The Cranky Middle Manager Show #312 The Future of the MBA Ken Starkey
The Cranky Middle Manager Show # 233 Lords of Strategy Walter Kiechel
Posted on 07. Apr, 2010 by Wayne in Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel looks at the consulting industry: who are they, where’d they come from and why do they torture us? Author Walter Kiechel III, author of “The Lords of Strategy- A Secret Intellectual History of The New Corporate World” joins us. We also talk Ottoman outsourcing and the triumphant return of Francis Bacon.
Walter Kiechel III talks to us about The Lords of Strategy and makes it so even I understand it.
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Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show middle managers- even if you refuse to accept the title. We all know what you are. Today’s show is dedicated to the Ottoman sultan Murad Bey who understood both outsourcing and the power of independent advice.
5:30 The quote of the week is from my boy Francis Bacon who knew a thing or two about being a consultant. Advice and example is what we’re looking for…and it helps if you have a cool model.
6:03 Welcome Walter Kiechel who will explain where consultants came from and what they’ve done to the business world- and it’s not all bad. Really. Actually, you wouldn’t think strategy is new, but it’s only been around since the mid 1960s.
9:00 With no track record to run on, why were the big consulting companies so successful? The power of a practical tool like the Growth Share Matrix. What has it wrought on us? Are we now driven only by stock performance?
14:00 Let’s be fair, the advantage of a consultant is the ability to offer objective insight…when it is objective.
15:45 One of the first consulting models that really took off was BCG’s Experience Curve.
18:15 What has been the impact on business overall of all this consulting? Walter maintains it’s an overall healthier competitive landscape. Competitive advantage only lasts 6 months if you don’t watch it.
20:35 Besides making sure you keep your job, what’s the best way to work with consultants? Volunteer for one thing to make sure you’re heard, and this is not the time to be shy. A great tip- ask to present with them instead of having them tell the story on your behalf.
23:21 Not that I want to kill new ideas, but there are consulting fads so as a service to you the new ones are “analytics” and innovation.
Walter’s Resources