The Practice of Professional Consulting

CHAPTER TEN

IMPROVING CONSULTING AS A PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Marvin Bower, a long-time leader of McKinsey and influential force in the consulting industry, believed professionalism could be achieved by codifying the firm’s own “up or out” culture, indoctrinating their employees accordingly, and positively shaping society’s acceptance of the industry’s professional standing. This, he and his colleagues believed, would be sufficient and comparable to their primary example of professionalism—law firms. From the beginning, consultants fought the concept of an outside state regulatory licensing entity or an industry association setting rules that impinged on their independent governance and practice. Industry firms relied on their cultures and analytical ...