I know we had a great operating model slide somewhere
A consultant needs an operating model framework slide for a kick-off deck. They remember a good one from an engagement last year. They ask around, someone finds the deck on SharePoint, and they copy the slide. It is in an old template, contains the previous client's function names in the corner, and the fonts break when pasted. Half an hour later it is fixed, mostly. The previous client's name remains in the speaker notes.
Across the firm this happens many times a week, and every now and then the leftover client detail is not caught.
Why good slides do not get reused
- Slides live inside client decks, organised by engagement, not by topic.
- SharePoint search finds decks, not individual slides.
- Old slides use old templates, so reuse means reformatting.
- Client details hide in notes, chart data and small labels.
- Nobody curates the firm's best material, so quality varies.
Previous attempts have often failed. Many firms have tried a shared 'best slides' folder, which filled up for a few months, went stale, and was forgotten. The difference that matters is making slides quick to find and insert from inside PowerPoint, and giving someone responsibility for keeping the library current.
What rebuilding costs
| Issue | Effect |
|---|---|
| Slides rebuilt from scratch | Consultant hours lost across every engagement |
| Inconsistent frameworks | Firm's methodology looks different each time |
| Client details leaked | Confidentiality breach, possible loss of client |
| Template drift | Decks that look assembled from parts |
Junior consultants suffer most. They do not yet know which decks hold the firm's best work, so they rebuild more than anyone, and their versions of frameworks are the least polished. A library gives them the firm's best thinking as a starting point from their first engagement.
How we build a slide library
- Consultants or a knowledge lead nominate strong slides from finished decks into the library.
- Each slide is indexed by topic, slide type, sector and capability, with a language model suggesting tags for a person to confirm.
- Slides are checked for client-specific content: names, logos, figures, speaker notes and chart data. Anything found is flagged for removal before approval.
- Approved slides are converted to your current template.
- Consultants search from a panel inside PowerPoint, by words or by browsing, and insert slides directly.
- Usage is tracked, so the knowledge lead sees which slides are popular and which need refreshing.
- Slides are reviewed periodically, and outdated ones retired.
The automated check catches common client details, but it is not perfect. Every slide is approved by a person before it enters the library.
We usually start by asking each practice area to nominate their most reused slides, which quickly produces a core library of real value. Adding slides later is a two-minute step at engagement close, so the library keeps growing without a big clean-up project.
What consultants notice
Building a kick-off deck starts with finding the firm's best framework slides in a search, already in the current template and cleared of client details. The time saved goes into tailoring and thinking.
The firm's methodology starts to look consistent across engagements, which clients notice.
Does your firm have this problem?
- Consultants ask around for slides they half remember.
- Reused slides need reformatting.
- You have found another client's details in a deck.
- The same frameworks are redrawn on many engagements.
- Nobody curates the firm's best slides.