Consulting

For 30 years, Andrew has worked closely with the senior management of many of the world’s leading corporations and professional service firms to help them clarify and achieve their most important goals. He spent 15 years at Gemini Consulting, where he was a Senior Vice President and Chief Executive of the firm’s Italian Subsidiary. For the last 15 years, he has run his own international consulting firm, Andrew Sobel Advisors.

Andrew has in-depth experience in strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and the creation of client-centered organizations. His approach is based on a participative process, often using workshops and retreats, that empowers senior executives and strengthens their role. He helps clients drive behavioral change deep into the organization, a neglected aspect of many consulting projects.

Andrew Sobel’s techniques have been instrumental to building our "client first" culture at Cognizant.

- Francisco D’Souza,
Chief Executive Officer,

Cognizant

Andrew’s deep expertise on what makes service firms successful makes his guidance accessible, credible, and invaluable.

- Edward E. Nusbaum,
Chief Executive Officer,

Grant Thornton LLP

Consulting Case Studies

Read two examples of Andrew’s consulting engagements

Building a Client-Focused Firm: Working with a major international law firm
Read more about it

Restoring Growth in a Key Market: Assistant a leading global consulting firm
Read more about it

Interested in systematically building your trusted advisor skills? Read about Andrew’s customized workshop offerings and curriculum development services.

If I had one hour to save the world, I would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.

Albert Einstein

Why do consulting projects succeed or fail?

There are six common reasons why consulting projects do not meet the client’s expectations and goals:

Problem Definition. The totality of the problem has not been defined or addressed; or, the project is focused on the wrong problem altogether.
Executive Sponsorship. There is insufficient executive sponsorship from leadership. The project gets "lost in the shuffle" among many initiatives.
Implementation. The client underestimates the behavioral change that will be required for effective implementation. There is a study but no impact or results.
Competence. The consultant does not have the depth of experience and relevant expertise to tackle the problem.
Expectations. There is an expectations mismatch between client and consultant—e.g., the client is expecting the consultant to do more than they are delivering on, and/or vice-versa.
Timeframe. The project, for a multitude of reasons, takes much longer than anticipated. The energy and enthusiasm dissipates; the original sponsors or participants move on to new roles or new priorities; and it dies a slow death.

"I have a singular purpose: to use my 30 years of global
experience to help clients achieve their most important
business goals"