I think you need to dial back the vitriol. Yes Ive seen these firms screw projects up royally (Accenture Hertz for example). Ive also seen them consistently deliver valuable insights and outcomes for their clients. Ive worked with utterly incompetent client staff (i.e. people not so dissimilar from you, maybe) and some very very good ones (also you maybe). At no point do I advocate nuking anything or anyone out of existence. Neither should you.
I’m a consultant as well. I’m confident I can deliver (with a team of trusted contractors I personally know) most of what “Big Consulting” (aka the aforementioned companies) delivers (or fail to deliver) for less than half the price and still make a significant profit, or refer the client to someone who’s more experienced in that area of business. The Hertz case is a prime example.
My post isn’t a dig against consulting, it’s a dig against “Big Consulting” where it’s more about bluff, a big brand (to prey on the “nobody has been fired for choosing X”), lots of meetings & bullshit while the actual work gets outsourced to monkeys in third-world countries with atrocious working conditions.
I want to nuke “Big Consulting” out of existence to let real consulting take its place for people like you and me.
Signed,
A Consultant