The Big Con cover art

The Big Con

How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies

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The Big Con

By: Mariana Mazzucato, Rosie Collington
Narrated by: Amy Finegan
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

There is an entrenched relationship between the consulting industry and the way business and government are managed today which must change. Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington show that our economies' reliance on companies such as McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY stunts innovation, obfuscates corporate and political accountability and impedes our collective mission of halting climate breakdown.

The 'Big Con' describes the confidence trick the consulting industry performs in contracts with hollowed-out and risk-averse governments and shareholder value-maximizing firms. It grew from the 1980s and 1990s in the wake of reforms by both the neoliberal right and Third Way progressives, and it thrives on the ills of modern capitalism, from financialization and privatization to the climate crisis. It is possible because of the unique power that big consultancies wield through extensive contracts and networks - as advisors, legitimators and outsourcers - and the illusion that they are objective sources of expertise and capacity. To make matters worse, our best and brightest graduates are often redirected away from public service into consulting. In all these ways, the Big Con weakens our businesses, infantilizes our governments and warps our economies.

Mazzucato and Collington expertly debunk the myth that consultancies always add value to the economy. With a wealth of original research, they argue brilliantly for investment and collective intelligence within all organizations and communities, and for a new system in which public and private sectors work innovatively for the common good. We must recalibrate the role of consultants and rebuild economies and governments that are fit for purpose.

©2023 Mariana Mazzucato (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Business Development & Entrepreneurship Consulting Economics International Political Science Politics & Government Theory Government Business Capitalism Management Socialism

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Critic reviews

a forceful demolition job on the industry (Adrian Wooldridge)
timely ... the analysis is startling (John Arlidge)
Collington and Mazzucato have provided a meticulously researched anatomy of an industry not widely understood by those outside it. They have explained complex ideas and processes in clear terms, and brought them to life with a rich and engaging narrative style. They have eschewed a simple narrow moral attack on a few parasitic firms in favor of a clear-eyed view of the industry's origins and drivers, and they have outlined the stakes for the future in no uncertain terms. That last is the most important. The Big Con may present itself as an exposé of the consulting industry, but behind it lies a bigger and more urgent warning to reshape social priorities in an age of crisis. (Nathan Akehurst)
Their point is that the great problem with the consulting business isn't so much one of corruption, but something else: consultants have wielded their expertise to give the impression of being indispensable. ... The book is intended in part as a rallying call for these companies and governments (Ed Conway)
compelling ... Mazzucato and Collington examine how this astonishing global rise in consultancy services came about. The clue is in the book's name-the big con ... the confidence trick arises from the ability to create an impression of value. ... Mazzucato and Collington are ready with what needs to be done: a new vision for the civil service; invest in internal government capacity and capability creation; embed learning and evaluation into contracts; and mandate transparency and exposure of conflicting interest. (Michael Marmot)
As the title of this book implies, consulting is, at least in part, a confidence trick. A consultant's job is to convince anxious customers that they have the answers, whether or not that's true. (Hettie O’Brien)
powerful ... The authors provide countless convincing examples of the danger of public overreliance on the consulting industry ... The Big Con puts forward a forceful argument about an issue about which most ordinary people know little but - given the enormous influence of the consulting industry - have a right to understand and scrutinise. An effective, important and highly readable book. (Hilary Lamb)
The Big Con of the book's title is not a crime; it's a confidence trick. Consultancies and outsourcers, Mazzucato argues, know less than they claim, cost more than they seem to, and - over the long term - prevent the public sector developing in-house capabilities (Henry Mance)
We are effectively devolving decision-making to people who are doubly unelected in many cases and whose own interests may diverge fairly dramatically from the collective interest or the interest that government is supposed to be pursuing. (Rory Sutherland)
All stars
Most relevant
Not the most exciting of books, it dangerously put me to sleep in the bath. It's more like a book of evidence. I loved to watch courtroom dramas, it seems like the consulting firms are guilty, and they're going down in this courtroom drama.

The evidence is compelling. There is mass corruption and a merry-go-round of over-confident consultants snorting at the trough. I always wondered why I was not material for a consulting firm; it does not sit with one of my core values, authenticity.

But if you remember courtroom dramas, the case for the defense always comes back. And let's face it; consulting firms aren't going anywhere fast (in more meanings than one).

It's still a top book and worth reading. Just don't read it in the bath; you might just drown before you can wage your war against consulting firms.

I loved to watch courtroom dramas. Guilty?

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Over my 30 year career, I have started in consultancies, moved on to business, moved to government, and then moved back to business. I recognize so many of the issues addressed in this book, because I have experienced them from both sides.

It is indeed true that business and government should take back their own initiatives, and bring in their own know how and sources. It is a strange and twisted idea, that they don’t want to pay employees enough, because they prefer hiring those same employees back through consultancies at much higher prices. And then believe we are saving money.

I also really appreciated this book for the many practical examples that they referr to on where an over reliance on consultancy has gone wrong.

In my experience, 70% of all consultants, or not worth their hourly rates.

Finally, this is not about killing jobs. This is a matter of moving employees out of the consultancy films, back into real government and real business where they can do good work.

Very interesting. Thought provoking and worth reading.

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Amazing book and a great nudge to do things differently. It has confirmed my own thoughts and suspicion about consultancies. Great research and references to read about further. I do hope things change for better and organisations and governments less reliant on consultancies.

Wow

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A thorough review of the history, evolution and impact of the consulting industry, it really highlights the effect consultancies have had on the business and especially public sector. Although only one part of a complex system, it’s clear consultancies have an undue influence and their role needs to be reconsidered, but more of a system-wide solution is needed. Really helpful book to get thinking about how we move governments and the business world forward.

An insightful analysis

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The points highlighted about how using consultants can de skill organisations is interesting and important. I did find that the view of the author was consistently negative towards management consultants. it would have been more convincing if there was some balance in the argument.
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interesting points about the risks of commissing management consulants.

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