The 2019 Executive Outlook: Is It Time to Pump The Brakes?

The results of Consulting's annual Executive Outlook are in—and while the numbers still look pretty good overall, we're starting to see some signs…

| January 15, 2019

The results of Consulting's annual Executive Outlook are in—and while the numbers still look pretty good overall, we're starting to see some signs that things are slowing down after nearly a decade-long rocket ride for the economy. Firms—and clients—are starting to show signs of slowing down a little bit as clients grow cautious amid rampant uncertainty. While the economy still has a strong foundation beneath it, consulting firms are beginning to experience, at least according to our survey results, a bit of a pull-back as they report strong—but not bursting—pipelines heading in into 2019. Is it time to pump the brakes? It seems to be the appropriate question to ask for 2019 based on the results of Consulting magazine's annual Executive Outlook Survey, but it sure doesn't look like the wheels are about to fall off anytime soon—despite the stock market's shaky performance at the end of the year.  

It's worth noting that the survey was conducted in November and the early part of December, before the full-blown market volatility kicked into high gear, which could further spook clients and impact their spending habits. In all, more than 100 Managing Directors, Partners and Vice Presidents weighed in when we asked them about their business over the last 12 months, as well as what they're expecting in 2019. 

  Continued positive economic momentum combined with a massive corporate tax cut led to a pretty solid 2018 as clients continued to open their wallets and spend—at least for the majority of 2018. However, we haven't come across the current level of economic and political uncertainty in quite some time, and the markets' late-December performance certainly reflected that. Of course, a partial government shutdown does nothing to boost confidence, not to mention grinding to a halt almost all Federal spending in the public sector.

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