Beyond slides: Why consultants must build, not just describe.
The traditional consulting model of delivering static PowerPoint decks is becoming obsolete as digital transformations grow in complexity. Modern consultants must evolve into “vibe coders” and “prompt engineers” who leverage generative AI to create functional prototypes and interactive demonstrations. This shift reduces the gap between strategy and execution, allowing one professional to deliver what previously required entire teams.
Points clés
- Peter Bentley argues that the traditional “PowerPoint jockey” role is insufficient for handling complex interconnected systems like AI and data transformation.
- The new essential toolkit for consultants includes becoming a “prompt engineer” to frame problems and an AI-assisted “vibe coder” to build software.
- “Vibe coding” allows individuals with zero traditional programming experience to create functional code through iterative AI dialogue.
- A functional customer service AI prototype was built in just eight hours using Claude, React, and Python, rather than the weeks traditional methods required.
- Interactive financial forecasting tools are replacing static spreadsheets to allow clients to run real-time scenarios.
- The value proposition is shifting from providing recommendations (“what you should do”) to providing demonstrations (“what the solution looks like”).
- Future talent in consulting will be judged on the ability to prompt LLMs effectively rather than just holding technical degrees.
- One person using AI tools can now produce outputs that previously required a “cast of thousands.”
- Despite the rise of building tools, PowerPoint remains necessary for high-level executive synthesis and communication.
- The author highlights a case study where a 17-year-old student built a fitness agent to demonstrate the accessibility of these new tools.
À retenir
If your only skill is aligning rectangles in PowerPoint, it might be time to start worrying—or at least learn how to talk to a chatbot. We’ve reached an era where a teenager can build a working AI agent in a weekend while you’re still choosing a color palette for slide forty-two. My advice? Embrace being a “vibe coder” before your clients realize they can just “vibe” their way to a solution without your three-hundred-page roadmap. After all, why pay for a deck when you can pay for a demo that actually works?
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