McKinsey -- Opus Dei?
Saw an interesting article on Bloomberg this week in which McKinsey and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants are said to be "secretive societies" much like Opus Dei. Very topical - and as an ex-RB consultant myself, something that immediately caught the eye.
The article actually centres on the publication of a new "consulting exposé" book, which critiques the secretive worlds of firms such as McKinsey & Roland Berger. And whilst I've slammed the work of David Craig for being too one-sided, this new release appears at first glance to be more balanced...
"Consultancies have a strong ability to create priorities. What they can do is force companies and executives to set goals. And they can ask strategically important questions because they come from outside and have certain experience. They can also use knowledge from previous consulting contracts to help clients."
So we're not all bad then - not all out to plunder our clients with no tangible return for our fees. There's also a valid commentary on clients' increasing professionalism in managing the consulting projects they initiate - and taking some responsibility themselves for seeing that the project does not get waylaid.
My German's pretty shaky though, so I'll have to leave the detailed appraisal to others. If any readers want to add comments on this new work, feel free to do so here...
Tony
The article actually centres on the publication of a new "consulting exposé" book, which critiques the secretive worlds of firms such as McKinsey & Roland Berger. And whilst I've slammed the work of David Craig for being too one-sided, this new release appears at first glance to be more balanced...
"Consultancies have a strong ability to create priorities. What they can do is force companies and executives to set goals. And they can ask strategically important questions because they come from outside and have certain experience. They can also use knowledge from previous consulting contracts to help clients."
So we're not all bad then - not all out to plunder our clients with no tangible return for our fees. There's also a valid commentary on clients' increasing professionalism in managing the consulting projects they initiate - and taking some responsibility themselves for seeing that the project does not get waylaid.
My German's pretty shaky though, so I'll have to leave the detailed appraisal to others. If any readers want to add comments on this new work, feel free to do so here...
Tony
posted by Tony Restell (Top-Consultant.com) @ 8:22 AM
19 Comments:
At 11:53 AM,
Anonymous said…
Tony, I do not think myself that anyone, including David Craig has claimed that "management consultants" are all bad or all charlatans. The accusation is that some (perhaps an increasing proportion) are, but I think everyone accepts that there are some really well-qualified, knowledgable and significantly experienced consultants out there. The difficulty today perhaps is finding them, since an increasing number of consultancies seem to be employing almost exclusively young, inexperienced consultants in engagements, and foisting them on clients as if they were highly experienced experts?
We seem to have lost sight of the reality of experience. It just is not possible for anyone at the age of 22 to be an real expert in or master of anything, particularly with the complexity of the modern commercial world. No one ever was at that age. We often may think we are - but that is completely different!
The other problem I believe is that generally the market has perhaps lost the understanding of what a real Management Consultant is, and conversely what an IT consultant is? It is this confusion which perhaps leads to some of the problems, and failures.
At 2:06 PM,
Anonymous said…
In defense of the young inexperienced consultants I'd like to say that Mr.Anon has to understand that most of the best IT consultant are in the younger age group as they are from the generation of people that grew up using IT and really do understand it, its the older generation of so called experienced consultants that need to get up to speed in terms of how IT has forced businesses of today to change. The knowledge and experience of younger consultants should not be taken lightly. Yes, you can be an expert at the age of 22!
At 3:16 PM,
Anonymous said…
Quod et demonstrandum
At 10:45 PM,
Anonymous said…
Consultants' image resembles that of cab-drivers: everybody is supposed to hate them (especially if you are a driver), but they are very useful to go from A to B...and most of them charge you a fair price.
At 8:16 AM,
Anonymous said…
I'd suggest it is equally as questionable to opine that "the older generation of so called experienced consultants that need to get up to speed in terms of how IT has forced businesses of today to change." as to imply that all younger professionals have not the experience. Being both "older" and an expert consultant in both Management and IT disciplines, I can confidently claim success and recognition in both fields.
Better to focus one's thinking in more productive areas, possibly, and take the opprotunity to advance one's competency in every area.
At 10:22 AM,
Anonymous said…
Ah, then Annon 8.16 a.m., you will be aware and will have actually experienced the genesis of IT in business. You will understand that it was not and is not in fact that "IT has forced business to change...". The original concept of all automation was to enable business processes to be run without human intervention and to run more efficiently and with lower costs? IT was supposed to be a tool to improve the efficiency and profitability of business whilst maintaining the original quality of service and delivery. It has not done this.
What has actually happened so far with IT in business is that because most IT solutions were configured by young inexperienced SW nerds, with no proper understanding of business in most cases, it was not and is not properly stable; it is riddled with glitches and defects; it has strictured many of the preferred original business and management processes and has generally caused problems in business rather than having yet delivered the promised optimal advantages and benefits. This is why we are "upgrading" systems continually. It is not that we are really upgrading in the proper sense of the word; we are desparately trying to put things right and get the wretched systems to be thoroughly stable, glitch free and to more closely provide the original business and management processes, (most of all anywhere one particular American SW company has had anything to do with the operating system being used).
