Serving Boston, MA
Boston-based growth-strategy and operations consulting firm — HBR-published methodology, 240+ engagements delivered, and a 95% repeat-engagement rate that keeps PE-backed and mid-market leadership teams calling for the second project.
Boston-based growth-strategy and operations consulting firm. HBR-published methodology, 240+ engagements delivered across mid-market and PE-backed portfolio companies, and a 95% repeat-engagement rate that says more than any case study could. We do the work the boutiques claim and the Big-3 outsource.
By the Numbers
Years in Boston
Engagements Delivered
Glassdoor + Clutch
Published Methodology
Repeat-Engagement Rate
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The Reality
If your last consulting engagement burned cash, you're not alone.
These are the situations we help Boston customers solve every week.
- →You hired a Big-4 firm and got a 60-page deck of generic frameworks delivered by associates two years out of college
- →You hired a boutique and the senior partner who pitched the deal disappeared after kickoff
- →Your team is operating well but growth has stalled and no one inside the company can see why
- →Your PE sponsor is asking for a 100-day plan and you don't have the bandwidth to write one yourself
- →You're scaling fast and the systems that got you here are clearly not the ones that get you to the next level
Our Services
What we do.
Service · 01
Growth Strategy & Market Entry
Diagnose where the growth is actually constrained — pricing, segmentation, channel mix, sales motion, product-market fit — and build the 18-month operating plan to unblock it. Our HBR-published methodology starts with the customer math, not the competitor map.
Service · 02
Operations & Performance Improvement
Operational diagnostics, process redesign, and performance-management installs that actually stick. We work alongside your team for 60–120 days, not in a separate room with a deliverable due Friday. Our average client sees 18–34% margin improvement inside the engagement window.
Service · 03
Leadership Team Coaching
Senior leadership team alignment, executive coaching, and succession planning. Engaged directly by CEOs and PE sponsors to fix what's broken at the top — usually the thing no one inside the company can name out loud. Confidential, structured, and bounded.
Service · 04
PE-Backed Portfolio & Value Creation
100-day planning, value-creation roadmaps, and operating-partner-style support for PE-backed portfolio companies. We've worked with 14 mid-market PE firms across 60+ portfolio engagements. Familiar to LPs who track quarterly OKRs at the portfolio-company level.
The Difference
Why mid-market and PE-backed leaders choose Cornerstone.
Senior Partners Do the Work
Every engagement is led day-to-day by a partner with 15+ years of operating or strategic experience — not staffed down to associates. The person who pitches your engagement is the person on the call every week. That's why our repeat rate is 95%.
HBR-Published Methodology
Our growth-diagnostic methodology has been published in Harvard Business Review and used by Fortune 500 corporate strategy teams. We share the framework openly because the value is in execution, not the deck. You'll see the framework on the first call.
240+ Engagements, 95% Repeat
Most consulting firms talk about "client outcomes." We track repeat engagement — clients hiring us for a second project — because that's the only signal that matters. 95% repeat rate over 22 years says everything we'd say in a case study.
Bounded Scope, Real Outcomes
We don't sell open-ended engagements. Every project is scoped to a specific outcome with a clear timeline (typically 60–120 days), a fixed-fee or milestone-based pricing structure, and a defined exit. We've never run a project past 6 months because the math should be settled by then.
Common Questions
You probably want to know.
What's your typical engagement size?+
Mid-market growth strategy: $145K–$385K (60–90 days). Operational improvement: $185K–$650K (90–180 days). PE-portfolio 100-day plans: $95K–$245K (60–90 days). Leadership coaching retainers: $18K–$48K/quarter. Detailed scoping after the initial conversation.
Who works on my engagement?+
A senior partner is engaged day-to-day on every project. Larger engagements include 1–2 senior consultants (10+ years operating experience). We staff thin and senior — most clients work with 2–3 named team members for the full engagement, not a rotating cast.
How do you scope an engagement?+
First call (no charge) is a 45-minute conversation about what's actually going on and what success looks like. We follow up with a written engagement proposal — scope, team, timeline, deliverables, and price. You decide. We don't run a multi-stage "sales" process.
Are you available outside Boston?+
Yes — about 40% of our engagements are headquartered outside Boston (NYC, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, plus international). Hybrid delivery — onsite for kickoff, key working sessions, and final readout; remote for the working weeks in between. Travel billed at cost.
Will my information stay confidential?+
Yes — every engagement runs under a mutual NDA. We don't publish client names, case studies, or financial detail without written consent. Most of our work is referred by past clients and PE sponsors specifically because confidentiality has held over 22 years.
Get a real conversation, not a sales pitch.
45-minute initial conversation, no charge, no pitch deck. We listen to what's actually happening, share what we've seen work and not work in similar situations, and tell you honestly whether we're the right fit. Most calls end with a clear next step.
📞 (617) 555-0114Visit Us
Boston, MA
Cornerstone Strategy Group
60 State St, Floor 24
Boston, MA 02109
Phone
(617) 555-0114Service Area
Boston · Cambridge · Greater New England · NYC · National engagements (PE-portfolio + mid-market growth)