Honestly my impression is that management consultants don’t need to be above average to add value, they (or more accurately, the people who implement their reco

Honestly my impression is that management consultants don’t need to be above average to add value, they (or more accurately, the people who implement their recommendations) just need to be empowered to actually do stuff. The recruiting from top schools is primarily because the people hiring them want to think their problems are hard and unique (that’s why they need consultants!) and therefore necessitate the best and brightest.