Workflow Guide · 2026
The Management Consultant's Elephas Workflow: Step-by-Step
A complete workflow walkthrough for independent strategy consultants — from client onboarding to knowledge capture — saving 8+ hours per week.
16 actionable steps5 workflow phases8+ hrs/week saved
Meet Alex: Our Example Consultant
This entire workflow is grounded in one realistic persona: Alex, an independent strategy consultant based in London. Here is his profile.
A
Alex Mercer
Independent Strategy Consultant · Ex-McKinsey · London
10 years in management consulting, including 6 years at McKinsey. Now independent, Alex works with 5–6 strategic clients per year on digital transformation mandates. He bills at $2,500/day and specializes in operating model design and technology strategy.
Daily rate
$2,500
Clients/year
5–6
Before Elephas
15+ hrs/wk
After Elephas
7 hrs saved
Result: After implementing this workflow, Alex reduced his research and admin overhead from 15+ hours per week to under 8 hours — freeing time to take on one additional client per year without working more.
Before Elephas: Alex's Pain Points
Like most independent consultants, Alex was highly skilled — but buried under cognitive overhead that had nothing to do with strategic thinking.
Re-reading RFPs from scratch
Every new engagement started with 3–4 hours re-reading a 40–60 page RFP, taking notes, and synthesizing the client's situation. There was no way to query this context later.
Context switching across 4 active clients
Jumping between four active client contexts meant spending 20–30 minutes rebuilding mental context at the start of every client session or call.
Repeating industry research
Every new client in a similar sector required starting industry research from scratch, even when Alex had done equivalent work 12 months earlier for a different client.
Losing insights from past engagements
Frameworks, heuristics, and lessons learned from completed projects sat in archived folders, never surfaced when they were most relevant to a new situation.
The 5-Phase Elephas Workflow
This is the complete 16-step workflow Alex follows on every engagement. Each phase maps to a distinct stage of the consulting lifecycle. Follow these steps exactly to replicate his results.
1
Client Onboarding
Steps 1–3 · 2 hours saved per engagement
1
Create a new Super Brain named "[Client] – [Year]"
Open Elephas and create a new Super Brain. Use a consistent naming convention: "[Client Name] – [Year]" — for example, "Acme Corp – 2026". This naming scheme makes it easy to archive, search, and reference Super Brains across your portfolio. Create one Super Brain per client engagement, not per project type.
2
Upload all onboarding documents immediately
Within 24 hours of receiving any onboarding materials, drag them into the Super Brain. Include: the full RFP (even if it's 60+ pages), your discovery call notes (paste as a .txt file if needed), any client website research you've compiled, LinkedIn profiles of key stakeholders (copy the text and paste into a document), and any press releases or recent news about the client.
3
Run your first context-loading query
Once documents are indexed, run your first query to verify the Super Brain has captured the right information and to immediately load client context into your working memory.
Query:What are Acme Corp's stated strategic priorities for 2026, and what operational challenges do they mention most frequently?
Time Saved
2 hrs per engagement
No re-reading 50-page RFPs before every client call
I used to spend half a day just getting back up to speed when returning to a client after a week away. Now it's a 5-minute query and I'm fully oriented.
2
Proposal Writing
Steps 4–7 · 4 hours saved per proposal
4
Expand the Super Brain with research and frameworks
Before writing the proposal, enrich the Super Brain with relevant external materials. Add: industry research reports (Gartner, McKinsey Global Institute, Bain reports), competitor analysis you've compiled, analogous case studies from public sources, and relevant strategic frameworks (Porter's Five Forces templates, digital maturity models, operating model canvases) you plan to reference.
5
Query the Super Brain for relevant precedents
Rather than starting from a blank page, query the Super Brain to surface relevant knowledge from both the client context and your uploaded research.
Query:What digital transformation approaches have worked in the retail banking industry according to the research I've uploaded, and which are most relevant to Acme Corp's stated priorities?
6
Generate proposal sections using Super Command
Use Elephas Super Command (Cmd+Shift+Space on Mac) to generate a first draft of key proposal sections. Prompt it to generate: (1) an executive summary that references the client's specific situation, (2) a situation analysis that synthesizes the RFP and discovery call themes, and (3) a proposed approach section that outlines your recommended methodology. Super Command will draw on the Super Brain context automatically.
