Kennedy Corner
»Disruption, Financial Services and the Buffalo Bills
The year was 1996: Alanis Morissette and the Smashing Pumpkins dominated radio—we still listened to radio back then—while your Internet 1.0 experience began when your dial-up modem screeched for 20 seconds and then connected you to your AOL account. You had mail! It was in that year that Episode 7 of the fourth season of the popular SciFi drama The X-Files aired, during which a conspiracy was laid bare in a secret meeting by powerful men.
»It’s a Floorwax... It’s a Dessert Topping... Actually, it’s Both!
There are few sure things in the world. One might cite death and taxes, but only slightly down the list is the inevitable answer a Big Four consultant provides to the question “What is your firm’s strength?” Everything, of course.
»Show Me The Money
Management consulting is a cash business. Now salaries and bonuses within the consulting industry are certainly not at the stratospheric levels enjoyed by their kindred brethren in investment banking. But consultants generally do realize much-better-than-average wages relative to their counterparts in the corporate world.
»Will ‘Knowledge Workers’ (Consultants) Be Replaced by Machines? It’s Possible
The management consulting industry to date has been largely unscathed by the wave of technological change. However, there are signs that digital technologies are now beginning to disrupt the management consulting industry as well, with potentially deep and far-reaching consequences.
»A Force in Consumer Banking
Banks have been stepping up their customer satisfaction game in recent years against the typical market forces at play. The pace of change has been head-spinning for an industry not well known for its swift response to customers.
»Time To Simplify and Get Organized (Well, At Least Your Cloud Services)
The practice of adding cloud services in silos and based on specific department needs often results in overlapping and many different contracts with the same vendors.
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Travel Advisory
»Survey: Consultants Are On the Road Again
After years of fits and starts in an uncertain economy, travel is back in the consulting profession, at least according to the results of our annual Best Places to Stay survey.
»Marriott Goes Big in NYC
Marriott International, Inc. and G Holdings opened what they’re calling an “iconic addition” to the New York skyline, a combined 378-room Courtyard hotel and 261-suite Residence Inn hotel in midtown Manhattan. The $320 million, 68-story property is the tallest single-use hotel in North America.
»Best Places to Stay: Travel Bounces Back
Consultants are on the road again, at least according to the results of our annual Best Places to Stay survey.
»FAA: ‘Staffing Challenges’ Causing Delays
In case you haven’t noticed, non-weather related delays at U.S. airports are on the rise. (And I know you’ve noticed that weather-related delays are definitely on the rise.)
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Book It!
»Q&A: Keeping It Simple
BCG’s Six Simple Rules sets out to simplify some organizational complexity.
»Review: Leading the Life You Want
It seems that everyone has an opinion on work/life balance these days, but Stewart D. Friedman’s Leading the Life You Want isn’t necessarily one of them.
»Review: The Culture Map
Globalization led to the rapid connection of internationally based employees from all levels of multinational companies, and now those same employees are expected to collaborate with colleagues scattered all over the world.
»Review: Twitter is Not a Strategy
Today’s digital frenzy has led many to declare that advertising is dead… or at least dying. Is it?
»Excerpt: Procurement as Productivity
The following is an excerpt from the book Procurement 20/20: Supply Entrepreneurship in a Changing World by a quartet of McKinsey & Company consultants—Peter Spiller, Nicolas Reinecke, Drew Ungerman and Henrique Teixera.
»Review: The Risk-Driven Business Model
Most companies focus their innovation on new products.
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»In what service line will you do the majority of your client work in 2015
»Datawatch: The Best Firms to Work For survey average, 2011-2014
This Week in the Profession
»Capgemini's earnings top $12B for 2014, up 3.4%
Capgemini reported revenue of 12.05 Billion, up 3.4 percent year on year.
»Deloitte Elects Cathy Engelbert, CEO; Mike Fucci, Chairman
Cathy Engelbert has been elected CEO of Deloitte LLP, becoming the first female CEO of a major audit and consulting firm in the U.S, and Mike Fucci has been elected to the position of Chairman of the Board of Deloitte.
»KPMG and GBS oversight
Within the next three years, most global companies are expected to take up the massive project of centralizing their shared services and outsourcing operations
»Booz Allen Hamilton's Data Science Bowl
Booz Allen Hamilton and Kaggle, the online data science challenge community, announced the launch of the National Data Science Bowl.
»Things looking up in the U.K.
U.K. consultancies are heading into the election year with boosted confidence, according to the ninth edition of the Business Confidence Index (BCI) from Regus.
»Bain & Company: China's Luxury Market Shrinks in 2014
New research from Bain & Company finds changing market dynamics create new windows of opportunity for luxury labels that focus on design, fashion and exclusivity.
»EY Teams with IBM to Support Clients’ Big Data Initiatives
EY is building on its collaboration with IBM to help global clients leverage new advanced analytics and accelerate the adoption of transformational technologies.
»AlixPartners Launches Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness Practice
AlixPartners today announced the launch of its new global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness practice, which combines behavioral science and business strategy.
»KPMG: Executives See Cloud Driving Business Transformation
New data from the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG, show the increased use of cloud technology by global business to better connect with their employees and customers.
