When a small, financially troubled Kansas university faced a 24-month deadline to declare financial exigency, one consulting firm’s approach to systems optimization altered the institution’s course, creating a net-positive operational budget within 36 months. This turnaround exemplifies how strategic consulting can deliver tangible outcomes in times of crisis.
Steven Lovett, managing director and CEO of Principled Consulting Services, has built a Kansas-based consulting practice that focuses on executive development and strategic problem-solving for organizations confronting structural challenges. The firm recently received a 2025 Global Recognition Award, an achievement determined through the Rasch model evaluation process, which creates linear measurement scales for comparing applicants across different areas of excellence. Lovett brings over 25 years of experience in executive development, business strategy, enterprise risk management, and legal counsel across academia, finance, and private enterprises.
Principled Consulting Services has developed two trademarked facilitation processes designed to help senior executives approach strategic decision-making more effectively. The StrategIQ Mindset advances what the firm describes as a “create the business” mentality, distinguishing it from conventional “run the business” thinking that often dominates executive suites. The Agincourt Principle provides evaluation, design, and implementation frameworks intended to align strategic initiatives with an organization’s value proposition while maintaining grounding in market realities.
Frameworks For Strategic Decision-Making
The StrategIQ Mindset methodology operates on the premise that strategic advantage requires leaders to challenge assumptions, identify opportunities, and accept calculated risks through what the firm characterizes as counter-intuitive thinking. This three-part process aims to shift how executives approach organizational development across different industry contexts. The consulting approach addresses the reality that many organizations struggle with the transition from tactical execution to strategic innovation, a challenge that becomes particularly acute during periods of market disruption.
The Agincourt Principle takes its name from the historical battle where strategic clarity and asymmetric advantages enabled a smaller force to prevail against a larger opposition through superior positioning and disciplined execution. The methodology applies this concept to organizational strategy, focusing on how enterprises can craft distinctive value propositions and position themselves within competitive markets. Lovett’s firm utilizes this framework to guide leadership teams through the process of aligning innovation with strategic intent, ensuring that decisions remain grounded in practical market considerations.
The firm’s recent work with the struggling comprehensive university demonstrates the application of these frameworks in practice. When the institution faced potential financial exigency within two years based on its existing operational model, Principled Consulting Services conducted what it describes as systems optimization—examining structural inefficiencies, resource allocation, and strategic priorities. The engagement produced measurable financial outcomes, though the specific interventions that drove the turnaround remain proprietary aspects of the firm’s methodology.
Executive Development and Risk Management
Principled Consulting Services positions its executive development approach as addressing the full range of leadership challenges, from strategy implementation to ethical decision-making and innovation advancement. The firm’s methodology incorporates enterprise risk management as a core component, recognizing that strategic decisions carry inherent uncertainties that require systematic evaluation. Modern risk management frameworks typically integrate risk considerations directly into strategic planning and performance objectives, moving beyond traditional compliance-focused approaches.
The firm’s consulting services extend to executive onboarding and leadership transitions, areas where organizations frequently struggle to maintain strategic continuity. These capabilities address a common organizational vulnerability: the period when new senior leaders assume responsibilities and must quickly develop an understanding of operational complexities, stakeholder relationships, and strategic priorities. Lovett’s background as legal counsel and his experience in business strategy inform the firm’s approach to helping executives navigate these transitions while managing associated risks.
The Global Recognition Awards evaluation process assesses applicants across multiple dimensions, including leadership, innovation, service, and mentoring, using a grading system from minimal to exceptional. Shortlisted applicants undergo analysis using the Rasch model, which converts ordinal data into interval measures, enabling objective comparisons between candidates who demonstrate excellence in different areas. This methodology prioritizes quantifiable factors and measurable outcomes when determining recognition.
Consulting Industry Context
The consulting industry has undergone significant change in recent years, with clients increasingly demanding evidence-based approaches and measurable results over theoretical frameworks. Organizations facing strategic challenges often seek consultants who can move beyond diagnostic work to provide implementation support, particularly when confronting complex operational or financial difficulties. This shift has created opportunities for firms that can demonstrate concrete outcomes, though it has also intensified competitive pressure within the consulting market.
Principled Consulting Services operates in a landscape where consulting approaches emphasize the importance of strategic thinking combined with practical execution capabilities. The firm’s trademarked methodologies represent its approach to differentiating within this environment, offering structured processes that address how executives conceptualize strategic problems and evaluate potential solutions. Lovett founded the company in 2025, drawing on his experience in executive development, risk management, and business strategy to establish the firm’s service offerings.
The Kansas-based firm serves corporate, nonprofit, and public-sector clients, designing leadership programs and strategic planning processes intended to strengthen decision-making and organizational effectiveness. As the consulting industry continues to adapt to changing client expectations and competitive dynamics, firms differentiate through specialized methodologies, demonstrated results, and the ability to address increasingly complex strategic challenges that organizations face in volatile market conditions.
