what really goes on at top consulting firms

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<p>There are two top consulting firms which are the destinations of a lot of ivy league and MIT graduates: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and McKinsey.</p>

<p>This is an insider's look on BCG.</p>

<p>The full article is here:
The</a> story BCG offered me $16,000 not to tell - The Tech</p>

<p>
[quote]

Opinion: The story BCG offered me $16,000 not to tell</p>

<p>The city was strange and the society unnerving, but what disturbed me the most about my experience was my job as a business consultant.</p>

<p>By Keith Yost</p>

<p>STAFF COLUMNIST</p>

<p>April 9, 2010</p>

<p>The city was strange and the society was unnerving, but what disturbed me most about my Dubai experience was my job as a business consultant for the Boston Consulting Group.</p>

<p>I really had no idea what to expect, going in. In my mind, consulting was about answering business questions through analysis. It was supposed to be Excel sheets and models, sifting through data to discover profit and loss, and helping clients make decisions that would add the most value for themselves, and by extension, society.</p>

<p>It was worrisome to enter a new job without any guarantee that I would be qualified. I assumed BCG would train me, and that as it had been with MIT, intelligence and hard work would prove sufficient. Still, I wondered what I would do if for some reason it turned out that I couldn’t get my head around the analysis? In hindsight, analytical skills should have been the least of my worries.

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<p>I welcome all comments, supporting and dissenting.</p>

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<p>From the article:

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<p>Somehow I get the impression that the author would have gladly accepted the money to sign the non-disclosure agreement, if only they had tacked on an extra <em>0</em>.</p>

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<p>^^^
Yeah. THe guy is turning his back on a salary that would allow him to retire comfortably in his thirties, while donating large chunks to charity. Something tells me $16K isn’t much financial incentive to keep his trap shut.</p>

<p>And AFAIC I’m not sure what he wrote is all that shocking to me. I have no real experience as a business strategist, although I took some classes in it. So I’m sure someone who is an actual consultant will correct me.</p>

<p>But my personal opinion is that the financial side of consulting - the numbers stuff - is probably pretty valuable, and you would need a person with a strong quantitative mind. That’s where someone from MIT woudl be valuable. But the “non-quantitative marketing” and “macro-strategy” stuff (my words) - I’m not sure you can get that down to a science. For that I would much rather rely on someone with actual experience in the particular business sector than some freshfaced kid, no matter how brainy.</p>

<p>So it’s not surprising to me these recent grads are often relegated to preparing dog-and-pony powerpoint shows for clients, with their CVs prominently featured, with emphasis on education.</p>

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<p>Anyone who thinks consultants work some sort of magic has never worked with them. It is just and excuse for mgt to take a certain action with most outcomes pre-ordained.</p>

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<p>

No, that’s not what happened.</p>

<p>Read the article – he didn’t quit, he was fired.</p>

<p>Then he turned down the $16K. </p>

<p>But it doesn’t change the fact that his moral dudgeon didn’t go into high gear until after the company had already decided that they didn’t need him on staff.</p>

<p>I don’t doubt the validity of some of his critique, but it is pretty easy for a fired employee to figure out all that was wrong with the company he used to work for. A disgruntled fired employee may have motivation to exaggerate – so that’s not always the most reliable of sources.</p>

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<p>

Um, did I say he quit BCG? I don’t read that in my post.</p>

<p>He is apparently turning his back on the lucrative consulting industry… At least that’s the impression I get. If that wasn’t his plan, I suspect he may find it hard to get hired by another firm after divulging all this supposed dirty laundry.</p>

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<p>You are assuming that he could have gotten a similar job. </p>

<p>There are always at least two sides to every story.</p>

<p>The author’s own account makes it clear that he lost motivation, felt “burned out”, and clearly did not fit within the business culture. My guess is that the consulting firms hire a fresh crop of new grads each year – those that didn’t make it on job #1 probably are not much in demand for job #2. </p>

