Marketing

Back in 1998, whilst working for the now ailing Japanese electronics giant Sony (whose ailing, I should point out, has nothing to do with my having worked there and everything to do with my having left), I applied for a sales position. Asked to make a presentation to my erstwhile colleagues I duly delivered what I considered to be a stirring case for us dramatically increasing television sales that year. This would, I explained, be achieved partly as a result of the football world cup in France, but mainly because of my hitherto-untapped brilliance as a salesman.

It really is a billion dollar question.

In the course of researching our 2012 Management Consulting Market report we've been asking consulting firms how the competitive landscape has changed for them. Specifically, we've been asking whether they're coming up against competitors they haven't encountered before. In all the conversations I've had so far only one consulting firm has ever been mentioned in response to that question: McKinsey.