The traditional T-shaped consultant model – combining deep expertise in one domain with broad knowledge across many fields – is becoming obsolete. As artificial intelligence commoditizes general knowledge, consultants who rely primarily on breadth-based value are increasingly vulnerable. When AI makes breadth free, depth becomes priceless.
The T-shaped generalist thrived in an information-scarce environment where the ability to synthesize knowledge across domains commanded premium fees. Companies valued consultants who could “figure anything out” regardless of domain. Breadth was rare and therefore valuable.
That environment no longer exists. AI systems now provide accessible breadth across virtually all fields. The competitive advantage consultants held through comprehensive but generalized knowledge has evaporated. What took years of varied experience to accumulate now comes standard with any AI assistant.
The I-Shaped Alternative
The emerging I-shaped consultant represents a fundamentally different value proposition: exceptional depth in a single specialized area. Rather than knowing a little about everything, the I-shaped professional knows nearly everything about one thing.
This isn’t a regression – it’s an evolution. The I-shaped consultant combines:
Hard-Won Expertise: Knowledge that comes from years of focused practice, pattern recognition across thousands of cases, judgment refined through repeated failure and success. AI can’t replicate experience gained by working specific problems for a decade.
Irreplaceable Judgment: The ability to know which questions to ask, which frameworks apply, what the edge cases look like. This judgment emerges from depth, not breadth.
Network Effects: Deep specialization creates reputation, which creates referrals, which creates more cases, which deepens expertise further. The flywheel rewards depth.
Strategic Implications
Organizations increasingly need consultants with profound, hard-won expertise in specialized areas – professionals who possess insights, judgment, and problem-solving capabilities that cannot be replicated by general-purpose AI tools.
As the consulting industry transforms, the market rewards specialists over generalists. Breadth becomes table stakes; depth becomes the differentiator.
Key Takeaway
The I-shaped consultant isn’t just a response to AI – it’s the optimal positioning for a world where surface knowledge is free and deep expertise is scarce. The question for every professional: what’s the one domain where you can become irreplaceably deep?
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
