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They're meta-managers; if the C-suite has a high-stakes business decision they can't afford to screw up, they call McKinsey. Or Bain. Or BCG. The big draw isn'

They're meta-managers; if the C-suite has a high-stakes business decision they can't afford to screw up, they call McKinsey. Or Bain. Or BCG. The big draw isn't McKinsey's perfection; it's the C-suite anxiety and absence of anything better. If you want to drive a stake through the heart of management consulting, knock the C-suite down a peg so they lose their god complex, or come up with a business model better than McKinsey's for enabling business outcomes. Neither has happened in 50 years, or will, so no, it's not the end for Mckinsey. Nor is it business as usual.

hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
In my experience, this rationale is absolutely not why McKinsey is hired. One of the most important roles that McKinsey can take is a third party willing to provide cover. E.g. often times a CEO hires McKinsey to rubber stamp a decision he's already made. Let's say the CEO wants to have a big layoff to boost profits (at least in the short term). Hiring McKinsey basically provides a veneer of objectivity, and within the org, McKinsey can help deflect some of the blame ("Man this sucks, can you believe that McKinsey!")
- abofh 2y ago
  Mostly this - McKinsey isn't hired to bring in a unique perspective, they're hired to paper up a decision that the person hiring McKinsey wants to make. They charge a pound of flesh and give you a pile of research saying this is how to accomplish your goal, not here are the goals you should have considered.
- unyttigfjelltol 2y ago
  Yes, I've seen the silly caricature videos. The consultant strenuously begging the CEO for the preferred answer at the start of the engagement. But ask yourself-- how does seeking confidential advice, disclosed to no one outside the C-suite accomplish a supposed blame-avoidance function?No, a simpler explanation is that the executives spotted a key business decision coming up and to get the decision right they call their figurative B-school professors for advice. Their genuine advice, which you can of course criticize on the merits. In a world that earned your personal experience, where this instead was a cynical exercise in posturing, first, what an odd way to kick off a cost-cutting initiative, and second, where are all the news release announcing that McKinsey told businesses X, Y and Z to conduct layoffs to boost profits? I just googled it-- the only announcents are McKinsey's own layoffs. The engagements certainly don't appear designed to shift blame. That leaves the uncomfortable possibility that the recipients of this advice, for reasons you don't understand actually value it and want to know what the management consultants have to say.
  - hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
    > how does seeking confidential advice, disclosed to no one outside the C-suite accomplish a supposed blame-avoidance function? Why do you seem to think this is the norm?
    - unyttigfjelltol 2y ago
      Well ... "For 92 years, the firm has held fast to the dictum of never disclosing names of clients or the advice it gives. We were intrigued by a company that seemed to be everywhere — and nowhere at the same time." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-hedge-fund-reporting-investigation.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-he... What makes you think the firm would allow clients to advertise its name or advice in any way?
      - hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
        > What makes you think the firm would allow clients to advertise its name or advice in any way? You've got it backwards. McKinsey itself doesn't disclose their clients or their advice, but their clients are, AFAIK, under no such obligation. More to the point, it's not so much about broadcasting to the rest of the world, it's about giving cover internally within a huge enterpise that "hey, we're just following McKinsey's advice", and certainly nearly everyone internally knows that McKinsey is involved.

hn_throwaway_99 2y ago

In my experience, this rationale is absolutely not why McKinsey is hired. One of the most important roles that McKinsey can take is a third party willing to provide cover. E.g. often times a CEO hires McKinsey to rubber stamp a decision he's already made. Let's say the CEO wants to have a big layoff to boost profits (at least in the short term). Hiring McKinsey basically provides a veneer of objectivity, and within the org, McKinsey can help deflect some of the blame ("Man this sucks, can you believe that McKinsey!")

abofh 2y ago
Mostly this - McKinsey isn't hired to bring in a unique perspective, they're hired to paper up a decision that the person hiring McKinsey wants to make. They charge a pound of flesh and give you a pile of research saying this is how to accomplish your goal, not here are the goals you should have considered.
unyttigfjelltol 2y ago
Yes, I've seen the silly caricature videos. The consultant strenuously begging the CEO for the preferred answer at the start of the engagement. But ask yourself-- how does seeking confidential advice, disclosed to no one outside the C-suite accomplish a supposed blame-avoidance function?No, a simpler explanation is that the executives spotted a key business decision coming up and to get the decision right they call their figurative B-school professors for advice. Their genuine advice, which you can of course criticize on the merits. In a world that earned your personal experience, where this instead was a cynical exercise in posturing, first, what an odd way to kick off a cost-cutting initiative, and second, where are all the news release announcing that McKinsey told businesses X, Y and Z to conduct layoffs to boost profits? I just googled it-- the only announcents are McKinsey's own layoffs. The engagements certainly don't appear designed to shift blame. That leaves the uncomfortable possibility that the recipients of this advice, for reasons you don't understand actually value it and want to know what the management consultants have to say.
- hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
  > how does seeking confidential advice, disclosed to no one outside the C-suite accomplish a supposed blame-avoidance function? Why do you seem to think this is the norm?
  - unyttigfjelltol 2y ago
    Well ... "For 92 years, the firm has held fast to the dictum of never disclosing names of clients or the advice it gives. We were intrigued by a company that seemed to be everywhere — and nowhere at the same time." https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-hedge-fund-reporting-investigation.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/reader-center/mckinsey-he... What makes you think the firm would allow clients to advertise its name or advice in any way?
    - hn_throwaway_99 2y ago
      > What makes you think the firm would allow clients to advertise its name or advice in any way? You've got it backwards. McKinsey itself doesn't disclose their clients or their advice, but their clients are, AFAIK, under no such obligation. More to the point, it's not so much about broadcasting to the rest of the world, it's about giving cover internally within a huge enterpise that "hey, we're just following McKinsey's advice", and certainly nearly everyone internally knows that McKinsey is involved.