3 ms·
I've been in this role. It is pretty common at Fortune X00 companies to have its own people have "the answer" or "an answer" but either 1) not have the convicti
by ajiang 8y ago
I've been in this role. It is pretty common at Fortune X00 companies to have its own people have "the answer" or "an answer" but either 1) not have the conviction to bet their careers on it, i.e. don't rock the boat, 2) don't care enough to push for it, or 3) don't have the credibility to get the attention of the senior executives.
Consultants get past all three of these challenges to surface a good solution and in the process get buy-in from everyone who needs to agree in order for a major change to be made.
Additional point is that usually there is involvement of industry specific specialists that advise project teams. They put in fewer hours, as they're not needed for the more mundane project work (slide making). Often times they're hyper-specific to the topic at hand, e.g. former CEO of competitor.
- knightofmars 8y ago"1) not have the conviction to bet their careers on it, i.e. don't rock the boat, 2) don't care enough to push for it, or 3) don't have the credibility to get the attention of the senior executives." 1. Poor executive leadership. 2. Poor executive leadership. 3. Poor executive leadership. When you breed a culture of fear and silence this will always be the result. It's the CEO who says, "I'm not surrounded with people who say 'Yes' to me. I'm surrounded with people who share my vision." The CEO, after having replaced, removed, and reassigned anyone who is willing to call into question a decision made by the CEO, will make decisions without any real feedback from their executive team (an echo chamber). The alternative?[0] The CEO who lets and encourages everyone to speak their mind. The CEO who rewards those with differing opinions and seeks truth by asking "Why?" instead of shutting down dissent. The CEO who actively seeks out executive leadership that will challenge them to justify their decisions and to keep a written record of those decisions. [0]https://www.ted.com/talks/ray_dalio_how_to_build_a_company_where_the_best_ideas_win https://www.ted.com/talks/ray_dalio_how_to_build_a_company_w...
- mgmtconsultant 8y agoYou linked to a TED Talk from Ray Dalio at Bridgewater - a company that has hired McKinsey and BCG frequently. It's not as simple as just communicating. The reality is that strategy consultants sell services targeted at senior management at large corporations, a category that ~0% of Hacker News falls into.