2024-04-03
11 分钟The Economist. Hi, this is Tom Lee Devlin,
co-host of Money Talks, our weekly podcast on markets, the economy and business.
Welcome to Editor's Picks.
Here's an article handpicked from the latest edition of The Economist, read aloud.
An anonymous memo briefly circled the web in March.
The authors, who claim to be former partners at McKinsey,
rebuke the illustrious strategy consultancy for its pursuit in recent years of unchecked and unmanaged growth,
and chastised its leadership for, of all things, a lack of strategic focus.
With humility typical of McKinseyites,
they warn that an organisation of genuine greatness was at risk of being lost.
The memo, which was swiftly taken down,
is but the latest murmur of discontent at McKinsey.
In January, Bob Sternfeld's, its managing partner,
was forced into an internal contest for the top job after he failed to clinch support for re-election from a majority of senior partners in an initial round of voting.
Although he ultimately prevailed, the saga hinted at the trouble brewing within the firm.
Not long ago, the consulting industry looked indestructible.
Fees rocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic as clients sped up efforts to digitise their businesses,
diversify their supply chains and respond to growing calls to bolster their environmental,
social and government's, or ESG, credentials.
The consulting revenues of the industry's most important firms,