Consulting Insights

Explore bold ideas

Discover articles, blog posts, white papers, and insights from the team at Pepper Foster. Our team of experts, thought leaders, and industry professionals share their insights and opinions on everything from the latest trends in technology and business to personal growth and development.

How we think

White Paper

HR is Where Change Goes to Die!

The days of treating change management as unnecessary or a luxury are thankfully in the past. Most organizations now accept effective change management as essential to maintain business relevancy, achieve enterprise-wide transformation, and realize value. However, many organizations are still stifling their change management teams and making the value realization of transformations more elusive.

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Blog Post

Is AI the New Dot-Com?

The late 1990s were marked by a frenzied surge of investments in dot-com companies, driven by the promise of the internet revolutionizing business and personal life. And then came the crash. Today, AI is experiencing a surge of interest and investment reminiscent of the dot-com boom. So, will its growth parallel the dot-com boom and bust or the cloud's more steady ascent? And when should companies invest in developing their AI future?

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Blog Post

US Healthcare's Dual Crisis

The US healthcare system is facing a dual crisis: a growing shortage of healthcare professionals and increasing financial pressures from Medicare reimbursements. These issues are intertwined, creating significant challenges but also opportunities for those who can navigate them effectively.

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Blog Post

Is There a White-Collar Recession in the US Right Now?

The term "white-collar recession" has started to surface in 2024 as several high-profile companies announce significant white-collar layoffs. But what does this mean? How does it contrast with the employment trends seen among blue-collar workers? What are the root causes? And, should we be worried?

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White Paper

AI for M&A - Hype or Substance?

The world of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) has experienced a flexuous journey in recent years. The COVID recovery, changing financial climate, and now Artificial Intelligence (AI) have all shaped the future of deal-making. In this white paper, we explore the nuanced reality of AI for M&A in 2024, dissecting both the hype and substance surrounding its integration into the M&A process. Drawing on historical evidence and industry insights, we strive to provide a holistic analysis of the current state of AI in M&A and articulate the conditions under which it can evolve to provide real value.

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Press

Minneapolis Star Tribune Article Featuring Pepper Foster

A great article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the return of companies to downtown Minneapolis that includes coverage of Pepper Foster's recent move to a bigger office in downtown and includes some great quotes and photos of our people and space including Todd Dale, Nathan Caskey, & Jamie Kissell.

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White Paper

M&A Surge: Riding a Wave of Optimism or Desperation?

In late March 2024, Pepper Foster Consulting surveyed 115 US-based C-level and senior executives at companies with over 5,000 employees. All of those surveyed had visibility to and knowledge of their organization’s plans for M&A. The survey covered growth pressure, current M&A activity, key drivers, M&A focus, and deal size.

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Blog Post

How To Get A Seat At The Table

A seat at the table. An opportunity to be involved. A chance to help shape strategy. Acceptance into the club. And recognition of the importance and validity of your voice and contribution. But how do you get a seat at the table at work? And once you've got it, what does it mean?

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Blog Post

Transparency and its Impact on the Candidate Experience

The employees of a company shape the way it operates, influence the culture, and determine how the business is perceived. This is especially relevant in management consulting, where the advisory services provided to clients are based on our people's perspectives, expertise, and experience. We have found that a focus on transparency during hiring has not only improved our outcomes but has also positively impacted our candidates' experience.

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-Client NPS Survey

How we help our clients

Success Story

DoctorPatientConsultation

Streamlining Success: Maximizing Efficiency Through Lean 5S for Healthcare Provider

Pepper Foster was engaged to spearhead a Lean 5S initiative for a regional healthcare provider. The primary objective was establishing an organized and sustainable space, fostering increased efficiency while instilling a culture of ownership and responsibility among the Clinical and Learning and Development (L&D) teams.

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Success Story

Clockwork

Turning Around A Struggling Software Upgrade Project By Establishing Best Practices

How Pepper Foster helped a large utility turn around a critical software upgrade project and ensure dependent projects could be successful by refocusing the team, establishing best practices, and implementing a comprehensive runbook department-wide.

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Success Story

Greenhouse

Using StratX™ To Develop A Global Operations Strategy To Bring Innovative Horticultural Products To Market Faster

How we used our StratX™ Framework, a rich and comprehensive proven set of methods, practices, templates, and tools that ensure a clear, executable strategic vision is developed and realized, to develop a global operations strategy that helped capitalize on growth opportunities for the next 10-15 years. The plan specifically focused on how best to bring to market new product introductions as quickly as possible and how to transition from genetic development to large-scale regional commercial production.

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Success Story

Big Data Exploration

Aligning Enterprise Privacy, Security, And Governance For Compliant Big Data Exploration

How Pepper Foster helped our client's innovation team align enterprise privacy, security, and governance so they could use newly emerging machine learning and AI technologies to discover new insights and opportunities from the data it has been collecting for over 40 years.

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Success Story

Go Strategy

Developing A Diversification Strategy For The Board Of A Market Dominant Client

How Pepper Foster helped a client with a dominant position in a market undergoing rapid expansion, yet also displaying clear signs of maturation, develop a diversification strategy. A strategy that enabled them to align the executive leadership team and execute a more focused and targeted diversification strategy that allocated resources more effectively, prioritizing areas with the highest potential for success and ensuring optimal resource utilization.

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Success Story

Defining a Growth Strategy for Zarafa Consulting

Defining a Growth Strategy for Zarafa Consulting

An experienced DEI Strategist and Inclusion Coach approached Pepper Foster Consulting seeking support for scaling her firm’s impact. Her expertise is helping impact-oriented, heart-centered, and high-integrity executives who understand the importance of systemizing belonging and inclusion but don't know how to go about achieving it. She recognized the need for expertise in optimizing operations and accelerating growth.

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