AI is Disrupting - And that's a Good Thing

August 5, 2025

Based on the WSJ Article 'AI Is Coming for the Consultants. Inside McKinsey, ‘This Is Existential.’

The Wall Street Journal just ran a piece on McKinsey’s AI strategy (link to article). The big takeaway: consulting as we know it is facing an existential crisis. As a Big 4 consultant, and current consulting business owner - what does this mean when AI disrupts me?

McKinsey is deploying bots to write reports, summarize interviews, and build decks. They’ve cut more than 10% of their workforce in the last two years and 40% of their revenue is AI and related technology. And they’re not alone—every big firm is feeling the same pressure.

As someone who spent a decade at Deloitte and now co-owns a consulting firm, here’s my take: AI is reshaping the very foundation of our industry.
Five years ago, if a client wanted to know where to build a new IT help desk, or some market sentiment research that might have been a multi-week, $30K consulting project. Today, a well-crafted prompt can get you 70–80% of the answer in minutes. That’s the work junior consultants and offshore teams used to do—and AI is doing it faster, cheaper, and often better.

Those 25-person change management projects? They can be much leaner now with AI drafting comms, analyzing survey data, and recommending actions. The longer duration project can be done at a faster pace and doesn't require as many 40+ hour per week consultants that hurts billable hours for the Big 4. At
Workfast, we’ve stayed lean by design based on client demand and where we see the market is heading.

The WSJ article says clients are moving away from the “suit with a PowerPoint.” I agree. In the Age of AI, being a great idea person is invaluable—but what clients are continually asking
Workfast Consulting is someone to walk beside them through the change. AI can generate a thick report with high-level advice. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is helping organizations push through messy, human change when technology moves faster than they can absorb it.

That’s where we’ve built our focus at Workfast. Just in the past three days, we’ve started a new AI project with a client yesterday and put in requested proposals for two other clients on AI transformation and support. They’re not asking us for a slide deck—they’re asking us to help them navigate uncharted territory and make AI real in their business. Help them accelerate their usage and adoption of AI to not be left behind in this moment of rapid change.

I believe the consulting firms that thrive in the next decade will be those that combine AI leverage with deep, hands-on partnership. Less “here’s your binder—good luck” and more “let’s build this together.”

If you’ve worked in or used consulting, what’s your take? Is this disruption overdue, or do you see risks for the profession?

Also we always welcome your referrals or having introductory conversations with organizations who are looking to accelerate their transformation and adoption of AI.

By Matt Barnes August 22, 2025
Every business has moving parts — but in too many organizations, those parts are moving in different directions. Leaders are bogged down by operational fires, employees spend more time solving preventable problems than doing meaningful work, and growth feels harder than it should. This is where operational excellence becomes more than a buzzword. It’s the discipline of designing your business to function seamlessly, where processes, people, and technology are aligned to deliver consistent, scalable results. Here at Workfast, we use the Continuous Growth Loop model. Beyond Efficiency Operational excellence is often mistaken for simple efficiency — doing things faster or cheaper. But true excellence is about doing the right things in the best way, over and over again. It’s about creating an organization where every action supports the bigger picture, and where growth doesn’t require sacrificing quality or burning out your team. It starts with clarity. Every employee should understand the company’s goals and how their work contributes to them. Without this connection, even the most talented team can become misaligned, chasing different priorities. The Hidden Cost of Operational Weakness When processes are unclear or inconsistent, the effects ripple outward. Customers receive uneven experiences. Teams waste time reinventing the wheel for routine tasks. Leaders find themselves managing the same issues repeatedly instead of focusing on innovation and strategy. Over time, these inefficiencies erode profitability and morale. And the scariest part? Many companies don’t even realize how much they’re losing because they’ve adapted to working around problems instead of solving them. Building a Business That Can Scale Achieving operational excellence requires a shift in mindset: from reactive problem-solving to proactive design. This means looking at your organization as a system and asking tough questions: Are your processes documented and repeatable? Do you have performance metrics that actually inform decisions? Is your leadership structure enabling accountability at every level? At Workfast Consulting, we take a holistic approach. We don’t just fix isolated issues — we evaluate how your systems, workflows, and leadership practices interact. By addressing the root causes of inefficiency, we help companies create environments where scaling up doesn’t mean chaos, and where teams can focus on high-value work instead of constant troubleshooting. Excellence as an Ongoing Commitment The most important thing to understand is that operational excellence is not a one-and-done initiative. Markets evolve, customer expectations shift, and technology advances. The companies that thrive are those committed to continuous refinement, always looking for small, smart adjustments that add up to big results over time. The Payoff When operations run smoothly, leaders gain the freedom to focus on strategic opportunities. Teams feel empowered and supported. Customers notice — and reward — consistency. And growth becomes not only possible but sustainable. If your business is stuck in a cycle of firefighting or you’re preparing to scale but worried about losing quality, Workfast Consulting can help you design the systems and culture needed for operational excellence.
By Matt Barnes August 22, 2025
Connecting Strategy and Execution