A Minimum Viable Engagement delivers results faster by focusing on what matters most
Sometimes, we must cut through complexity to deliver the consulting help clients actually need
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You are standing in the square of the ancient city of Gordium, surrounded by whispers of the impossible knot that no one has managed to unravel. It’s been there for years, untouched and unsolved.
The legend goes that whoever can untie this knot will rule all of Asia.
And many have tried.
You can almost feel their frustration: tugging, pulling, struggling to loosen it.
And no one has succeeded.
Then, Alexander the Great strides into the square, with his eyes fixed on the knot. He doesn’t waste time inspecting the twists or figuring out how to loosen it, like so many others before him.
Instead, he shows no hesitation: he draws his sword and, with a single stroke, he cuts through the knot.
Quick.
Direct.
Simple.
Problem solved.
You can feel the shock ripple through the crowd.
That’s not how it’s supposed to be done, right? The unspoken rule was that the knot must be untied, not cut.
Alexander does not care about the unspoken rules. He did not fall into the trap of thinking that complexity had to be met with more complexity.
He reframed the problem and took decisive action.
When everyone is busy untangling, the real solution is to “take a step back” (as any true consultant has dozens of times suggested their clients), redefine the problem, and deliver a sharp, bold action.
The knots in consulting
In consulting, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking every problem needs a long, complex solution. When a client comes to us with a tangled mess of issues - eg, multiple business units misaligned, outdated IT systems, unclear domain strategies - the default response is often to roll up our sleeves and dive in deep.
We plan for months of workshops, detailed reports, exhaustive analysis. It’s almost expected.
This is how things are supposed to be done, right?
Here is one problem: this approach assumes that time and complexity equal value. It suggests that the longer we spend untangling every issue, the better the solution will be.
That is where many consultants - and clients - get stuck.
They think the problem is in the details while, often, the real problem is in the way we are approaching the problem itself.
If you are focused on untangling every knot in a rope, you miss the possibility that the real solution might lie in cutting a completely different piece of the rope. You are so absorbed in solving each small part that you overlook the bigger picture.
What if the assumption that everything needs to be unraveled is wrong?
The Minimum Viable Engagement
I don’t think this is industry jargon, but I want to talk to you about a thing I call Minimum Viable Engagement (MVE).
MVE means NOT tackling every thread at once.
MVE means zooming in on the one area where we can make the biggest difference right now: one precise, sharp, direct action that slices through the complexity and delivers value. Fast.
Most clients don’t need every piece of their problem solved immediately; what they actually need is something far simpler: they need proof.
Proof that, in their environment, things can change.
Proof that the consultants they have hired can make a meaningful difference.
Proof that the larger and complex transformation they hope for is even possible.
When we assume clients want everything fixed all at once, we are actually missing what they really value: momentum.
They don’t need a full-scale solution straight away, but they need something tangible they can work with today.
A Minimum Viable Engagement delivers that.
Weirdly enough, clients do not always articulate their need for simplicity. For example, they might say they want the full picture and a long-term plan, but what they really crave is seeing progress. Instead of solving everything right away, we need to reframe the problem and show them that a smaller, well-executed intervention can lead to big results.
When clients see immediate wins, they trust us to guide them through the larger transformation.
Let’s say you are working with a retail client who is struggling with declining sales across multiple stores.
Their assumption is that the entire business needs an overhaul: new systems, revamped processes, maybe even a complete rebranding (have you seen what the guys at Jaguar are busy with?! 🤦♂️). They reach out to your firm asking for a full-scale transformation plan, one that is going to take years to implement end-to-end.
This is their Gordian knot: a massive, complex problem that seems to require untangling every part of the business.
Instead of diving into this drawn-out process - endless workshops, detailed diagnostics, a plan that will take months to even commence (!!) - think about how you could approach this differently through an MVE.
You spot a key issue: their online store is underperforming.
It turns out that their e-commerce platform is not optimized for mobile and, given we are in 2024, and noticing how much traffic comes from mobile users, this is a major reason for their declining sales!
Fixing this one issue will not solve every problem they have, but will deliver quick, measurable results that they can act on today.
The MVE here would focus on this one intervention: optimizing their mobile site to improve the customer experience and boost online sales.
Within a few weeks, the client starts seeing results. Online sales start ticking up, customer feedback improves and, suddenly, there is momentum.
This success builds trust.
The client now sees that you are capable of delivering real value quickly.
The client is therefore more confident about the larger implementation, but they no longer feel the need to tackle everything at once.
In my mind, the Minimum Viable Engagement is a tool I use to show my clients that the most important act for their business is doing the right thing at the right time.
Does this reflect your experience? Do you use something like the MVE? Do you think it’s useful?
✍ The Management Consultant
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Love the way you’ve articulated this MC. What is the smallest first thing you can do to have an impact and create safety. A “minimum viable engagement” of course! I suspect the model in the big consultancies makes that minimum viability surprisingly large, but worth framing as an investment.
Very Insightful!
Thanks for sharing ✨️