The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies

Description

A vital and timely investigation into how the consulting industry has made its way to the heart of our economies and governments - and what to do about it There is an entrenched relationship between the consulting industry and hollowed-out, risk-averse governments and shareholder value-maximizing firms. 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' is possible in today's economies because of the unique power that consultancies wield through extensive contracts and networks - as advisors, legitimators and outsourcers - and the illusion that they are objective sources of expertise and capacity. 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.

Mariana Mazzucato is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London, where she is Founding Director of the Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). Her previous books include The Entrepreneurial State- Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, The Value of Everything- Making and Taking in the Global Economy and Mission Economy- A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism. Rosie Collington is a PhD candidate at IIPP whose writing has been published in the Guardian, OpenDemocracy and the Independent. Her academic research has been published by New Political Economy and the Institute for New Economic Thinking.

a forceful demolition job on the industry -- Adrian Wooldridge * Bloomberg * The power of government is crucial for driving the economy forward. But only if it retains capacity. Mazzucato and Collington have written a brilliant book that exposes the dangerous consequences of outsourcing state capacity to the consulting industry-and how to build it back. A fascinating look at the biggest players in the game and why this matters for all of us. -- Stephanie Kelton, author of THE DEFICIT MYTH A powerful indictment of a dubious industry. This book should be read around the globe, and kickstart a debate that's long overdue: Do we really need all those consultants? -- Rutger Bregman, author of UTOPIA FOR REALISTS and HUMANKIND The Big Con documents, in precise detail and with panoramic vision, all the ways that the consulting industry has insinuated itself into the systems that govern and control our lives. Private companies, public charities and trusts, states, and even the international order have all handed mission-critical functions over to management consultants. Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington document the harms that result, as consultants exploit the public while stripping their clients of expertise and even the capacity to learn. This bill of particulars serves a profound master purpose: to demonstrate that we cannot outsource governance over our lives and still hope to remain prosperous, democratic, and free. -- Daniel Markovits, author of THE MERITOCRACY TRAP A management consultant,' the quip runs, 'is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time-and then keeps the watch.' This is the very least of the confidence tricks perpetrated by the global consulting industry it turns out. Another common saying is that 'nobody ever got fired for hiring McKinsey.' With the publication of The Big Con, they just might. -- Brett Christophers, author of RENTIER CAPITALISM