The Professional Services Pursuit

Our goal is simple: to give professional services leaders a place to go to be inspired and tap into expert advice, trends and best practices in our collective pursuit of excellence. From agencies to IT services and every PS organization in between, our hosts and guests will provide the insights you need to drive a resource first organization and do what you do best, only better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Professional Services Pursuit is a business podcast hosted by Kantata, with 122 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Kantata hosts The Professional Services Pursuit, a business show with 122 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #122

  Ep. 122 - Why the Best AI Strategy Starts with Your People w/ Jamie Bykov-Brett

  Aug 6, 202627 min

  For years, AI conversations have centered on efficiency and automation, but what if that's asking the wrong question? In this episode, Banoo and AI strategist Jamie Bykov-Brett explore why the future of professional services won't be defined by replacing people, but by amplifying their expertise. From human-centric leadership to the rise of AI-human "centaur teams," this conversation challenges leaders to rethink how they prepare their organizations for the expertise era. Key topics covered include: Why expertise, not efficiency is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage The three roles AI can play in an organization The essential skills every organization needs to develop  Why AI strategies fail without people strategies What professional services firms must do to thrive in the expertise era Learn more about Bykov-Brett Enterprises and the services they provide. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #121

  Ep. 121 - TSIA on Outcome-Based Pricing: What Actually Works w/ Bo DiMuccio & Peter Fitzpatrick

  Jul 23, 202646 min

  In this episode of The Professional Services Pursuit, Kantata presents a special TSIA session exploring what outcome-based pricing really means and why most professional services firms misunderstand it. Peter Fitzpatrick, VP of Value Engineering at Kantata, and Bo DiMuccio, Distinguished VP of Professional Services Research at TSIA, explain the difference between outcome-aligned and fully contingent pricing, why hybrid base-fee and performance models are gaining traction, and what firms must change operationally before putting revenue at risk. Why outcome-aligned pricing is different from true outcome-based pricing Why hybrid pricing models are emerging as the most practical option for professional services firms How attribution, telemetry, cash flow, and client readiness can determine whether a model succeeds Why firms should standardize and productize delivery before pricing measurable outcomes Real-world examples, and a clear roadmap for navigating the transition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #120

  Ep. 120 - Outputs vs. Outcomes: Why AI Is Forcing Consulting to Reinvent Itself w/ Tom Rodenhauser

  Jul 2, 202640 min

  In this episode, Brent sits down with Tom Rodenhauser, Managing Partner at K2 Consulting Research, to discuss why AI is forcing consulting firms to rethink the way they create value. For decades, consulting firms have been paid for outputs — deliverables, implementations, and billable hours — with the assumption those outputs would drive meaningful business outcomes. But, that assumption is starting to break. Demand is still there. Clients are still buying. The model is holding, for now. But beneath the surface, AI is rapidly reshaping the economics of consulting. Firms that continue selling effort instead of impact risk competing on speed and price, while the firms that embrace measurable outcomes will define the next era of consulting. In this episode, you'll learn: Why AI is disrupting far more than productivity The critical difference between outputs (deliverables) and outcomes (business results) Why outcome-based pricing remains difficult to implement, despite years of industry discussion. How consulting firms need to rethink utilization, compensation, client relationships, and commercial models for the AI era. Tom's predictions for the future of consulting Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #119

  Ep. 119 - Agent Sprawl: Why More AI Is Making Professional Services Harder w/ Michael Speranza & Sarah Edwards

  Jun 16, 202633 min

  In this episode of The Professional Services Pursuit , Brent sits down with Kantata CEO Michael Speranza and Chief Product Strategy Officer Sarah Edwards to explore a growing challenge facing professional services firms: AI sprawl. Michael and Sarah discuss why professional services require a different approach to AI — one built around business context, connected operations, and institutional knowledge. They share their perspective on how firms can move beyond isolated automation to intelligence-driven operations, and how those ideas shaped the development of Kantata's newly launched Expertise Agent capabilities. Key topics covered: Why the explosion of AI tools and role-specific agents is creating more complexity, silos, and noise for professional services firms The critical role of business context in AI, and why better decisions require a connected view across sales, resourcing, delivery, and financials The launch of Kantata's Expertise Agent and why the company chose to build a context-aware AI superagent instead of workflow-specific agents How leading firms can capture institutional knowledge, learn from every project, and turn expertise into a scalable competitive advantage What will separate the highest-performing professional services organizations in the emerging "Expertise Era" To learn more about Kantata’s new AI capabilities, click here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #118

  Ep. 118 - Managing Unpredictability in Projects by Closing the Scope-to-Delivery Gap w/ Anish Udayakumar

  May 29, 202625 minS0

  <p>In this episode, we explore how professional services organizations can reduce project unpredictability by closing the gap between scoping, pricing, and delivery. Banoo sits down with Anish Udayakumar, Senior Vice President of Product Management and Customer Experience at Provus, for a thoughtful conversation on why projects that start with strong plans and healthy margins often end up facing scope creep, resource constraints, margin erosion, and delivery risk.</p><br><p>Topics discussed in this episode include:</p>Why margin erosion often goes unnoticed until late in the project lifecycleHow disconnected sales, delivery, operations, and finance workflows create unpredictable outcomesWhy...

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