Have McKinsey and its consulting rivals got too big?

AN ANONYMOUS memo briefly circled the web in March. The authors, who claimed to be former partners at McKinsey, rebuked the illustrious strategy consultancy for its pursuit in recent years of “unchecked and unmanaged growth”, and chastised its leadership for, of all things, a “lack of strategic focus”. With humility typical of McKinseyites, they warned that “an organisation of genuine greatness” was at risk of being lost.

The memo, which was swiftly taken down, is but the latest murmur of discontent at McKinsey. In January, Bob Sternfels, its managing partner, was forced into an internal contest for the top job after he failed to clinch support for re-election from a majority of senior partners in an initial round of voting. Although he ultimately prevailed, the saga hinted at the trouble brewing within the firm.

Not long ago, the consulting industry looked indestructible. Fees rocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic as clients sped up efforts to digitise their businesses, diversify their supply chains and respond to growing calls to bolstered their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials. The consulting revenues of the industry’s most important firms – including the triumvirate of strategy advisers (Bain, BCG and McKinsey), the “Big Four” accounting giants (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC) and Accenture (also the world’s largest outsourcer) – grew by 20 per cent in 2021 and then 13 per cent in 2022.