Strategy consulting

Quite a lot, apparently.

The possible merger between AT Kearney and Booz and Co has created quite a stir.

So far much of the attention has been focused on what this means for the other big strategy firms. Is McKinsey, Bain or BCG likely to feel threatened? My guess is not, not least because this move – if that’s what it is – is just part of the way in which these firms are trying to chisel out a distinctive profile for themselves.

There was a big fuss in the UK last year when the findings of a report by McKinsey on cutting costs in the National Health Service were leaked to the press. It was proposed that 137,000 clinical and admin posts would be cut in order to save £20bn by 2014. Vilified by the press, the government announced that it had rejected the report’s recommendations.