Hands or Brains? How to Hire for Strategy, Strategically
Summary
Hiring a consultant is no different from hiring talent: you need to look both for hard and soft skills if you want a successful and fruitful relationship. The most commonly used selection criteria, visual impact of the portfolio, same-industry experience, results achieved and price competitiveness don’t necessarily help to make a better selection. This presentation contains samples of the three key skills to look for, how they were critical in project success, and how to look for these skills in a consultancy.
Key Insights
-
•
Hiring for known problems calls for 'hands,' while unknown problems require 'brains' with strategic skills.
-
•
Evaluating agencies by portfolio visuals emphasizes output, not problem-solving effectiveness.
-
•
Industry-specific experience is less important than demonstrated expertise across diverse challenges.
-
•
Higher price does not guarantee better strategic capabilities; agencies also optimize their margins.
-
•
Partnership mindset leads to value creation by challenging client assumptions rather than just delivering services.
-
•
Successful strategy projects must produce solutions adopted company-wide, not just isolated deliverables.
-
•
Facilitating cross-department collaboration, especially with technical teams, is key to project success.
-
•
Flexibility means aligning on goals despite differing methodologies or tools, not simply adapting processes.
-
•
Listening to how agencies navigate organizational context reveals leadership beyond technical execution.
-
•
Proposals often better reveal strategic thinking and innovation than interviews alone.
Notable Quotes
"If you care about the solution, you’re much better off hiring hands."
"A vendor provides a service, but a partner delivers value."
"Knowing the difference between hands and brains is key to managing expectations."
"Choosing an agency based on portfolio visuals is focusing on output, not on how effective the solution was."
"The biggest challenge of a project is building a solution that’s going to be adopted company-wide."
"Flexibility is not about using the same methodologies; it’s about moving together towards the same goal."
"Big picture thinkers move past obstacles and create unexpected paths and new solutions."
"You find the right fit when someone challenges your assumptions and provides a different perspective."
"Success is about not sacrificing quality, not about mere integration."
"Listening for leadership is about understanding how they navigate a project beyond the solution."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"IBM’s sustainability journey has ebbs and flows, impacted by executive pivots, acquisitions like Envizi, and market pressures."
Chris HammondEmbedding sustainability into enterprise design and development: A journey towards "sustainability consciousness"
April 2, 2025
"Technical difficulties happen, so please use hashtag.deo help within our Slack channel or email for support."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
September 29, 2021
"Storytelling and facilitation are becoming more important than just hard research skills for driving strategic product decisions."
Jen Cardello Dr. Shadi Janansefat Alex WrightCurating insight: Strategies for integrating knowledge across research functions
March 11, 2025
"There’s so many ways to change team dynamics by getting closer or further from that train."
Rebecca BuckMission: Keep Talent in Research Roles!
March 10, 2021
"I want my collaboration tool to be like the Nest thermostat of my workday, knowing when I’m heads down and when I’m open to communication."
Abby Covert Tomer SharonPanel: Collaboration Tools
November 6, 2017
"If we want our value to be defined as anything other than studies run, we must learn how to trace and articulate the actual business impact."
Llewyn PaineCoexisting with AI: A practical guide for researchers to navigate tools, ethics, and integration
March 11, 2025
"We encourage you to continue engaging with Slack channels and offer your own thoughtful questions."
Uday GajendarTheme One Intro
June 6, 2023
"Avoid too much upfront discovery that delays value and traps you into a fixed plan."
Meaghan Waters Fotina KoutropoulousLack of Product Thinking will Doom Your Legacy Modernization
June 9, 2021
"Research does this and design does that creates an us versus them strategy that leads to needless friction."
Alastair SimpsonDebunking the Myths of Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
October 24, 2019