<p>I don’t doubt that many of his criticisms are valid. It’s just that many are subjective as well, and he has the viewpoint of a malcontent. </p>

<p>On one of my very first jobs out of law school I was hired to do research for a very famous trial lawyer who needed extra support during trial. He wanted a trial brief to support a particular legal theory. I had a partner, another new grad, and we went out and did the research, and came back and told the lawyer that his theory wouldn’t fly – there was no law to support it. He blew up – he yelled at us, telling us he did’t hire us to tell him why something can’t be done – he hired us to find out how it can be done.</p>

<p>I suppose my takeaway could have been that the lawyer was an idiot, but instead I took away a valuable lesson about law practice & creativity. At least in the realm of advocacy and litigation, there is always a first time, and succeeding in that field can require going out on a limb and trying a novel theory.</p>

<p>I don’t have a clue what happens in the consulting industry, but it is possible that somewhere along the line there are clients who don’t really want to be lied to about their losing business plan – but they don’t want to be told can’t, either. They would probably appreciate learning how to make it a little bit less risky. </p>

<p>It’s easy for a number cruncher to see all of the flaws in a plan, but some of the most successful businesses of our time were launched on seat-of-the-pants hope. Sometimes the most profitable ventures also started out as the riskiest. So I can see where there may have simply been a misfit between the new hire and his corporate culture. </p>

<p>I agree with your comment about recent grads and dog-and-pony powerpoints. The article’s author may have misjudged his actual role within the company. He also may have been mistaken about expectation of fake numbers. The fact that a given outcome is result-oriented doesn’t mean that the people who have made up their mind about what they want don’t want factual information – they just might be trying to drum up a better set of facts.</p>

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<p>Interesting post, calmom.</p>

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<p>The most disparaging part of the article is where he says that he analyzed a business proposal which he said would have caused the client to lose one billion dollars and his boss told him to spin it in a way that makes it sound like a good proposal.</p>

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<p>Consulting, and big-time accounting, firms hire scores of very bright young people and work to them to the bone for a few years. Then a very, very few get offered partnerships, and the rest are let go. Anyone who goes into consulting/accounting without understanding that is looking to take a fall.</p>

<p>And pure merit is not the only criterion (although it’s necessary). It’s also how well you fit into the culture of the firm. You can be the most whiz-bang analyst in the shop, clients can love you, and if you don’t schmooze the right partners in the right way, you’re going to be on the outside looking in.</p>

<p>The good firms take care of the people they let go, by helping place them with clients. That way, they keep the good will of the ex-employee and solidify their standing with the client. Arthur Andersen, before they imploded, were very good about this, at least on the accounting side. At a company I worked for, the top three finance guys were all ex-Arthur, and were tremendously loyal to their former employer; another firm trying to displace Arthur as the accounting firm for that company would have found the row very hard to hoe.</p>

<p>I did some consulting work for another of the (at the time) Big Eight accounting firms, and it was pretty much an exact opposite. When they decided to let an associate go, he or she was called into an office, given the word, escorted to his or her desk to clean out the personal effects, and escorted to the door. I actually saw this happen. I was meeting with a young lady, she was called out of the meeting, and 15 minutes later she was back, accompanied by a security person. “I just got fired,” she said, and she was gone. (I don’t want to name them because this was 25 years and several mergers ago, and things may well have changed.)</p>

<p>So if I was advising someone going into the consulting game, I’d strongly advise investigating how the prospective employer treats the non-partner-selectees - because it’s very likely that you’re going to become one.</p>

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<p>What annasdad said. I worked for one of those firms for about 10 years. He is spot on.</p>

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<p>This happens in all industries, not just in consulting.
My DH, my S, my D and I have all seen this scenario numerous times and we are all in different industries.</p>

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<p>I know that; I cited it only to contrast it with the other firm I mentioned, where when they got ready to let someone go, they worked with that person to find them a position with a client. Perhaps that mindset and practice has gone the way of the wind, as has indeed the firm that I saw doing that.</p>