Comments on: Good reads from the consulting blogosphere, plus a great site for case interview preparation http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/good-reads-from-the-consulting-blogosphere-plus-a-great-site-for-case-interview-preparation/ Consulting resumes, interviews, jobs, and case studies Tue, 15 May 2012 01:13:52 +0000 hourly 1 By: kgao http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/good-reads-from-the-consulting-blogosphere-plus-a-great-site-for-case-interview-preparation/comment-page-1/#comment-282 kgao Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:55:10 +0000 http://managementconsulted.com/?p=796#comment-282 @Consultant99 - that was the big one (in fact, I commented on that post noting precisely that). But this is a helpful description for MC readers. Thanks! @Consultant99 – that was the big one (in fact, I commented on that post noting precisely that). But this is a helpful description for MC readers. Thanks!

]]> By: Consultant99 http://managementconsulted.com/business-consulting/good-reads-from-the-consulting-blogosphere-plus-a-great-site-for-case-interview-preparation/comment-page-1/#comment-281 Consultant99 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:16:43 +0000 http://managementconsulted.com/?p=796#comment-281 Not sure what factual errors you refer to in "Avoid these 5 stupid mistakes", but the assertion that the "Big 5" includes both Bain and Accenture is quite the whopper. I think you have a good post on this in your archive, but FWIW... The Big 5 are Accenture (spun-off from Arthur Andersen), Deloitte, PwC, Bearing Point (spun-off from KPMG), and Cap Gemeni (acquired Earnst & Young's spun-off consulting biz). Their favorite projects are giant IT systems integrations, anything employing armies of coders, big outsourcing deals, and other giant projects that deliver smooth, steady returns to their public shareholders. A typical project could be $50M to $5B and deliver a single-digit profit margin. They hire literally tens of thousands of analysts a year. They use strategy projects as loss leaders to win systems integrations and outsourcing work. The "Big 3" strategy shops are McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. The term "Big" is a misnomer, as these "Big 3" are together less than 1/5 the size of Accenture. Their hiring is in the few hundreds to low thousands a year, which makes them extremely selective. These are private partnerships, and a typical project is $2-10M with margins of 25-50%. Strategy is their bread-and-butter, but they'll offer operations and organization advice if it helps with the strategy stuff they'd really rather do. In other words, the firms couldn't be more different. Their work, their clients, their approach, their comp models, and what people do at these firms are entirely different. It's only a slight exaggeration to say that the fact that they're called "consultants" is all they have in common. Not sure what factual errors you refer to in “Avoid these 5 stupid mistakes”, but the assertion that the “Big 5″ includes both Bain and Accenture is quite the whopper. I think you have a good post on this in your archive, but FWIW…

The Big 5 are Accenture (spun-off from Arthur Andersen), Deloitte, PwC, Bearing Point (spun-off from KPMG), and Cap Gemeni (acquired Earnst & Young’s spun-off consulting biz). Their favorite projects are giant IT systems integrations, anything employing armies of coders, big outsourcing deals, and other giant projects that deliver smooth, steady returns to their public shareholders. A typical project could be $50M to $5B and deliver a single-digit profit margin. They hire literally tens of thousands of analysts a year. They use strategy projects as loss leaders to win systems integrations and outsourcing work.

The “Big 3″ strategy shops are McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. The term “Big” is a misnomer, as these “Big 3″ are together less than 1/5 the size of Accenture. Their hiring is in the few hundreds to low thousands a year, which makes them extremely selective. These are private partnerships, and a typical project is $2-10M with margins of 25-50%. Strategy is their bread-and-butter, but they’ll offer operations and organization advice if it helps with the strategy stuff they’d really rather do.

In other words, the firms couldn’t be more different. Their work, their clients, their approach, their comp models, and what people do at these firms are entirely different. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that the fact that they’re called “consultants” is all they have in common.

]]>