7
Edit, personalize, and apply your strategic judgment
The AI-generated draft is your starting point — typically covering 80% of the structural work. Your job is to contribute the 20% that requires senior expertise: sharpen the strategic hypothesis, adjust the approach based on your read of the client's culture and risk appetite, add specific data points or case studies you've encountered personally, and ensure the proposal speaks in your voice. This is where your years of experience become competitive advantage — not in the research and structuring phase.
Time Saved
4 hrs per proposal
Proposal turnaround went from 3 days to 1 day
I can now respond to an RFP with a polished proposal within 24 hours. That speed has directly won me engagements where the client said response time was a differentiating factor.
3
Client Delivery
Steps 8–11 · 6 hours saved per major deliverable
8
Upload session outputs immediately after every meeting
This is the single most important discipline in the workflow. Within 1 hour of every client meeting, upload that session's outputs to the Super Brain: meeting notes (paste into a .txt file), interview transcripts (paste from MacWhisper or your transcription tool), workshop outputs and flipchart photos (if you've digitized them), and any documents the client shared during the session. Do not let notes accumulate. Uploading in real-time means your Super Brain stays current and you never lose context.
9
Query for themes before every key meeting
In the 5 minutes before a major client meeting or presentation, run a rapid synthesis query to refresh your understanding of where the engagement stands.
Query:What are the three most consistent themes across all stakeholder interviews so far, and where is there the most disagreement among interviewees?
10
Generate deliverable sections from the Super Brain
When drafting a major deliverable (situation assessment, findings report, operating model design), use the Super Brain as your primary source of truth. Generate sections by querying and prompting: 'Based on the interview transcripts and workshop outputs, draft a 400-word situational analysis section.' The output will directly reference real data points from your client work, not generic consulting language.
11
Polish and add strategic visualizations
Review the AI-generated deliverable sections and apply your professional judgment: Restructure the narrative arc if needed, add process diagrams and frameworks (drawn separately in Figma, PowerPoint, or Miro), sharpen the recommendations to be specific and actionable, and ensure the deliverable matches the client's preferred format and vocabulary. Export to Google Docs or PowerPoint for final formatting.
Time Saved
6 hrs per deliverable
20+ interview transcripts synthesized in minutes, not days
On one engagement I had 23 stakeholder interviews. Normally that synthesis alone would take 2 full days. With Elephas, I uploaded all transcripts and got a theme map in 20 minutes.
4
Client Communication
Steps 12–13 · 1+ hour saved per week, per client
12
Use Elephas Email Writer for status updates and meeting follow-ups
Every week, Alex sends a status update email to each active client. Instead of writing these from scratch, he uses the Elephas Email Writer (accessible via the menubar icon) with the Super Brain active. He prompts it to draft a status update referencing the most recent meeting, key decisions made, and next steps agreed. The Email Writer pulls from the Super Brain context so the email feels personalized and specific — not generic. This takes 5 minutes instead of 25.
13
Query commitments before every client call
Before every client call — whether it's a steering committee, working session, or ad-hoc check-in — run a 30-second preparation query to ensure you arrive fully briefed and never forget a commitment.
Query:What specific actions and deliverables did we commit to in last week's working session with Acme Corp, and what open questions were we supposed to follow up on?
Time Saved
1 hr/week per active client
Never misses a commitment; always arrives prepared
The single most embarrassing thing you can do in client work is forget what you committed to. Now I walk into every call with a 30-second query and I'm always the most prepared person in the room.
5
Knowledge Capture
Steps 14–16 · Compound value across all future engagements
14
Upload final deliverables and lessons learned at engagement close
When an engagement concludes, complete the Super Brain with all final materials: the final versions of all deliverables (strategy documents, reports, presentations), a lessons learned document you write specifically for your own use (what worked, what didn't, what you'd do differently), any client feedback or evaluation notes, and the final project plan or workplan. This creates a permanent, queryable archive of the engagement.
15
Run a framework and approach extraction query
Extract the reusable intellectual capital from this engagement before archiving the Super Brain.
