Here at Vault, we're putting the finishing touches on several of our signature annual publications, including the upcoming 2010 Guide to the Top 50 Management Consulting Firms.
Arguably, there is no industry sector that is more closely aligned with the fate of the broader economy than that of management consulting, nor any group of professionals who spend more time trying to figure out where the thing is headed and how to take advantage of it. Any lessons gleaned from leaders in that field, therefore, tend to extrapolate pretty easily to other sectors of the economy.
One of the most interesting pieces I've come across in recent weeks is this article in Consulting Magazine, which focuses on the likely effects of the $787 billion stimulus bill. Where the article gets really interesting, however, is in a sidebar interview with A.T. Kearney CEO Paul Laudicina, who takes the view that the stimulus bill is only part of a much wider societal and economic shift—one brought on in large part by the crisis that made the stimulus bill necessary. According to Laudicina, "To look at this as a surge in government would be too narrow a focus." That means, he says, that "the important focus is to step back and look at how this crisis…represents a fundamental realignment and transformation of what Peter Drucker called the 'Theory of Business.'"
Further, Laudicina raises the question that all business leaders in any industry segment should be asking themselves these days: "How do you sustain profitability in an era of decreased resources, increased population, and increased demand in a world with free, ready and open communication 24/7?" (Emphasis added).
