Tom Spencer Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 Duff McDonald has produced a history of McKinsey called The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business. One of McDonald's central questions is "how do these guys keep getting away with it?" McKinsey's has been involved in a large number of corporate failures over the decades. Enron was the creation of Jeff Skilling, a former McKinsey consultant. Enron, which ultimately went bankrupt in 2001, paid McKinsey $10m a year for advice, and McKinsey fully endorsed the accounting methods that caused the company to implode. Financial Crisis - McKinsey also advised most Wall Street banks during the credit boom of 1990s, and supported the securitisation of mortgage assets, a practice that destabilised the global financial system. Corruption - Rajat Gupta, former MD of McKinsey, was convicted for insider trading in 2012 for passing confidential information to billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnama. Yet McKinsey somehow keeps bouncing back. Understanding Mckinsey's history is quite enlightening, and disturbing. For example, McDonald chronicles the work of Arch Patton, a McKinsey consultant during the 1950s, who promoted higher pay for America's corporate bosses. At one stage Mr Patton accounted for a tenth of the firm's billings. For more details, read the reviews on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CbrConsultant Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Finished reading the book a few weeks ago and is quite an interesting look at the Management Consulting industry in general as well as McKinsey in particular. Definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to pursue a career as a Management Consultant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleysherman Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 I think the answer lies in the vast alumni network that McKinsey has amassed over the years. It is no secret that many key people currently with vast influence over the global business network began their careers as management consultants and of the Big Three McKinsey has the most employees and has been around the longest. I'm interested in reading the book and seeing if it touches on this key aspect of the company. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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