Looking for growth in the UK consulting market?

The UK consulting market, still the biggest in Europe, grew by just over two per cent between 2011 and 2012.

Recovery (if you can call it that) came in the form of a surprisingly resurgent financial services sector and a public sector which, though greatly reduced from its size a few years ago, was nevertheless fairly bouyant and...yadda yadda yadda. Up a bit, down a bit. A few per cent here, a few per cent there.

The numbers are all in our new report if you'd like to read them. We think they reflect the most accurate picture available of the market by sector, service and segment (firm type) and we know they play a really important role in helping firms to benchmark themselves against the market and work out where to place their bets over the coming year. They'll help you to turn one per cent into five per cent and they might even stop you going backwards. Invest here, not there. Now change: invest there, not here. Dance to the tune. You'll be alright.

But there's a bigger opportunity here and in truth it's been staring UK consulting firms in the face for some time. It's about answering some fundamental questions, such as this:  At a time when clients can (and increasingly do) go anywhere in the world to look for the consulting solutions they need, what makes UK consulting world-class? There are Indian clients picking up the phone to German consultants right now, folks. They're calling them because they need world-class engineering advice and, frankly, the answer to that problem starts with +49. But why are they going to come to the UK? We think UK consulting firms need to know the answer to that question.

In fact we think the answer lies in the question. We think the UK consulting market should define itself by its understanding of globalisation. Indeed, we think that UK consultants have a greater claim to the opportunities presented by globalisation than just about anyone else. But in order to exploit those opportunities, UK consultants are going to have to be prepared to challenge not only what they stand for, but what consulting is.

If that sounds like hyperbole then we're comfortable with that. We get a lot more pragmatic about the opportunities for growth in our report but actually hyperbole matters here, if it persuades consulting firms to stop what they're doing for a moment and try to look at the bigger picture. The reality is that the UK consulting market has been bumbling along for a few years now, and looks set to continue to do so for the forseeable future. Do your research, know your way around the market, and no great ill will befall you. But the reality is that extraordinary growth won't come from simply doing ordinary things well. It'll come from doing extraordinary things.