Winter Olympics - Downhill Skiing is like Management Consultancy

You only have one chance to make a first impression. 
In fact, you only have one chance each time, to make a first impression that sets the scene for that day, that job, that opportunity.
Downhill skiiers get one chance to put in a really good time - this contrasts with some Olympic sports where the competitor re-runs the same activity and the judges take "best of 2" or "best of 3".  This means you can afford to make a mistake (but the competition's still intense - everyone else has the same rules!).  Even in one-on-one competition such as Judo, each competitor gets a second chance to redeem themselves from an earlier mistake.  It becomes a game of "who makes the least mistakes wins".
But in Management Consultancy, you often don't get that lattitude.  One mistake, one slip of concentration, and you are damned. 
Of course you can approach other clients, start other jobs, but can you really afford to lose out?
Athletes train for years to prepare for the Olympics, putting in thousands of hours of intense practice for their 100 seconds of glory.  Athletes train just to attend, knowing that others will almost certainly walk away with the medals.  But it's worth it.
It does take effort, keeping up with the latest developments, focussing our solutions on the needs of our clients rather than on an approach that "should work in theory".  We put the effort in, and I believe the results speak for themselves.