Quincy Abeyie wrote:
Kind of off topic, but how do McKinsey consultants end up being as shit as you describe them?
Based on my exposure to them and people brought in from the big four, it's often because they're asked to "consult" on matters they know very, very little about.
Here's an example, McKinsey advised the Australian government to keep its powder dry and wait for a better deal on procuring the COVID-19 vaccine doses we now lack. They "saved" the state maybe $0.5bn in order to cost in tens of billions in lockdowns. The people that run Arsenal would be proud.
Why are they doing this? Because senior bureaucrats and Cabinet don't want to learn how or be accountable. And as Jones points out, when these groups fail, they are not accountable either. Everyone profits with few consequences. The setup is broken by design.
It has nothing to do with whether they're smart or competent. When you think about it, of course someone smart and competent would hold a senior position spinning bullshit just barely plausible enough to spare everyone's blushes while the cheques are cashed.
I also have a few glaring examples from my professional life that I won't recount, and one acquaintance who's ex-McKinsey (now works somewhere more boutique but just as bad or worse) who I can personally verify is a neurotic coke fiend thoroughly disconnected from reality.
