Podcast
Freakonomics Radio
It was discussed as a book about management consulting in the 20th century and was referenced to explain the origins of the profession and the lack of regulation or standards within it.
The easiest way to think about this is really that they divide the roles into two parts.
— Episode: 102. I Consult, Therefore I Am
Episode: 102. I Consult, Therefore I Am
It was discussed as a book about management consulting in the 20th century and was referenced to explain the origins of the profession and the lack of regulation or standards within it.
The easiest way to think about this is really that they divide the roles into two parts.
And the first part is the one that we tend to understand the best and the one that we tend to think of in the most positive terms. And that is that they bring advice to a firm that doesn't otherwise have it.
Okay. So the second thing that they provide is legitimacy. And that's the one that seems a little bit strange. So you've made a decision or you think you might know what you'd like to do about entering those markets or making a new product. And instead of just going ahead and doing it, you hire the consultants to confirm what you already thought.
And those consultants come in and they say, yes, you're right. Or even imagine you're having a political fight within the firm and both sides hire consultants and in fact they both produce reports and somebody wins that fight with the help of that extra amount of knowledge from outside.
So there's a double entendre in the world's newest profession, right? Because your first thought should also be the world's oldest profession, which is prostitution, which I think we can all agree is not actually a profession.