Difference between Strategist and Consultant

Differences Companies/Organisations Careers

People seek advice on a wide range of issues throughout their lives, from their personal lives and relationships to their businesses and careers. Most often, people turn to coaches, strategists, and consultants for guidance, but one may also rely on other sorts of experts, depending on their needs. Despite common usage, there is a difference between the two notions.

Who is a Strategist?

A strategist is someone whose job is to devise an overarching plan for achieving an organization's objectives and then implement that plan. A strategic thinker knows how to employ the best means to achieve desired outcomes. Design, sales, economics, jobs, banking, politics, education, the military, trading, and even personal life may all benefit from the input of a skilled strategist.

Strategists in business settings are accountable for −

Overseeing the company's future and producing estimates for resource allocation, sales, and profits.
Identify the many stakeholders and the needs of the company, and then to build strategy maps.
Develop and implement the most successful competitive strategy consistent with the company's goals and structure.
Build targeted messages and track their impact.

Design, sales, economics, banking, politics, education, the military, trade, and even one's personal life may all benefit from the services of a skilled strategist.

Who is a Consultant?

The term "expert" is used to describe a person sought for knowledge and advice in a certain area. Hiring a consultant is one way to accomplish objectives like expanding one's horizons and mastering previously unfamiliar skills.

Within the context of a company, a consultant contributes to −

Keeping the company's objectives in step with the needs of its target market.
The ability to understand and empathize with the customer's decision-making process throughout the buying phase
Conceiving Plans for Making and Keeping Contact with Customers
Rationalizing business processes to the advantage of both the producer and the consumer

The term "consultant" can refer to someone who acts as an −

In business, an internal consultant is a specialist who acts within the company to provide advice.
An "external consultant" is a consultant who works for a company but whose primary office is not situated within that company.

Engineering, financial, travel, educational, marketing, property, process, and sales consultants are all common examples of consultant specializations.

Differences − Strategist and Consultant

The following table highlights how a Strategist is different from a Consultant −

Characteristics	Strategist	Consultant
Definition	A strategist is a person responsible for developing and carrying out an organization's strategy by articulating its objectives, outlining a course of action to achieve those objectives, and carrying out those plans.	A consultant is an outside expert who is brought in to advise on certain matters.
Importance	Strategists analyze situations so that they may craft approaches to improve them.	Experts in many different disciplines and consultants provide their knowledge and experience to businesses and people.
Components	A strategist may be brought in at any point in a project's lifecycle, including the beginning, the middle, and the end, depending on the nature and severity of the issues that have arisen.	A consultant can be helpful throughout any phase of a project.

Conclusion

In some ways, the jobs of strategists and consultants are at odds with one another: whereas a strategist is responsible for developing an overarching plan of action, including objectives, strategies, and tactics, a consultant is hired to offer guidance on a narrower topic.