How I Use AI in Consulting (For Real)
Most of what you hear about AI in consulting is slideware. People love talking about the potential. But day to day? The work still has to get done.
Here’s how I actually use AI—right now—in real strategy, delivery, and leadership.
I don’t delegate the thinking. I use AI to get to clarity faster:
- It’s my pattern spotter when I’m reviewing client decks or delivery plans.
- It drafts internal frameworks based on fragments I feed it.
- It mocks up org charts, playbooks, emails, or POVs so I’m not starting from zero.
- And when I’m mentoring younger talent, it helps me structure their development plans without recreating the wheel every time.
I treat it like a high-context analyst who never gets tired.
The real value isn’t in the polish—it’s in the reduction of drag. I move faster, with fewer tabs open in my brain. That’s the game.
A few principles I follow:
- Don’t overprompt. Talk to it like a teammate, not a robot.
- Build memory. I feed it past materials so it starts thinking like I do.
- Stay in control. I don’t copy-paste final outputs. I refine. Always.
Could I get similar results without it? Sure. But it’d cost more energy, more time, and more willpower than most days allow.
The real unlock isn’t using AI to think for you. It’s using it to think with you—at speed.
If you're still waiting for a killer use case, you're missing the point.
The point is velocity.