Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcast
  • Managing the Future of Work Podcast
  • About Us
  • Book
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Podcasts
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    The Creative Consulting Company
    23 Jul 2018Working Paper Summaries

    The Creative Consulting Company

    by Robert S. Kaplan, Richard Nolan, and David P. Norton
    Management theories cannot be tested in laboratories; they must be applied, tested, and extended in real organizations. For this reason the most creative consulting companies balance conflicting demands between short‐term business development and long‐term knowledge creation.
    LinkedIn
    Email

    Author Abstract

    During the past 50 years, several consulting companies introduced important new ideas that extended management theory and improved management practice. This paper draws upon public sources and the authors’ personal experiences to describe how three management consulting companies created and sustained several big management ideas. The consulting organizations identified companies that had introduced an innovation to address a practice gap or anomaly. It then described the innovation in articles, cases, and public conferences and proceeded to help a new set of companies implement the management innovation, which led to enhancements in the original innovation that made it more understandable, generalizable, and robust. The consulting leaders sustained their thought-leadership positions by creating an ecosystem with senior executives at pioneer corporations and academic/thought leaders. The paper also describes how other consulting companies did not sustain an initial thought-leadership position because of a failure to recognize the synergistic interplay between knowledge application and knowledge creation.

    Paper Information

    • Full Working Paper Text
    • Working Paper Publication Date: July 2018
    • HBS Working Paper Number: HBS Working Paper #19-001
    • Faculty Unit(s): Accounting and Management
      Trending
        • 02 Feb 2023
        • Research & Ideas

        Why We Still Need Twitter: How Social Media Holds Companies Accountable

        • 27 Jan 2023
        • Op-Ed

        Have We Lost Sight of Integrity?

        • 17 Jan 2023
        • In Practice

        8 Trends to Watch in 2023

        • 25 Jan 2022
        • Research & Ideas

        More Proof That Money Can Buy Happiness (or a Life with Less Stress)

        • 31 Jan 2023
        • Op-Ed

        Can Insurance Technology Solve the Uninsured Driver Problem?

    Robert S. Kaplan
    Robert S. Kaplan
    Senior Fellow
    Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus
    Contact
    Send an email
    → More Articles
    Richard L. Nolan
    Richard L. Nolan
    William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
    Contact
    Send an email
    → More Articles
    Find Related Articles
    • Training
    • Management Skills
    • Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques
    • Management Practices and Processes
    • Consulting

    Sign up for our weekly newsletter

    Interested in improving your business? Learn about fresh research and ideas from Harvard Business School faculty.
    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    ǁ
    Campus Map
    Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
    Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
    Soldiers Field
    Boston, MA 02163
    Email: Editor-in-Chief
    →Map & Directions
    →More Contact Information
    • Make a Gift
    • Site Map
    • Jobs
    • Harvard University
    • Trademarks
    • Policies
    • Accessibility
    • Digital Accessibility
    Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College