Recently, I had the chance to sit down with a couple of managing partners in one of my favorite consulting shops. Now, the consulting shop in question, which will remain unnamed, is a small shop - probably 30 people tops, which certainly qualifies it as "boutique".
In talking to them about the niche they served, one observation they made was the contrast between the work they provided and what customers within larger companies expect. The issue? The consulting shop does all custom work, meaning they go in, do the needs analysis, get a game plan together, etc. - but the deliverables to every engagement are different as a result.
This reality apparently frustrates some project managers in larger companies, who have been trained by the big consulting firms to expect deliverables based on the time tested models they pitch as the gospel.
I'd imagine the conversation goes something like this:
Consulting Firm (my friends): Hey, it's great to be here this week. We're looking forward to digging in and finding out the best way for us to help.
Project Manager inside Fortune 500: Thanks for coming. Do you have an outline of what the deliverables will be?
Consulting Firm: Um, no. Since our work is really focused to our unique specialty, we find it's most effective for us to come in, ask a lot of questions, listen, then figure out how we can help you.
Project Manager: So you don't have slides? Can you email me something?
Why's this on my mind? First, I thought it was a cool observation by some folks who are trying to do more than go through the motions on behalf of their clients. Second, Yahoo is in the news for securing Bain to help them reduce their workforce, and Bain apparently subscribes to the "stick to the model, kids" theory, to the extent they're viewed as being a little extreme, and largely "one size fits all", regardless fo the circumstances.
From Ed Frauenheim at Workforce:
"Critics of Intel’s reorganization say the company relied too heavily on an outside consulting firm, which reportedly was Boston-based Bain & Co. And the degree to which Bain’s benchmark figures were treated as gospel in chopping people and programs led employees to jokingly call the company’s consultants the "TaliBain," critics say.
Workforce's John Hollon chimes in that the same thing has been in play for Yahoo:
"This is code, of course, for slashing staff, and Bain & Co. has a reputation for being particularly effective at this. In fact, the consultancy earned the nicknamed the “TaliBain” for the work they did in this regard at Intel, and I speculated here that Yahoo brought in Bain & Co. because Yahoo executives didn’t have the cojones to buck up and do what they knew needed to be done—i.e., get rid of a chunk of people.
And that’s why today’s Wall Street Journal story on Yahoo getting ready to do some significant cost cutting “to try to reverse its fortunes from the inside” isn’t particularly surprising. What is surprising is the notion that big staff cutbacks (rumored to be at least 1,000 out of a workforce of 14,300) will actually help the company “accelerate our performance,” as Yang previously put it."
The economic slowdown is serious business, and a lot of people are hurting. Still, when I think of the term "Taliban", I can't help but think of the "two Bobs" from Office Space who are there to run the organizational review for Lumburgh.
Except the Bobs didn't have slides. They were more analog than that...
This "I'm the expert" behavior is perpetuated by Fortune 500 managers. What I have seen is that they view their jobs as being entirely function-specific (i.e. Engineerng, Sales, Finance, etc.) and the people part is something to "let the experts handle" - and voila - no messy accountability to stick to you when things go belly up. That is how Bain and their ilk can get these huge contracts because no thinking is required by the client.
Posted by: Allen D | October 30, 2008 at 10:09 AM