By: Mae Cornes
A consulting firm based in Kansas is changing how executives think about their organizations—not by offering more data or analysis, but by teaching leaders to question the very assumptions that shape their strategies.
Principled Consulting Services, led by Managing Director and CEO Steven Lovett, has built its practice around two proprietary methodologies that challenge conventional consulting wisdom. The firm recently received a 2025 Global Recognition Award for its work in executive development and strategic innovation. The Kansas-based company’s real story lies in how it helps leaders move beyond the familiar and into uncharted strategic territory.
Lovett, who previously served as General Counsel and Vice President of Risk Management at Emporia State University before founding the firm, brings a background in commercial law, corporate governance, and risk management to the consulting work. His experience working with government agencies, banking institutions, healthcare entities, and private industry provides him with exposure to the complex strategic challenges that executives face across various sectors.
Shifting Executive Mindsets
The StrategIQ Mindset, one of the firm’s two trademarked processes, focuses on developing what Lovett calls a “create the business” mentality rather than the traditional “run the business” approach. The methodology trains executives to identify invisible boundaries within their organizations—assumptions about markets, customers, competitors, and internal capabilities that often go unchallenged simply because they are familiar.
The three-part process encourages leaders to challenge inherited beliefs and reframe problems in ways that reveal new possibilities. According to the firm’s materials, strategic advantage belongs to leaders who are willing to take calculated risks and shape their organization’s future through counterintuitive thinking. This approach represents a shift in how senior leaders approach decision-making and organizational development across industries.
The firm’s second methodology, the Agincourt Principle, takes its name from the historical battle where a smaller force overcame a larger adversary through strategic clarity and disciplined execution. The system uses real-world expertise to guide executives in aligning initiatives with their organization’s unique value proposition, ensuring that strategic decisions remain forward-thinking and grounded in market realities.
Practical Application in Crisis Situations
The precision of Principled Consulting Services’ approach is shown in its work with a comprehensive university facing financial exigency. The institution had a 24-month deadline based on maintaining the status quo, but the firm’s systems optimization created a net-positive operational budget within 36 months. This turnaround required not just cost-cutting but a rethinking of the university’s operational model.
The firm’s methodology addresses the complete spectrum of executive challenges, from vision and strategy implementation to ethical decision-making and innovation advancement. Lovett’s approach to enterprise risk management integrates strategic thinking with practical implementation, setting the firm apart in an industry where many consultants focus on one aspect or the other.
Principled Consulting Services provides executive onboarding processes that offer strategic support for leadership transitions and risk management expertise, enabling organizations to make informed decisions in complex operational environments. The firm’s mentoring capabilities extend beyond individual development to include organizational change and the creation of frameworks that impact talent development initiatives through comprehensive program design.
Building a Different Kind of Consulting Practice
Lovett launched Principled Consulting Services in 2025, marking a significant milestone after years of providing executive consulting services to various organizations. The firm’s focus on helping executives see beyond the obvious and question familiar assumptions reflects Lovett’s broader experience in corporate strategy, governance, and compliance.
The consulting work combines strategic planning, leadership development, and risk management—three disciplines that Lovett has spent decades mastering through his corporate legal work and executive roles. His academic background also includes teaching business law, ethics, and social responsibility at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has authored a textbook on applied ethics, numerous scholarly papers and articles. He is in the process of writing a new book focused on executive development through the use of the StrategIQ Mindset.
For executives navigating today’s business environment, where traditional methods often fall short, the firm offers a framework for challenging assumptions and creating sustainable competitive advantages. The work requires leaders to move beyond inherited beliefs and familiar patterns—a difficult but necessary shift for organizations seeking to shape their own futures rather than respond to market forces.