The problem is that because IT has never yet delivered its original promise in most business and management processes we have so far compromised by making the business try to fit the IT. It has become a case of the tail wagging the dog so to speak almost always so far. Those like our incensed, evidently somewhat inexperienced respondent here believe they are so important that this is the way it should be!!I trust you know better?
At 7:17 PM,
Daryl Mather said…
The original thread here was about the continual attacks on the consulting profession by a few ex-"insiders".
As a career consultant I am the first to admit that there are some dubious practices that go on inside the game.
However it has been my experience that by far the majority of consultancy companies are genuinely engaged in the long game. That is, adding value to clients, to ensure they get repeat business, and continue along their growth forecasts long after the work at this "golden" client is completed.
Want to know which consultancies are either not up to it, or not ethical? Look at the repeat business pipeline... the market tends to sort itself out most of the time.
At 2:32 AM,
Anonymous said…
But surely Daryl, the problem with that is that if cronyism or nepotism is existent then repeat business will be automatically serial, and is not then any indicator of competent performance, relative to the natural market sanction?
At 3:54 PM,
Daryl Mather said…
Dear Anon,
I think thast in the short term you are right. But in the longer term, in my experience, the lack of results delivery tends to cause questions to be asked.
There is a need to clarify terms like "nepotism" also. Does this mean not relying on "known quantities". Such as consultancies that have been used previously?
I prefer to work with people I know. And only when they have delivered me results previously.
Cheers,
Daryl...
At 10:54 AM,
Anonymous said…
Nepotism is defined clearly in the OED and evidently does not include things like "using consultancies you have used previously" unless you had selected those consultancies for nepotistic reasons in the first place.
At 3:31 PM,
Daryl Mather said…
Dear Anon, (One of many it seems, maybe even a different one...)
Does this then mean that cronyism is using proven sources?
My point is that what appears to an outsider to be cronyism may be a strategy of using people who have delivered the goods in the past.
I maintain the original point, the market tends to sort out the wheat from the chaff over time.
Cheers,
Daryl...
At 9:53 AM,
Dennis Jones said…
It is interesting to note how IT has changed things, as a semi retired consultant I worked for major companies for 30 years. When I started in the 70's there were no desk top computers and the offices were a buzz of activity with people on the phone to customers and generally doing things. Now contrast this to a current office in the same company and everything is quiet and people are staring at screens all day and waiting for things to respond to. First of all this makes people reactive rather than proactive and secondly allows people to pretend to be working. I am not at all convinced that many of the so called IT revolution benefits have actually been worthwhile. IT has swallow up enormous amounts of society's resources and delivered little apart from a faster postal system called email.
At 8:31 AM,
Oz said…
The article you saw is likely a review of 'Beraten und Verkauft' by Thomas Lief. Some interesting insights; best chapter is about a journalist's experience of the McKinsey recruitment process. Most of it is tedious stuff about waste in the German public sector. Unlikely to be translated. Not recommended unless it is required reading.
Bill
At 11:34 AM,
Anonymous said…
And there is the occasional proof, Daryl, that the cronyism and deceit do exist from the "real" Management Consultants. Charlatans and cab drivers, move over. McKinsey is in the house.
http://www.courtbriefs.com/PDF_Files/CCCOOK06CH16737CA.pdf
At 2:06 PM,
Anonymous said…
I am looking for an electronic copy of the book 'The Mckinsey Way'. Is there anyone willing to help. My e-mail is ishmaeld@netsurit.com.
At 6:28 PM,
Anonymous said…
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At 10:31 AM,
SUBHASHIS said…
I do agree with your thoughts . Much of the user's disdain arises from the fact that consultants set goals , priorities and DEADLINES which create discomfort .
Do visit me at http://ethicsandleadership.blogspot.com ; Would love to hear from you all and I would also provide a cross-link to this blog
Best Wishes
Subhashis
At 5:31 PM,
Anonymous said…
McKinsey: Most Overated Consulting Firm
How amazing is this. McKinsey has this reputation but it's all smoke and "translucent green mirrors" - a popular decor in their offices. While interviewing, I could hear the interviewers exchange jokes about me and other candidates right outside my interviewing room. Did they think I couldn't hear. I guess this is what they mean when they say they have a "fun" culture.
To be honest I wasn't too impressed with their consultants. While explaining to them my mathematical reasons for one of my answers, the interviewer, a partner I believe, seemed dumb-founded. Perhaps a little above his head. They later said that I didn't have the mathematical skills for the job. Oh McKinsey, please tell my Columbia math professors who I think would whole-heartedly disagree.
I give a solid "A" to their marketing department for creating this reputation of theirs. Probably explaining how they can charge their exorbitant consulting fees - well above the mean but not indicative of their number crunching abilities - which they tout. They certainly go overboard with displaying the pedigrees of some of their consultants on their web-site. But I can say that having that pedigree, it just merely conjures up popular notions about some sort of superiority. The pedigree has some great brand equity though, which McKinsey seems to pride themselves on, and sells to the highest bidder. As I said, I guess there's one born every minute.
At 11:56 PM,
Redeeming People said…
Any have experience beginning at Mckinsey or other global strategy consulting firm two years out of college? I've a Wharton MBA but am currently working in the Federal Government as a Presidential Management Fellow. Do tell please!
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