A detailed and disturbing look at the consulting industry and its negative impacts on companies and governments.
Two respected researchers draw back the curtain to probe the consulting industry, and what they find is worrying.
Mazzucato and Collington, academics connected to the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at the University College London, ask an interesting, important question: What is it that consultant firms are really selling? The answer seems to be confidence—the image that they know what they are doing, with a level of expertise and knowledge higher than that of the client. Or maybe it’s more of a “confidence trick,” a sleight of hand that provides huge profits for little actual assistance. The authors deeply examine the activities of the giant consulting companies, particularly McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, and the “Big Four” accounting firms. These corporations expanded massively in the 1980s and 1990s on the back of a neoliberal wave of privatization, outsourcing, and reorganization. While they present themselves as objective advisers, their proposals usually involve cuts to staff numbers and a focus on short-term gains. Mazzucato and Collington look at several cases where their advice turned out to be spectacularly, painfully wrong—although the consultants still walked away with fattened pockets. The authors point out that the expertise of consultants is often exaggerated and tends to be generalist rather than specialized. The use of consultants undercuts the development of intellectual capital within the client organization, resulting in problems that require more consultants to fix. In the concluding section, the authors give advice to anyone considering engaging consultants, such as first examining your own organization to see if the needed expertise is already available. Clear metrics to gauge success or failure should be incorporated into a contract, and research into the record of the consulting firm is invaluable. As the authors demonstrate, these are simple steps that could save a great deal of money, time and difficulty.
A detailed and disturbing look at the consulting industry and its negative impacts on companies and governments.Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780593492673
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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