Top 5 Myths of Management Consulting

After a long time, I decided to revisit my blog space to shed some light on my consulting experience lately. Today, I'd like to share the top 5 myths of management consulting that I've come to realize in my short span of work :)

1. Consultants live in the glamour world, travel in limos, eat lavish cuisines and stay in the best of hotels - To say the least, this is the biggest myth of consulting. The life of a consultant is in the hands of the client. If the client is an extravagant spender, you might as well be living life to the fullest, but if the client is a cheapskate or located in a small town... hehe.. you might end up in a ridiculous guest house with shared bathrooms in a remote location with the nearest shop at a distance of 10 miles ! Trust me, I've experienced both extremes :D

2. Consultants can set everything right -A lot of clients think consultants are the know-it-all. Well actually the truth is you know you're business best !! In fact there are lots of jokes on consultants that ... ahem.. well sound interesting:

• A consultant borrows your watch to tell you the time.
• What does a consultant do when he sees light at the end of the tunnel? - Sell more tunnel
• A consultant knows every position, but has never had sex
• Consultants are like seagulls - they fly in, shit all over and then fly out again

Of course, consultants can add value to your business (with their frameworks and analysis etc.) but only if you know your own painpoints well :)

3. Consultants get to meet CXOs and spend hours in the boardroom discussing strategy - This is a myth most entry level consultants/analysts have. You don't get to meet a CXO every month. In fact, you might not get to meet a CXO in years (I'm discussing CXOs because the top point contact varies with the type of consulting. Eg: strategy consultants - CEO, risk/controls consultants - CFO, etc.) It's usually the top rung of the consulting firms - partners/directors/senior managers that get to speak on a steering committee meet. All the others are busy delivering the project :P

4. Once you're in a top rung strategy consulting firm (Mck/BCG/Bain), you wouldn't give up your job for a million bucks ! - Because consulting is such a sought after field, most people think top strategy consultants love doing their jobs and can do 'em for years. Most do love their jobs, but after a couple of years, some realize that they are missing out on the real action. They dont want to give advice any more but want to do the real thing. These consultants either:

• return to the industry,
• become an entrepreneur, or
  
• join PE/VC firms

5. Consultants can get projects from clients on the backbone of the brand of their company - This is another monstrous myth that I've come to realize. Most believe that consultants can get projects that their companies are known for doing best very easily. The company brand does play a part but you can't expect a partner pitching for a strategy project and nailing it even if operations consulting is written all over his resume and he's never done strategy projects in his life. It is in fact the reverse. The resume of the partner/director pitching for the project is much more important than the company brand. I've seen big fish consulting firms lose pitches just because they didnt have their best guys in for the pitch !

Well, there are numerous other myths I would like to share with you, but I'll just postpone it for a later post :)

Cheers,
P