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Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

economist.com

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Re: Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

#191

Post by godelmachine »

crazygringo wrote: post #74
samdung wrote: post #58

I have a small story about McKinsey from friend of mine in the Indian Bureaucracy from about 10-12 years ago. McKinsey was doing some work for their dept. I asked him what they did. He said, "McKinsey asked us for lots of information. Then they put it into a dossier and gave it back to us."

To be fair, a lot of organizations can't do this on their own . Which is why they hire a consultancy. Information is siloed, teams compete rather than cooperate, any team's own dossier is going to be seen as biased and unobjective. There's real value in hiring a neutral, competent vendor to come in, assemble the relevant information using best practices, and present a "dossier" with common-sense conclusions. Then the…

Glad you mention this.

Last year, we had 2 consultants hired from some Big 4 consultancy. The manager told us to give them whatever info they need. They came with us on a grand total of 2 calls. The scheduled 3rd call we could not attend coz of overlapping schedules. They never bothered blocking my calendar and I never heard from them again.

I reckon the manager wanted to use them for some political purposes.

Re: Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

#192

Post by weard_beard »

burnte wrote: post #116
OptionOfT wrote: post #61

It was a really interesting place to work at a Software Engineer. It made me understand the business. It made me understand that doing the right thing isn't valued. You do the thing that has the shortest ROI. It also made me realize that it is horrible to build software with people who expect short term deliveries like the usual McKinsey engagement. People who expect that the automation of an Excel file takes the sam…

I work with a guy who used to be at McKinsey. He's literally the worst coworker I've ever had. Everything needs to be done yesterday, except he takes weeks between responses. He delegates nothing to his people, and constantly tries to take over things from other departments, making himself an INCREDIBLE constraint and burden. They have an insanely toxic culture there.

Not at McKinsey, but one of their competitors. I have to say there is a lot of unhealthy behavior being rewarded in lots of ways across the spectrum of consulting.

There is real work to be done in the consulting world. Its just that there are perverse incentives to not be the one doing it.

Whether an engagement is successful or goes down in flames isn't obviously apparent until it is nearly completed. Everything feels like a high school class project where the goal is to DO as little as possible and if its successful to grab as much credit as you can, and if it fails, to distance yourself from it.

Re: Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

#193

Post by artursapek »

datavirtue wrote: post #105
artursapek wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing about John Oliver is obligatory

Agreed. I watched an a show on something I knew a lot about and was appalled out how much he missed the mark and/or had an agenda. I always liked his show and tended to agree with his take until then. Great rehtoric, Im just concerned that people might be eating his shit and forming "informed" opinions on things because Oliver's team "already did all the research." Keep some salt handy.

He's one of the most obvious ragebait puppets I've ever seen. Physiognomy doesn't lie.

Re: Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

#194

Post by burnte »

aswanson wrote: post #132
burnte wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work with a guy who used to be at McKinsey. He's literally the worst coworker I've ever had. Everything needs to be done yesterday, except he takes weeks between responses. He delegates nothing to his people, and constantly tries to take over things from other departments, making himself an INCREDIBLE constraint and burden. They have an insanely toxic culture there.

That cant be good for his health.

I had to develop an entirely new way of dealing with him in order for it not to affect _my_ health. I literally went to a therapist for a bit to create a plan for working with him.

Re: Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

#195

Post by alyssM »

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Re: Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

#196

Post by mentalgear »

VHRanger wrote: post #160
throw4950sh06 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you want to regulate somebody giving advice to people for money?

Correct. The word here is not "regulate" it's "enforcement". People doing illegal things should face personal responsibility on the actions. So do managers who approved it. The issue with enforcement is the same thing that happened in 2008: enforcing white collar crimes is expensive and high risk for prosecutors who want slam dunks to advance their careers

While I agree with enforcement, without a basis in law, enforcement is not possible. And it has become apparent that much of the damage could be prevented if better policies were in place.

Unfortunately, WallStreet/Banks/Consulting are always actively lobbying to de-regulate what is left and actively block new legislation.

Re: Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

#197

Post by mentalgear »

FactKnower69 wrote: post #142
mentalgear wrote: post #82

It's not just that they're too big—it's that they're morally corrupt and largely unregulated. These firms have been involved in everything from tobacco lobbying to the 2008 financial crisis to pushing opioids, and that’s just scratching the surface. Despite their role in these crises, they’ve faced zero accountability and continue to rake in massive profits. As for their supposed value (which comes directly from ex-e…

Don't forget fixing bread prices!

What a pity, small minded argument that does only assumes absolutes.
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