Ep. 116 - From Dependency to Autonomy: Consulting Rewired w/ Sarah Edwards & James Cawthorne

In this episode we share a conversation from a recent Leaders in Consulting podcast, where Kantata’s Chief Product Strategy Officer, Sarah Edwards, sits down with James Cawthorne, CEO of FOIL. At the center of the discussion is a shift every services leader is starting to feel: clients no longer want dependency — they want independence. James makes the case for “autonomic consulting” — a model focused on embedding capability directly into the client’s business. Instead of delivering answers, firms must build systems that encode knowledge, drive consistency, and enable better decisions at scale.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why competing on productivity in the age of AI leads to diminishing returnsWhat “system intelligence” actually means, and why it matters more than standalone AI toolsHow client expectations are shifting from support to true capability-buildingWhy dependency-based models are becoming structurally unstableWhat it takes to stay relevant when value, not effort, becomes the primary differentiatorIf you’re rethinking how your firm delivers value, and how to create more predictable, scalable outcomes for clients this conversation is a must-listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.