether real change happened.
To solve this, we need to shift how we think about measurement:
Define success at the outset, not just in terms of deliverables, but in terms of the business outcomes your client truly cares about. Ask: what would make this project feel like a success six months after it ends?
Collaborate with your client to articulate what “better” looks like. Is it faster processes? Higher adoption rates? Fewer escalations? Define it early, so you can track progress meaningfully.
Establish checkpoints, not just to review deliverables, but to pause and reflect: Are we solving the real issue? Are the changes taking root within your client’s organization?
Real value in consulting isn't about how things look, it's about what lasts.
It's when your client is able to continue succeeding long after you've left.
It's when your work leads to decisions that wouldn’t have happened without your involvement.
It's when you’ve helped build capability not dependency.
Value is sometimes quiet. It may not involve a keynote or an impressive binder. But it shows up months later in results that matter. Your client might not remember every slide, but they will remember whether your work made a difference.
Substance requires courage
Delivering substance takes more than good packaging. It means asking harder
questions, challenging assumptions, and sometimes pushing back on the easy path. It also means admitting when we don't have all the answers right away.
It takes confidence to slow down and say, “Let’s get this right,” when momentum is pushing you toward quick wins. It takes courage to question the scope, or suggest that your client rethink part of their original ask. But those are often the moments that separate advisors from order-takers.
Style can win a room. Substance earns long-term trust.
Helping clients focus on outcomes
Consultants also play a role in helping clients shift their expectations:
From slide-heavy updates to action-oriented decisions.
From perfect plans to adaptive thinking.
From short-term deliverables to long-term capability.
Encourage your clients to ask:
What will be different when this is done?
What will we be able to do tomorrow that we couldn’t do yesterday?
What skills will we have built? What lasting change are we targeting?
Comments