Query:What frameworks, methodologies, and analytical approaches produced the most useful outputs in this engagement, and what client-specific adaptations did we make to standard approaches?
16
Flow learnings into future Super Brains for similar engagements
Save the output of your extraction query as a standalone 'Frameworks Library' document. When you begin a similar engagement — same industry, same problem type, or same client type — add this frameworks library to the new Super Brain at setup. Your new Super Brain immediately inherits the intellectual capital from past engagements, compounding in value with every project you complete. After 5–6 projects, this library becomes a significant competitive advantage.
Long-Term Value
After 3 years and 15+ engagements, Alex's frameworks library contains tested approaches from retail banking, logistics, and consumer goods. When a new client in one of these sectors appears, he starts the engagement with 15+ years of documented learning at his fingertips — a capability no junior competitor can replicate. This compounding effect is the highest-ROI output of the entire workflow.
Time Savings Breakdown
Here is a precise before/after comparison of Alex's time allocation for each major activity in the consulting workflow.
ROI Calculation
For a consultant at Alex's rate, the return on a $14/month Elephas subscription is extraordinary. Here is the math.
Elephas cost
$14/mo
monthly subscription
Time saved
32 hrs/mo
8 hrs/week × 4 weeks
Hourly rate
$312/hr
$2,500/day ÷ 8 hrs
Value of time saved
$9,984/mo
32 hrs × $312/hr
Monthly ROI
71,300%
$9,984 value of time saved ÷ $14 cost × 100
* ROI based on Alex's $2,500/day rate and 8 hrs/week time savings. Results will vary by daily rate and usage volume.
Pro Tips from Alex's Workflow
These are the operational habits that separate consultants who extract 80% of Elephas's value from those who get 100%.
Name Super Brains consistently using the format "[Client Name] – [Year]". This makes it trivial to find, archive, and reference past engagements. Never use vague names like "New Client" or "Q1 Project".
Upload meeting notes and transcripts within 1 hour of every session — not at the end of the day, not at the end of the week. Real-time uploads mean real-time context. Letting notes pile up breaks the workflow.
Run a 30-second query before every client call, not just major meetings. Even a quick weekly check-in benefits from a 'What did we agree on last session?' query. You'll never go into a call underprepared.
Use Super Command for first drafts of proposals and deliverable sections — never as the final output. The AI is excellent at structure and synthesis; you are irreplaceable for strategic judgment, narrative, and client relationship nuance.
Create a dedicated 'Frameworks Library' Super Brain that spans all your engagements. At the end of each project, run an extraction query and add the output to this library. After 10 projects, this becomes your most valuable professional asset.
When starting an engagement in a familiar industry, seed the new client Super Brain with your frameworks library and any relevant prior deliverables (appropriately anonymized). You immediately start with more context than your competition.
Tools Alex Uses Alongside Elephas
Elephas is the knowledge and writing layer. It sits at the center of a lean stack that handles scheduling, transcription, project tracking, and document delivery.
Notion
Client CRM + project tracking
Alex maintains a Notion workspace with one page per client: contract status, project timeline, key contacts, and invoice tracker. Elephas handles knowledge; Notion handles project ops.
Calendly
Client scheduling
Alex uses Calendly links for client check-ins and discovery calls. When a call is booked, he immediately creates (or updates) the Super Brain so it's ready before the call.
Google Docs
Deliverable creation
All client deliverables are written in Google Docs after drafting in Elephas. Google Docs is the client-facing layer; Elephas is the research and drafting layer.
MacWhisper
Meeting transcription
MacWhisper transcribes client calls locally on-device. Alex pastes the transcript into a text file and uploads it to the Super Brain immediately after each call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions from consultants evaluating this workflow.
Related Guides for Consultants
Elephas for Solo Consultants
Overview of all Elephas features purpose-built for independent consultants, from offline AI to per-client Super Brains.
How Consultants Use Elephas for Client Projects
Three realistic consulting workflow case studies: client Super Brains, offline NDA work, and proposal acceleration.
Consultant Proposal Templates with AI
Reusable proposal templates and prompts for consultants using Elephas Super Command to generate first drafts.
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