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How AI is transforming consulting and professional services, plus a new model for the future.
Artificial intelligence has disrupted the world of expertise. Work that once required teams of highly trained professionals—research, analysis, modeling, and drafting—can now be completed in seconds. For consulting firms, law firms, accounting practices, and other professional-service organizations, the implications are profound. The very activities that have long generated revenue, developed talent, and sustained competitive advantage are rapidly being transformed. How do firms built on human expertise create value in a world where machines can now think alongside us?
In The Future of Expertise, innovation expert David Duncan offers a compelling answer. Drawing on more than two decades of experience at McKinsey, at Clayton Christensen's advisory firm, and on the front lines of AI-enabled consulting, Duncan argues that the basic structure of professional-service firms must be reinvented. He introduces a new model for the AI era: a leaner, more agile "obelisk" structure that replaces the traditional professional-services pyramid with smaller, highly skilled teams augmented by AI.
Through real-world examples from consulting, law, accounting, and corporate strategy, Duncan shows how AI is reshaping everything from client expectations to firm economics and profitability to talent development and leadership. He examines why the apprenticeship model that was used to train generations of professionals is breaking down, how firms can rethink careers and capability building, and what new forms of value clients will demand as routine expertise becomes automated.
Provocative and deeply insightful yet practical, The Future of Expertise is an essential guide for leaders navigating the next era of knowledge work.
David Duncan began his career at McKinsey & Company, then joined Clayton Christensen's advisory firm when it was still a startup, helping to build and lead it through its acquisition for more than $100 million. He is currently a Partner at Disruptive Edge, an AI-native consulting firm. He is the author or coauthor of three books: The Secret Lives of Customers, the Wall Street Journal bestseller Competing Against Luck (with Clayton Christensen), and Building a Growth Factory. He has also written numerous articles for Harvard Business Review, exploring topics such as strategy, innovation, organizational transformation, and understanding customers.