I suppose, it could also have been a bunch of 20 somethings pushed to the brink of total exhaustion forced to come up with ways to "mitigate" certain "business

I suppose, it could also have been a bunch of 20 somethings pushed to the brink of total exhaustion forced to come up with ways to "mitigate" certain "business risks" and "enhance" positioning. The "cancer" is not that there is demand and willing buyers for consulting services, but shareholders, executives, media etc. running a very self-referential and reinforcing environment. Effectively, you will present "solutions" (for a lack of a better word) that you know that the a company knows that you expect the company to expect to see... (institutional isomorphism is a strong force)