Strategic planning

By Fiona Czerniawska.

I recently did a presentation on the future of professional services for Dansk Industri (DI) at the latter’s beautiful building in the centre of Copenhagen. It was an apt place for such an event: Each floor of the building is named after a concept, and the top floor, with its expansive view across the city, is called “udsyn”.

The simplest meaning of udsyn is “view”, but its resonance is far subtler than that: “Ud” actually means “out” and “syn” means vision. “It means looking outside your world”, DI explained.

I can’t think of a better word to sum up what I think is the big, strategic opportunity for professional services firms in 2019 than udsyn.

By Fiona Czerniawska.

Growing East: When we crunch all the data for 2018, we expect to find that demand for consulting services has been patchy. Some sectors and services, in some geographies, will have performed exceptionally well, but other large and well-established markets will have been distinctly bearish. Underlying willingness to use consultants is strong, but that won’t stop clients looking constantly over their shoulder out of fear of a potential downturn. Firms that want to accelerate their growth will be looking to the East: Growth rates in China, Japan, and South East Asia all look particularly positive.

By Fiona Czerniawska.

THE SCENE: A bar in midtown Manhattan. It’s late and two men in their 50s sit hunched over their beers. Matt is the corporate risk officer for a major pharmaceutical company. Greying and a little broad around the middle, he no longer aspires to be a professional ping-pong player. He simply wants to get through the week without another crisis. Sandy is his drinking partner of many years, since they met up at business school and discovered a common liking for burritos. Sandy is the financial controller of a well-known arts and craft magazine, a job Matt would happily trade for any day of the week. MATT runs his finger down the droplets on the side of his glass.