Today’s Thought Leadership White Space

Fiona Czerniawska is one of the best authorities on the consulting business.  She has been both a critic of consulting firm practice and a force for positive change.  From the London perch of two companies (first Arkimeda, now Source for Consulting), Fiona has written several books on the industry.

She generated a lot of buzz three years ago after releasing a study on the content that nearly 40 major consulting firms posted on their websites.  Called “White Space 2007,” she and her colleages reviewed more than 3,500 articles to understand what they were writing about, who was producing the most content, and who had the best content. (The winner on both quantity and quality was McKinsey, which is no surprise.)

Now her firm is selling the latest incarnation of the study, which evaluates 13,000 articles of 30 consulting firms.  And instead of a PDF or printed report, subscribers will buy a year’s license, with updates made regularly. 

What’s different from 2007 in what consulting firms are writing about?  Zoe Stumpf, one of Source for Consulting’s staffers, told me that the firms they reviewed are publishing more material of broad interest – across all industries – rather than of interest to just one sector.  Some 60% of the content today is “generic” vs. “specific.”  And that’s a complete reversal from 2007.  

Today’s favorite topic?  The recession.  Consultancies are publishing very little now on growth. I think today’s “white space” is topics that are about both efficiency  and revenue.  I don’t see them as mutually exclusive, although they are usually treated that way.  Those who can address them in one, substantive point of view are far more likely to gain an audience.