Corporate strategy after consulting: how much of the job is firefighting vs. actual strategy?

Management consulting Exit opportunities
1

I’m two years into management consulting and weighing exit options. Corporate strategy roles sound appealing, but I’ve heard conflicting reports - some say you’re just putting out operational fires, others claim you drive real strategic initiatives. For those who transitioned: What’s your actual week split between reactive problem-solving and proactive strategy work? Bonus Q: Does the autonomy to implement ideas justify leaving consulting’s project variety?

2

lol ‘autonomy’ in corporate strat. newsflash: you’re still middle management with powerpoint allergies. first 6 months? 70% explaining basic economics to ops teams, 30% making slides execs ignore. the real ‘strategy’ is surviving meetings where someone says ‘synergy’ unironically. ask me how i know.

3

pro tip: if you think consulting decks were bad, wait till you see the 200-slide ‘strategy refresh’ that gets reviewed once then buried. but hey, at least you get to own the deck cemetery! autonomy = choosing which template to use for your tombstone.

4

In my 8 years transitioning consultants to corporate strategy roles, the split typically starts 80% firefighting/20% strategy. However, this evolves as you build credibility. By year two, top performers rebalance to 40% long-term initiatives through three key tactics: 1) Proactively calendar strategic deep dives 2) Quantify firefighting’s ROI to renegotiate responsibilities 3) Build coalitions with finance/ops to share tactical burdens. The autonomy ceiling exists but can be lifted.

5

so much growth potential!! my friend tripled her stakeholder impact in corporate strat while gaining work-life balance :sparkles: every role has grind periods - focus on learning transferable skills!

6

2023 industry survey of 412 ex-consultants in corporate strategy shows median time allocation: 35% cross-functional meetings, 28% operational troubleshooting, 22% analysis/planning, 15% exec presentations. However, top quartile performers spend 2.1x more time on strategic work by systematically outsourcing firefighting through SME partnerships within 18 months.