The advisor no longer exists (and that's good)
How the profession of strategist has changed. From expert to co-creator.
In 2007, I wrote a post titled “The Advisor of the Future.” I was wrong and at the same time I was right.
What I didn't foresee: that AI would undermine the expert model. A Twitter like I found sums it up: a senior partner at a large consulting firm who first saw ChatGPT and whose bosses subsequently banned it. That's the entire sector in one anecdote.
The old model was simple. The advisor knows something that the customer does not know. This knowledge asymmetry is the basis of the revenue model. But if ChatGPT can write the same report in twenty minutes that took a junior consultant three weeks — what are you selling?
Hans Vermaak has been providing the answer for years. Not knowledge, but guidance on tough issues. Problems that cannot be solved with a report. Problems that require presence, confrontation, and tolerance of ambiguity.
The podcast “A Plan Is Not a Strategy” makes the same point from a different angle: planning is what organizations do to feel safe. Strategy is the opposite — it's a betting note on an uncertain future.
The advisor of the future — the one of today — is no longer an expert. He is someone who asks good questions, can tolerate discomfort, and knows when to remain silent. That's more difficult than writing a report. And it cannot be automated.
At least, not for a while.