The Consultant's Way Podcast

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About The Consultant's Way Podcast
The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:
 • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams 
• Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth 
• Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes
Brought to you by: 
• McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/ 
• The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/ 
Connect with us: 
• LinkedIn: 
○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/
○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b
• Email: podcast@consultantsway.com 
Interested in being a guest? 
We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.
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Artificial intelligence is changing more than the technology consultants use. It is changing how consulting firms create value, build client relationships, and define success.
In this episode of The Consultant's Way Podcast, Dean McMann and Anthony Paluska are joined by Microsoft Product Management Director Zain Sheerazi for a conversation about what AI really means for professional services. Rather than focusing on the latest tools or trends, they explore the bigger shift taking place across the industry and why trust is becoming the foundation of successful AI adoption.
Together, they discuss how consulting organizations can move beyond experimentation and begin thinking about AI as part of their operating model. The conversation explores how business models are evolving, why firms need to rethink the way they develop talent and deliver value, and what it takes to help clients navigate uncertainty with confidence.
Zain also shares his perspective on why technical expertise alone is no longer enough. As AI continues to automate routine work, consultants have an opportunity to spend more time where they create the greatest impact: exercising judgment, building relationships, influencing decisions, and helping clients solve complex business problems.
Whether you're leading a professional services organization, managing a consulting team, or looking to stay relevant in an AI-driven world, this episode offers practical insights into where the industry is headed and what it will take to earn client trust in the years ahead.
Listen in to discover why the future of consulting may have less to do with AI itself and everything to do with how consultants help clients embrace it.

Send us Fan Mail
About The Consultant's Way Podcast
The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to:
 • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams 
• Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth 
• Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes
 Brought to you by: 
• McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/ 
• The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/ 
 Connect with us: 
• LinkedIn: 
○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/
○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b
• Email: podcast@consultantsway.com 
 Interested in being a guest? 
We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode.
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What happens when your best consultant becomes your newest leader?
In this episode, Kelly Doyle joins Dean and Anthony to explore one of the most common challenges in professional services: promoting exceptional technical experts into leadership roles before they've had the opportunity to learn how to lead. Kelly shares why this happens, what it costs organizations, and why the answer isn't simply more training.
Drawing from his military experience and years of leading professional services teams, Kelly introduces a leadership concept that has helped transform overwhelmed managers into confident leaders. Through the story of one consultant who became the go-to person for everything, the conversation reveals how even the highest performers can become their own biggest bottlenecks and what it takes to break that cycle.
Along the way, Dean, Anthony, and Kelly discuss delegation, developing future leaders, balancing client delivery with team growth, and why human judgment is becoming even more important as AI continues to accelerate the pace of work.
If you've ever been promoted because you were great at the job, or you've promoted someone else and hoped they'd figure it out along the way, this episode will challenge the way you think about leadership and leave you with practical ideas you can put into practice right away.
 Connect with Kelly Doyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellydoyle1/

Send us Fan Mail
About The Consultant's Way Podcast 
The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to: 
 • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams 
• Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth 
• Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes 
 Brought to you by: 
• McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/ 
• The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/ 
 Connect with us: 
• LinkedIn: 
○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/
○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b
• Email: podcast@consultantsway.com 
 Interested in being a guest? 
We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode. 
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 Professional services organizations are under pressure to do more with less, move faster, and prove greater value than ever before. But what if the answer isn't adding more offerings or more complexity? What if it's simplifying?
In this episode, Kristen Rosenberry shares the journey of transforming a professional services organization during a period of rapid growth and acquisition. From rethinking service offerings to enabling sales teams and reshaping the role of delivery, she offers an inside look at the decisions that helped her organization scale while staying focused on customer outcomes.
Kristen, Dean and Anthony explore why simplicity is often harder than complexity, how operational decisions influence consultant behavior, and why today's professional services teams must think more commercially than ever before.
The conversation also dives into the challenges of balancing customer value with financial sustainability, the importance of clean operational data, and what leaders should consider before making major changes to their services portfolio.
Whether you're leading a professional services organization, supporting operations, or looking for ways to make your consulting business more scalable, Kristen shares practical insights that go well beyond process improvement.
If you've ever wondered how to simplify your services without sacrificing customer outcomes, this episode offers a fresh perspective...and a few lessons you may not expect.

Send us Fan Mail
About The Consultant's Way Podcast 
The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to: 
 • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams 
• Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth 
• Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes 
 Brought to you by: 
• McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/ 
• The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/ 
 Connect with us: 
• LinkedIn: 
○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/
○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b
• Email: podcast@consultantsway.com 
 Interested in being a guest? 
We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode. 
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What happens when AI takes over the work consultants have always spent hours doing? According to Jacqui Morgan, the answer isn't fewer consultants... it’s better ones.
In this episode, Jacqui shares how her team transformed the way they deliver client work by automating repetitive tasks, creating greater transparency, and giving consultants back the time to focus on what matters most: building trust, solving problems, and strengthening client relationships.
But the conversation goes far beyond technology. Dean, Anthony, and Jacqui explore why the future of consulting won't belong to those who simply know the tools; it will belong to those who know how to advise, influence, and lead clients through change. They discuss the evolving role of project managers and professional services teams, how AI is reshaping career paths, and why consulting skills are becoming more valuable than ever.
Jacqui also shares practical lessons from leading transformation inside her own organization, including the unexpected impact AI had on client engagement, how her team approached change management, and why she's passionate about helping more professionals embrace these tools with confidence.
If you've wondered what AI really means for consulting (and whether it replaces expertise or amplifies it) this conversation offers a thoughtful and refreshingly practical perspective.
The technology may be changing. The importance of being human is only growing.

Send us Fan Mail
About The Consultant's Way Podcast 
The Consultant's Way podcast is your go-to resource for navigating the complexities of the consulting and professional services world. We bring you insightful conversations with industry thought leaders and executives from top Professional Services organizations, sharing their expertise on how to: 
 • Build high-performing consulting and professional services teams 
• Differentiate your offerings and increase organizational growth 
• Deliver exceptional client value and drive impactful outcomes 
 Brought to you by: 
• McMann & Ransford: A strategy consulting firm with over 30 years of experience helping leading B2B organizations escape commoditization and achieve sustainable growth. Learn more: https://mcmannransford.com/ 
• The Consultant's Way: Your one-stop shop for training and enabling consultants and professional services teams to deliver exceptional client value. Learn more: https://www.consultantsway.com/ 
 Connect with us: 
• LinkedIn: 
○ Dean McMann - https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanmcmann/
○ Anthony Paluska - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-paluska-5081804b
• Email: podcast@consultantsway.com 
 Interested in being a guest? 
We're always looking for insightful guests to share their expertise. Reach out to us via email or LinkedIn if you'd like to be considered for a future episode. 
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