Companies hire consultants for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they’re looking to close a skill gap; other times they simply want an outside perspective. That’s good news for individuals and firms offering these types of services because it continues to bring business in, which partially explains why consultancy is now a $250 billion industry that continues to grow year after year.
How do you create a consultant company that captures the biggest piece of that pie possible? While the answer to that question is complex and involves taking a number of steps, it begins with developing a clear business plan. This includes coming up with a vision statement that continually inspires growth.
What Is a Vision Statement?
A vision statement is a declaration of where you see your company five, ten, or fifty years down the road. Some questions that are typically answered in vision statements include:
- How big do you see your company getting?
- What type of services will you provide?
- How will your business change the world?
- What is your number one goal?
Really, there’s no one way to write a vision statement because it can focus on the consultant company itself, the consultants that provide services, the clients, or the world at large. This allows you to be as creative as you like when determining the vision of your company’s future.
At the same time, being this wide open can make it somewhat difficult to come up with a 1-2 sentence explanation for where you see your consultant business years down the road. If this is you and you’re struggling to define your own vision, here are a few vision statements created by some of the top consultant companies in the world.
Even if they aren’t in the same field or are way bigger in size than where you are now, taking a look at their statements can help you decide what you see as your future vision within the consultant world.
Capgemini
Though Capgemini offers consultancy services that are focused on technology and digital transformation, this firm’s vision statement reinforces that having the most advanced computers, software, and equipment isn’t the end all to addressing a company’s issues or fixing its problems. Instead, its vision says that “the business value of technology comes from and through people.”
Specifically, Capgemini mentions that the one thing that can take a business to the next level is a “human-centered approach to technology.” For them, inspiring growth comes from the practice of establishing the right group of experts, the people who are willing to take the time to look at what the company is trying to do, and then take the appropriate actions to support that mission and vision.
Creating this type of vision statement involves taking a deeper look into what your consultant company finds most valuable and sharing that with the rest of the world.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which provides consultant services in the tax and accounting realm, has a somewhat similar vision statement for their consultant company. It says: “While ‘digital society’ is gaining speed, we will serve various needs for ‘Trust’ as a leading firm to build trust in the digital society through a quality-driven approach for it is the most critical foundation for our business.”
While this vision statement also talks about the people, it focuses more on establishing a trust relationship than picking the right team. This kind of vision statement prompts more of an emotional response and helps clients understand that you have their best interest in mind and will not let them down.
You can also look at it another way as some businesses struggle with technological advancement and you can gear your vision statement towards promoting your values to your clients. PwC’s vision is to help instigate more trust in the digital world, thereby helping these leaders grow their own companies without the fear of technology.
Deloitte
Deloitte’s vision is slightly different as it focuses more on the company itself. This consultant firm’s vision statement says, “We aspire to be the Standard of Excellence, the first choice of the most sought-after clients and talent.”
Having a vision statement like this helps remind its consultants that they need to continuously provide services that set the benchmark for the rest of the industry. It also inspires them to go above and beyond when servicing their clients, ultimately creating a consulting firm that is the most desired firm in the world.
One thing to consider about this type of vision statement is that it leaves room for interpretation as to what standards of excellence are. This could be beneficial in that it opens the door to creativity and allows for standards to change based on the circumstance. Conversely, because it is somewhat vague, it enables individual consultants to establish their own definition of excellence and some of these definitions may not align with the firm’s definitions.
Accenture
Although Accenture—a consultant company that provides consultant services to a variety of industries—doesn’t have a formal vision statement, they do elude to their vision of the future by saying, “We partner with our clients to drive real innovation—the kind that turns an idea into an industry—helping them transform and grow their organizations.”
Their vision involves coming up with newer, more innovative ways to do things, and it results in not only growing companies, but in truly changing the world.
Accenture goes on to explain the beliefs the consultant company follows, essentially providing guidelines for their future vision. Among them are promoting corporate citizenship, supporting an “inclusive and diverse workforce,” and lessening the impact on the environment.
Hopefully some of these consultant company vision statements offer some inspiration when creating yours. This can help you grow your business in the years to come, which is a vision that most of us can get behind.
