Long ago, when a corporate brought in say McKinsey & Co, Bain & Co or Boston Consulting Group, it was a signal of real intent to the market; you might have expected a step change in that company’s strategy, a transformative sweep of policy shifts, a new broom of leaders etc.
But that perception appears to be changing.
Today, management consultants have a pretty rough time, especially when it comes to public opinion. Elitism, high charge out rates, clandestine government work, cultures of secrecy, notorious gaffes and questionable outcomes have inspired as much ire as parody, such that the chief question on the lips of any CEO today is—are they worth it?
Recent news hints at answers.
A Times of London report this week that McKinsey was paying some of its staff to leave is indicative of the wider upheaval in the non-law advisory sector. EY, PwC, Deloitte are all making cuts along with their sister firms in the management consultancy space, as corporate clients recalibrate to the post-pandemic economy. Put simply, today, the McKinseys, Bains and Bostons are increasingly seen as a luxury that few feel they can afford.
But bad press and exorbitant fees have yet to dissuade Big Law. Last week, Patrick Smith wrote about how Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling have, ahead of their May 1 merger, turned to McKinsey and KPMG for advice on the integration, with a view to helping them “shape our new firm to meet the current and future needs of our clients and colleagues”.
The firms added: “This ranges from operational integration through to ways of working, so that the strength and global reach of A&O Shearman will be underpinned by agile, effective, and client-focused processes and procedures.”
You can visualize it: the words ‘agile’ and ‘client-focused’ glowing on a PowerPoint as an Ivy-leaguer talks fulsomely about ‘processes and procedures’.
A&O Shearman, as it will soon be called, is no stranger to forking out for high end advisory services. For its initial press strategy last year, when the combination of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling was first broadcast, it enlisted the Brunswick Group—among the high-charging marquee players in corporate PR.
Now, it’s McKinsey’s turn to help A&O show the market how seriously it takes itself; that it is a force to be reckoned with. That’s if we choose to believe the perhaps dated wisdom that McKinsey can truly transform a business...
