Why I'm Disrupting Myself
The future of consulting depends on our ability to reimagine the past.
I've been a consultant for more than thirty years—working with nonprofits, foundations, governments, and international organizations across 35 countries. It's been a front-row seat to how change really happens, and how often it doesn't.
Lately, I've been asking why an industry built on change struggles to change itself.
For decades, consulting has followed a familiar pattern: diagnose, design, deliver.
We interview stakeholders, analyze data, run workshops, and produce plans that outline a clear path forward. Done well, that process builds alignment and trust, and it has real value.
But here's the uncomfortable truth.
The way we've always done consulting doesn't cut it anymore.
Clients don't just need strategy documents. They need adaptive systems, continuous insight, and learning loops that evolve in real time. They need tools that enable broader participation, greater equity, shared ownership, and more innovative implementation.
So I took a hard look at my own work.
I went back through our case studies—from Afghanistan to Uganda—and added some new thinking to each one:
"How Would We Enhance This With AI Today?"
I didn't do this to rewrite history. I did it because I wanted to see how the same work might look if we started it today—using the tools, data, and capabilities that didn't exist then.
The result has been humbling and energizing in equal measure.
What I Found
When we helped Albania's High Judicial Council take up the mantle of judicial reform, we spent months reviewing documents, conducting interviews, mapping power dynamics, and leading workshops. It was meticulous, human-centered work.
Today, that same process could include thousands of voices through AI-driven sentiment analysis, broadening the evidence base without losing the nuance of personal relationships.
What's powerful about that shift isn't just the scale of participation. It's the pattern recognition that emerges when you can analyze tone, language, and alignment across countless stakeholders in real time. We could have seen early on where trust was thin, where resistance was building, and which narratives were shaping the reform conversation, long before they surfaced in meetings.
That kind of insight doesn't replace facilitation or diplomacy; it enhances them. It gives decision-makers a richer map of the system they're trying to change and helps consultants focus human attention where it matters most.
Take our work across the Caribbean, where we supported youth leaders working to prevent violence in 15 communities across eight countries. We gathered rich, local insights, but they were snapshots in time. With the right AI tools, we can now analyze data across all of those communities simultaneously, uncovering patterns that would have taken us months to detect.
And then there's Uganda. Over 19 trips, I spent 331 days working with agricultural leaders, CEOs, association directors, and board members to strengthen the sector. That kind of in-person engagement remains irreplaceable, but today we could combine it with:
- Predictive analytics to identify capacity gaps before they become problems
- Virtual training to reach more rural areas
- Automated tools that track organizational progress continuously, not only when reports are due
Human expertise is still essential. What's changing is when, where, and how we bring it to bear.
Why This Matters
Here's the harder truth: many consulting firms, especially those serving nonprofits, are trapped by their own success. They can't acknowledge that their methods could be faster, wiser, and more inclusive because doing so would threaten their core business model.
But nonprofit leaders can't afford that luxury, especially in today's climate.
When social change organizations are under pressure to demonstrate results and respond to crises in real time, they can't just wait for the perfect plan. They need clarity and action now.
That's why I don't see AI as a threat to my consulting. I see it as part of an essential evolution. The tools are changing quickly. The essence of the work shouldn't.
The Human Core
At Common Ground, we've always believed that relationships drive results. That hasn't changed.
When we helped restructure the Partners Network across 22 peace-building organizations, what mattered most was trust; the kind that allows difficult conversations to lead to shared decisions.
AI can't replace that. But, surprisingly, it can strengthen it.
Imagine being able to map collaboration networks across organizations in real time—to see where communication is strong, where it's breaking down, and where influence flows naturally.
That kind of insight doesn't replace human connection; it deepens it.
And in Albania, when the High Judicial Council needed legitimacy and public trust, no algorithm could have delivered that. But AI could have analyzed hundreds of European Union reform precedents and surfaced lessons in days, giving Council members more time to focus on what only people can do: build confidence in the change they were leading and a sense of shared ownership.
That balance—the combination of technology and trust—is where I think the future of consulting lies.
Looking Ahead
If your organization is still:
- Planning in six-month cycles
- Conducting stakeholder interviews one by one
- Waiting for quarterly reports to assess progress
- Limited by geography or language
- Using one-size-fits-all assessments instead of AI-powered diagnostic tools
You're not doing anything wrong. You're just working with tools that no longer match the moment.
Your mission deserves both proven expertise and force-multiplying technology.
That's the evolution I'm inviting.
After 30 years and 35 countries, I'm still learning, still evolving, and still pushing for better ways to serve our sector.
Because disruption, when done with purpose, isn't destruction.
It's growth.