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Is Consulting Even Right for Me?
Why Choose Management Consulting as a Career?
The career of management consultant is one of the most envied roles a person can be lucky enough to play. That title, however, is somewhat of a catchall, thrown about by people who provide a wide range of services (accountants, lawyers, strategic planning, HR, operations, etc.). For the most part professionals employed in this field provide outsourced services to organizations in need of whatever specialty that consultant provides.
For our purposes we need to differentiate between three main types of consulting firms: large diversified organizations, medium-sized management consultancies, and boutique firms.
The large diversified firms are represented by the likes of McKinsey & Company, Booz Allen, PWC, and KPMG. Mid-sized consultancies, while smaller than the large international firms, can still employ hundreds of people, and provide broad services similar to those of the large diversified firms. Then there are the boutique firms, typically having only one independent consultant and offering a more specialized suite of services or specialties. It is this last category of consultancy—the independents—that this entire book will focus on.
Typically an independent management consultant is someone who:
Works for themselves, or possibly as part of a very small group.
