If I didn't know any better, and maybe I don't, I might just say that we've moved past the economy—finally!—as the hottest topic in consulting. Why would I say that? Well, this is the issue where we recognize the Top 25 Consultants, our annual celebration of the best work being done by the best consultants.
Take a look at this year's Top 25 Consultants— read their stories, listen to what they're talking about, see what they're saying about their clients and their demands, about their practice's growth, their firm's growth, about expansion into new markets and new disciplines; and about their plans for the future.
The future? Heck, we haven't planned for that for at least a few years now. Let's just hope we all haven't forgotten how to do it, but these Top 25 Consultants are going to give it a try, that's for sure.
But what's not there may say more about where we are than what is. Here's what I don't see: belt-tightening, layoffs, a lack of recruiting, drastic cost cutting measures, retrenching, and a paralyzing fear of investing. These were all the rage the last few years. Firms, for sure, are still being very careful about spending and will continue to try to manage the firm as efficiently as possible in the months ahead. And they should.
But all this got me wondering: Is this what normal feels like? And I mean the good old normal, not this "new" normal we've been hearing so much about. (C'mon, you can remember normal, can't you? It wasn't that long ago.)
Yep, it sure looks like it's back and it feels great. But here comes the touch of gray in this silver lining. Just a few pages before our Top 25 section begins, we have little rain on our Normal parade—a Deloitte survey that says the recovery has all but stalled, and 528 mid-market C-level executives have shifted from 'cautious optimism' to 'increased uncertainty' about the economy. Bah humbug.
Don't these executives realize that fretting about the economy is so the last four years? It's gone. It's over. It's yesterday's news. Today, the new way of thinking is all about the old normal.
Well it is, isn't it?
Joseph Kornik
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
jkornik@consultingmag.com
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