Money Talks: Managing the consultants
Money Talks from The Economist
The Economist
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 October 2022
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The image of management consultants has taken a pounding in recent years, giving the industry a reputation for unscrupulousness on par with investment bankers. And a recent difficulties and controversies at the three most prestigious firms - McKinsey, Bain and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), known collectively as MBB - hasn’t exactly helped the perception that they serve mostly to bamboozle CEOs while collecting fat fees. Can the industry be reformed?
On this week’s episode, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Soumaya Keynes are joined by our global business correspondent Thomas Lee Devlin to find out more about the booming business for advice, and the problems that bedevilling the industrry. They also speak with New York Times journalists Michael Forsythe and Walt Bogdanich about their newly-published book, “When McKinsey Comes to Town”, looking at failures at the most prestigious consultancy, McKinsey - failures that McKinsey says misrepresent its business.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Money talks from the economist is sponsored by Invest Puerto Rico. |
| 0:06.0 | More than just a Caribbean paradise, Puerto Rico is a business powerhouse. |
| 0:11.0 | This U.S. territory is a fast-growing hub for innovators. |
| 0:15.0 | Puerto Rico boasts numerous tax credits, business incentives, |
| 0:19.0 | and world-class talent that take your business to the next level. |
| 0:23.0 | Find out why at InvestPR.org. |
| 0:26.0 | Gamechangers, welcome home. |
| 0:30.0 | Chances are you've heard of the big three consulting firms known as M-B-B, |
| 0:36.0 | McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and Bane. |
| 0:40.0 | And chances are, if you've heard of them recently, it hasn't been positive. |
| 0:53.0 | Bane has come under fire. |
| 0:55.0 | Bane South Africa has withdrawn its membership from business leadership |
| 0:59.0 | to South Africa and apologise for inflicting damage on these South African-riven news services. |
| 1:04.0 | BCG has been criticized for its ties to Muhammad bin Salman. |
| 1:08.0 | And also advising controversial politicians in Angola. |
| 1:12.0 | This article focuses on the role of U.S. firms in helping her build and park that fortune abroad, |
| 1:19.0 | including renowned firms like the Boston Consulting Group. |
| 1:22.0 | And McKinsey, well, it's probably received the worst headlines of all recently. |
| 1:28.0 | It's been accused of encouraging insurers to slash claims payouts to poor households. |
| 1:33.0 | And also from profiting from ill-gotten contracts with state-owned companies in South Africa. |
| 1:38.0 | McKinsey's new global headers apologise to South Africans for work the firm did with friends of former president Jacob Zuma. |
| 1:46.0 | And don't forget the allegations that it helped opioid manufacturers peddle their products to the addicted. |
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