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by Andrei Croitor

From Survival to Growth: Find Time to Thrive

Time is a strange thing. It’s not just a resource; it’s a reflection of our priorities, an unspoken language that speaks volumes about what we value. If you’re a consultant, you know this more than most. Sure, billable hours are the obvious thing, but aside from that—it’s the currency of opportunity, a direct measure of how you help your clients unlock potential. But too many consulting firms are trapped in a cycle of survival, spending that currency on activities that keep them afloat, rather than propelling them toward growth.

When was the last time you’ve asked yourself, “Where is my time really going?”

Not your firm’s time. Not your team’s time. Your time.

That question is more than an exercise in self-reflection. It’s a challenge. Because the answer often points to a brutal reality: Time is slipping away into tasks that aren’t driving value.

The shift from survival to growth doesn’t happen by pretending you can add more hours to the clock. It starts with recognizing how the hours you have are spent—and deciding that they should be spent differently.

The Trap of Survival Mode

Survival mode looks like this; you’re constantly reacting. Chasing deadlines, troubleshooting issues, managing client expectations that seem to grow more demanding by the day. You feel like you’re doing everything right—working harder, pulling late nights, holding the line—but something’s off.

Survival mode isn’t sustainable. It’s the consulting equivalent of treading water: you stay afloat, but you never move forward.

We know this intuitively. But acknowledging it and doing something about it are two different things. You have client reports to get out the door. Meetings to prep. Strategies to develop. It’s a constant churn that seems impossible to escape.

But that’s exactly where the problem is; the churn.

You’re stuck in the mechanics of delivering your service instead of mastering the craft of consulting. Every moment spent preparing a manual report or sifting through data is a moment stolen from what really matters: high-level strategy, creative problem-solving, and developing deeper, more meaningful client relationships.

That’s where AI can make the difference—not as a lifeline to magically pull you out of the churn, but as a shift in how your firm operates.

From Churn to Craft: The Power of AI

You sit down at your desk with your morning coffee. Your AI system has already analyzed the client data you collected the day before, flagging key trends and insights. The report you need to present this afternoon? It’s half-written, its structure automatically generated based on what the client values most. The manual work that used to consume hours—gone. What’s left for you?

Time to think. Time to grow.

Time to focus on the part of your work that truly matters—the part that lights you up. You can finally devote your energy to refining your recommendations, not just compiling them. Instead of checking the boxes, you’re creating new ones. You’re leading conversations with clients that leave them impressed—not just by what you deliver, but by the depth of your thinking.

That’s the shift from survival to growth.

It’s about reclaiming time and using it not just to keep up with client demands but to exceed them. AI won’t do the consulting work for you, but it will give you the space to do more of what you’re truly brilliant at.

The Emotional Impact: From Burnout to Empowerment

Time isn’t just time—it’s a reflection of how you feel about your work. When it feels like there’s never enough, burnout isn’t far behind. But when you’re in control of your time, when you can focus on what energizes you, the entire equation shifts.

AI is an opportunity to feel in control again. It gives you the power to move from reactive to proactive, from constantly managing to truly leading. And that’s not just a shift in your workflow—it’s a shift in mindset. It’s the moment you stop feeling like you’re holding on by a thread and start realizing that your firm has the power to grow.

Imagine the emotional impact on your team when they’re freed from hours of repetitive tasks. The late nights spent tweaking reports or chasing details could be replaced with time spent innovating, brainstorming new ways to help clients, and becoming the strategic partners they’ve always wanted to be.

From Potential to Practice

Every firm has untapped potential. Yours isn’t the exception. You’re already brilliant at what you do—if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have gotten this far. But that brilliance is often buried under layers of routine, under time spent on things that don’t actually move the needle.

Fundamentally, AI isn’t about increasing efficiency or staying competitive—although those are very real outcomes—it’s about taking back control of your time and reinvesting it where it belongs. It’s about shifting your entire firm’s focus from just getting through the day to thriving, scaling, and expanding in ways you haven’t yet imagined.

So, ask yourself: Are you ready to move from survival to growth? Because the future of consulting isn’t about managing the hours you have—it’s about creating new possibilities with the hours you free up.


How could your firm reclaim time spent on survival and invest it into true growth? Share your thoughts below, and let’s start the conversation on how to make that shift happen.

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