How purpose-driven consulting firms can still run a tight ship

Every consulting firm says they want to make an impact... but running one is a different story.

You have to balance your purpose with profit. You have to carve out time for innovation while still keeping the lights . And you have to build a team that cares deeply about that purpose - while hitting their billable targets!

That's the challenge that Mantle Dev face every day. Based in Toronto, they help decarbonise the built environment, doing so with a clear sense of purpose - all without losing sight of commercial reality.

We spoke to their COO Kathleen Kauth, an Olympian-turned-ops-leader, to find out how they're navigating that balance.

It isn't a romanticized story about purpose; it's filled with practical takeaways for consulting firms who want to build a purpose-driven business that actually works.

Listen to the full podcast with Kathleen.

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Purpose attracts talent - but doesn't retain it

The kind of work Mantle does - deep technical ESG advisory, lifecycle carbon assessments, resilience planning - isn’t something people walk in the door ready to deliver. It requires a tremendous amount of training and, inevitably, time.

This means retention can't just be a nice-have - it has to be embedded in the strategy.

As Kathleen explains, their hiring strategy prioritizes intrinsic curiosity and motivation over perfect CVs. They also give new team members room to learn and grow from day one, because once someone's up to speed, they become incredibly valuable - and incredibly difficult to replace.

Key takeaway

‍If you’re building niche capability, your delivery model must account for learning curves. And your operations need to value people development as much as utilization. Otherwise, you’re training people for your competitors.

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Innovation is a line item, not a side hustle

Mantle carves out intentional space for innovation. That includes non-billable time spent improving processes, experimenting with service design, and building out internal capability - like their project management discipline.

Instead of viewing this as a cost, Kathleen sees it as a multiplier. For example, bringing in a Director of Project Management to embed CMap into their delivery workflows meant temporarily reducing billables. But long-term, it made the entire team more effective.

Key takeaway

‍If you want scalable delivery, you need to invest in systems, not just bodies. Make your tooling and process infrastructure someone’s actual job. Ownership drives adoption, and adoption drives impact.

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Track non-billables with intent, not guilt

“When you’re not billing, what are you doing?”

For Mantle, the answer includes business development, speaking at conferences, and contributing to industry groups -especially in niche sectors like data centre sustainability and low-carbon materials.

It's easy to shy away from this kind of work and think of it as a waste - yet it's anything but. It's future pipeline, brand building, and IP creation.

Key takeaway

‍Not all hours are created equal. But all hours should be accounted for. Knowing where your team spends time - and why - is the first step toward balancing short-term margin with long-term momentum.

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Productize what works

As Mantle grows, they’re exploring ways to productize their services - e.g. codifying repeatable approaches, standardizing delivery models, and clarifying what makes their offering different.

This is what lets a small team punch above its weight.

Instead of reinventing the wheel for every engagement, they’re systematizing how they deliver value... and setting the stage for scale.

Key takeaway

‍You don’t need to build a SaaS product, but you do need to treat your consulting offer like a product: What’s the value? Who’s it for? What’s the delivery model? The more you define this, the easier it is to train, sell, and grow.

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Final thoughts

Mantle Dev proves that purpose and performance aren’t mutually exclusive. But if you’re going to serve a mission— - especially in a complex space like climate - you need a solid operational core.

Consulting is full of smart people doing important work. The firms that thrive are the ones that bring the same intentionality to their operations as they do to their client delivery.