»Point B opens Dallas office
Point B opened an office in Dallas, its eighth U.S. market.
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CMAG.COM EXCLUSIVES
Features
»eCommerce Success in Pakistan: Doubling Conversions and Tripling Orders
In the last quarter, EGO's cost of customer acquisition has fallen by 70%, with conversions rates nearly doubling, and monthly orders tripling. This makes Ego’s online store its best performing store (offline or online) on a Sales AND ROI basis.
»How Visible Experts Can Transform Management Consulting Firms
Any management consulting firm worth its salt has knowledgeable experts in-house. But in today’s marketplace, simply having experts on your team isn’t enough to stay competitive: those experts need to be visible to the industry at large.
»Four Tips to Avoid the Pitfalls of Over-Servicing Your Clients
Over-servicing. Mere mention of the word—which refers to carrying out more work than necessary for a customer, often at the expense of other clients and the well-being of your firm – can elicit sighs of aggravation from staff and management alike.
»The Well-Balanced CEO is a Paranoid Optimist
No company wins all the time. It’s not realistic to think a CEO won’t face problems during their tenure. I managed NetQoS through thirty-one consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, but that winning streak was bookended by the recession after 9/11 and the great recession beginning in 2008.
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Interviews
»One on One with Lippincott’s Rick Wise
The world of branding has changed. Where the focus was once centered around design, logos and communication, brands today are looking for ways to differentiate themselves in how they reach customers. In the case of a recent engagement with Southwest Airlines, Lippincott took it to a whole new level.
»One on One with Accenture’s David Smith
As digital technology replaces antiquated analog systems in all facets of commerce at a blistering pace, so-called “blue-collar” jobs are evolving, as a greater level of technical expertise has become necessary to keep pace with modern systems.
»One on One with Navigate’s Rob Kathol
Philadelphia-based Navigate Consulting is a young firm that debuted in Consulting magazine as one of our Seven to Watch as part of our Seven Small Jewels 2014 ranking. This was in part owed to the firm’s tremendous growth over the past two years—42 percent in 2013. Founder and Managing Partner Rob Kathol says Navigate’s approach is different than many other firms.
»One on One with the Keystone Group’s Andy Rolfe
Back in 1991, Andersen consultant Andy Rolfe reached the fork in the road all-too-familiar to career consultants: to partner, or not to partner? He enjoyed his work at Andersen, where he helped them build their strategic services practice, but he believed in doing things a certain way, and knew that moving a ship as large as Andersen would take more time than he was willing to wait. So he set out on his own.
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Consultants on Consulting
»Keeping Clients Focused On ROI From IT Projects
Clients often struggle with obtaining the projected Return on Investment (ROI) from large Information Technology projects. Many key improvements are delayed to “Later Phases” that frequently don’t materialize or lose momentum. How do you maintain client focus, and deliver the value that they demand?
»The Growing Niche for Telecom Consultants
The convergence of IT and telecom has changed the landscape of telecommunications. In fact, the term “telephony” may be dying a slow death. Today, we’re primarily talking about “communications”… “IP communications.”
»5 Pricing Strategies: More Projects at Higher Fees
Look no further than the gas pumps to see the extraordinary, often nonsensical, choices made by shoppers reacting to comparisons. You may be tempted to dismiss such behavior as irrelevant and only applicable to low-impact decisions like choosing a brand of gasoline or even a new computer. However, the truth is the vast majority of choices are strongly influenced by comparisons.
»Staying Afloat in a Megatrend World
Deep-rooted economic, social and demographic trends are changing the way we live and work. It’s down to consultants to demonstrate how they can help clients stay afloat in choppy seas and anticipate the rogue waves on the horizon, argues Hay Group CEO Stephen Kaye.
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Focus: Client Industries
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Retail
»Retail’s Revolution
Retailers are rethinking the rules that have shaped their business for decades. Breakthroughs in digital and mobile technology, as well powerful emerging forces, such as smart-device-empowered consumers, are forcing retailers to re-imagine the fundamentals of retail, including a glut of brick-and-mortar space.
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High Tech
»Mind the Gap
Deloitte survey reveals a major disconnect between confidence, action among America’s top executives.
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Public Sector
»Case Study: BCG shows ‘Pathways to Education Canada’
Pathways to Education Canada is a charitable foundation created to reduce poverty and its effects by lowering the high school dropout rate among disadvantaged youth in Canada. The Pathways program is designed to help children to stay in school and graduate, thus significantly reducing dropout rates.
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Insurance
»Cover Me
You say you want a revolution? Well, we’ve got one in Insurance. The industry is accelerating toward a global transformation. Megatrends, regulations, changing demographics and technologies, as well as new products and models are dramatically altering the landscape. Do consultants have it all covered?
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Focus: Service Lines
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Strategy
»The 2015 Executive Outlook: Full Speed Ahead
It would seem, based on the results of this year's Executive Outlook survey, that consulting firm leaders feel as confident as they have in quite some time.
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Operations
»Going All In
Chuck Ritter says Point B achieved record revenue in 2014. Why stop now?
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Joseph Kornik
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief,
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Chief of Staff, Point B
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General Manager, Slalom Consulting
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Managing Director, Advisory Services, Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory
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