David A. Fields Consulting Group What’s the indicator that your consulting firm is outstanding at your craft?
Revenue? Repeat clients? Glowing testimonials? Phenomenal client outcomes? Jaw-dropping client list? No, the real sign that you run a great consulting firm is that you deftly employ Spirographs. Metaphorically, of course.
Those other indicators are all good. They show you’re able to attract clients and/or provide value at a high level. Yet, to truly excel at our profession, something more is required:
At the pinnacle of excellence a consulting firm encapsulates its ability to create value
into an approach that others can replicate.
In other words, you create Spirographs you can hand to subordinates, subcontractors and even clients.
Hmm, maybe that Spirograph reference needs clarification for the youngsters amongst us.
Spirograph, the 1967 toy of the year, was a fairly simple contraption. It allowed just about anyone who could stick pins in a wall (sorry, Dad) to create awesomely cool geometric designs in indelible ink on said wall (really, really sorry, Dad).
Your consulting firm’s mission is to create value by solving similar problems in similar ways for a variety of clients.
One way your firm can accomplish your mission is on a case-by-case basis, applying your impressive, intellectual gifts afresh each time.
This bespoke, “freehand” method of consulting generates happy clients, effusive praise and reasonable wealth.
However, a more powerful approach to drawing forth value is with Spirographs—systems that empower and equip others to succeed. There are a number of reasons why:
Why Spirographs Are the Sign of Superlative Consulting
Better Results
The process of systematizing your consulting firm’s approach invariably exposes the bugs and flaws, while fine tuning the aspects that lead to exceptional outcomes.
As a result, when you systematize you improve your own process and deliver better results.
Greater Consistency
Reinventing the wheel every time is unreliable and creates inconsistent results.
When your consulting firm relies on a proven system rather than consulting from scratch or from your memory of past projects, your results will be predictably fabulous.
Increased Efficiency
You and/or your team can work a project from start to successful completion far more quickly when the approach is sytemized.
Perhaps more importantly, a strong system enables a wider variety of resources to deliver a successful outcome. That allows you to scale your firm and increase margin on every project.
Elevated Focus
The biggest win from systematizing your consulting firm’s approaches may be the freedom to tackle even more difficult, sophisticated, valuable problems.
When you can delegate lower-order work to subordinates, subcontractors or client personnel, you’re virtually forced to raise the bar on your own thinking.
Systems, Not Products
Developing Spirographs is not the same as developing products or canned solutions.
Systems enable your consulting firm to efficiently, reliably develop customized advice for clients. The systems are not, in themselves, the answer.
How to Build Your Firm’s Spirographs
To build your firm’s game closet full of Spirographs, follow this mantra: Work Forward, Think Backward.
Left to our own devices and intuition, we tend to create tools and systems the way we work, which is starting at the beginning then progressing forward until we achieve the end.
Of course, left to our own devices, we might start incessantly humming Christmas music before Halloween. Neither is a good idea.
The better approach for building your Spirograph is to think backwards from the end. Below are the five steps to follow:
- Document the Outcome – What is your consulting firm delivering that actually creates the most value for your clients? What’s the output of your magnificent consulting? Start there. Clearly define the outcomes and outputs you deliver.
- Think Backwards – Starting from the outcome and working backwards, identify steps in your repeatable process. The criteria for your steps are: easy, reliable, efficient, and effective
- Scrub the Process – Eliminate extraneous steps and tangents. They always pop up, so be diligent about removing them.
- Remove Labor – Scrutinize each step and output along the way. What can be automated, put into a tool, or templated?
- Codify – Develop the simplest instructions that will allow others to succeed 90% of the time.
If you think there’s some “magic” in how your firm approach problems, you haven’t thoroughly thought through how you do what you do.
This doesn’t mean everyone can do what you do. It means that others with aptitude can achieve excellent results if they have your Spirograph and follow your instructions.
What parts of your consulting approach have you (or could you) systematize into a Spirograph?
Text and images are © 2025 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
Love the approach and while we think we do this, there are some gaps that need to be addressed…working backwards is key and often overlooked. Efficiency can be greatly increased with a few minor tweaks to the “system”. Thank you for the reminder as always!
Happy Holidays!
Frank, the fact that DCG still has gaps in your systems is a good reminder to most readers (and me) that systems can always be improved. Creating spirographs is an iterative process. (Hmm… that’s starting to get very meta.)
Happy holidays to you too, Frank. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you.
Excellent piece David.
This is what I’ve been doing over the last 6 years with pricing support (specifically start-up and scale-up pricing support). It’s intellectually challenging (=fun), but does take some significant time and effort. It’s important but rarely urgent, so you really need to carve out space to do this: something that many consulting companies struggle with (the client is king, right?).
There are still some ‘magic’ steps in my approach, but those steps are getting smaller.
Last point: getting good at this allows for productization (in different ways – fixed-price projects, software, books, training courses) that offer the potential to be high-impact and high margin.
100% agree with you Ian on the ancillary benefits of systemization. Sometimes the direction of impact reverses–for instance writing a book or creating a training often forces you to think through and articulate your own granular steps and assumptions. Good on you for consistently building your systems over the past six years–that’s impressive and inspiring!
Thanks for jumping into the conversation, Ian!
Love this analogy, and I’ve picked up, adapted and reused tools and templates along my journey these last 15 years – so when I set up my practice in 2020 (the best year to go solo, right?!) I scrabbled around to find all those relics.
Now have a bunch of ‘tools and templates’ that I kick off every project with, and also encourage my clients, network, friends and neighbours to use as their own too.
Spread the love! (Obvs with my logo on the bottom…)
Well done, Ben! Bonus points for you for keeping those tools in a format that you could use or adapt when you set up shop.
Freely sharing your tools is also good practice–particularly if they’re not central to the value you offer as a firm. You’re able to be generous and create awareness without diluting your offerings at all.
I’m glad you added your experience to the conversation, Ben!
Steven Covey said: “Begin with the end in mind” which is often difficult for humans who are mired in the present or past.
Having studied NLP, everyone stores their past, present and future on a “timeline” which usually goes left (past) to right (future), but not always. Some people put their past behind them and their future in front.
It is possible to “walk your timeline.”
1. Stand in the present and see your future stretching out in front of you.
2. Imagine a desired future (company revenue, wonderful marriage, whatever). There are many paths to the future. Some people just project their past into their future, rather than seeking a desirable future.
3. Leaving the present, walk out into your future to a point where you feel that you have reached your desired outcome.
4. Look around. What do you see, hear, feel, smell, taste? Multiple senses help make the future more concrete. I have found that more I experience this desired future, the faster it arrives.
5. Look back at that younger you back in the present. What message do you have for him/her?
6. Connect with that younger you, as if a rubber band is pulling that younger you toward this desired future.
7. Walk back into the present.
Too Woo-Woo for you? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
Thanks for sharing that Covey process, Jay. It’s definitely a process worth experimenting with.
Many years ago, I had an NLP expert work with my team and in one of the exercises each person pointed to their past and to their future. Most people pointed behind them for their past and ahead or ahead and slightly up for the future. However, that was not the case with everyone. For at least one person, time was a big fuzzy ball around them. The present was clear, but there was no clear direction for the past or the future.
Fun stuff. Thanks for sharing, Jay!
Can’t believe nobody commented yet how awesome that mesmerizing animation is, David!
Alas, I can’t take credit for that one, Franziska. Some other wildly talented illustrator developed the animated gif and I shamelessly borrowed it. (I also borrowed the image of the Mona Lisa… but you knew that.)
I appreciate the feedback, though!!