Forum Message

Topic: Reply
Posted by: Michael Ixer
Date/Time: 19/04/26 20:12:00

Jonathan, yes, that mirrors my general experience of management consultants. I need to be careful what I say, as I did do some technical consultancy back in the late 1970s/early 80s! I worked for a software house and engaged on a few projects fixing broken software that other companies had written. I can say in all but one instance I  succeeded; in that one instance a colleague and I had to say the software left behind by a bankrupt software house was so badly designed and written that it was best abandoned as the customer was just going to continue throwing good money away. But consultants should be honest about such things. 

I never dealt with Bain directly, although the strategy advice they gave to one company I worked for seem basically sound, apart from a time frame that suggested replacing extensive IT systems in something like a two year schedule - impossible if you understood the culture of the company. Of course that failed ... perhaps as other consultants were engaged to "assist" with the implementation by a external software house.  (To many consultants spoil the broth?) Fortunately by then I'd moved away from IT to do Information/Cyber Security :-) 

An interesting point was that the outline strategy that Bain proposed was similar to one a previous IT Director and I had proposed to an previous MD several years earlier - although with a more evolutionary approach as business change wasn't such an urgent priority then - but we were basically told to p*ss off! 

A danger with some management consultancies is that they seem to be more driven to extract additional fees than to resolve customers' problems?

But I suppose one shouldn't be surprised the government is in a pickle with no doubt many civilians servants and special advisers looking after their own careers?

Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting16/04/26 16:42:00 Sue Hammond
   Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting16/04/26 17:07:00 Sue Hammond
      Re:Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting16/04/26 20:12:00 Michael Brigo
         Re:Re:Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting16/04/26 20:30:00 Sue Hammond
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting16/04/26 20:50:00 Steven Rose
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting17/04/26 09:26:00 John Hawkes
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting16/04/26 20:59:00 Robert Wheeler
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting16/04/26 22:11:00 Andy Pike
   Reply16/04/26 23:33:00 Michael Ixer
   Reply16/04/26 23:52:00 Sue Hammond
      Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting17/04/26 00:16:00 Sue Hammond
      Re:Reply17/04/26 00:25:00 Steven Rose
         Reply17/04/26 08:49:00 Michael Brigo
            Re:Reply17/04/26 09:24:00 Andy Pike
               Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 09:33:00 Michael Brigo
                  Re:Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 10:46:00 Andy Pike
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 15:05:00 Michael Brigo
                        Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 15:28:00 Andy Pike
                           Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 16:49:00 Michael Brigo
                              Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 17:24:00 Andy Pike
                                 Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 18:49:00 Michael Brigo
                                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 20:01:00 Andy Pike
                                       Reply17/04/26 21:45:00 Michael Brigo
                                          Re:Reply17/04/26 21:47:00 Michael Brigo
                                             Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 22:34:00 Andy Pike
                                                Re:Re:Re:Reply18/04/26 00:08:00 Michael Brigo
                                                   Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply18/04/26 07:25:00 Andy Pike
                                                      Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply18/04/26 07:36:00 Michael Brigo
                                                         Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply18/04/26 09:16:00 Andy Pike
                                          Reply17/04/26 22:34:00 Michael Ixer
   Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting17/04/26 09:37:00 Steven Rose
      Reply17/04/26 09:46:00 Martine Guy
         Reply17/04/26 10:24:00 Martine Guy
            Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting17/04/26 13:14:00 Sue Hammond
               Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting17/04/26 13:30:00 Robert Wheeler
                  Re:Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting17/04/26 15:08:00 Michael Brigo
               Re:Starmer Lied Over Mandelson’s Vetting17/04/26 13:41:00 John Hawkes
                  Olly Fights Back17/04/26 15:08:00 Sue Hammond
                     Re:Olly Fights Back17/04/26 15:47:00 Ivonne Holliday
                        Re:Re:Olly Fights Back18/04/26 16:29:00 John Hawkes
                     Re:Olly Fights Back17/04/26 16:02:00 Steven Rose
                        Re:Re:Olly Fights Back17/04/26 16:55:00 Michael Brigo
                           Re:Re:Re:Olly Fights Back17/04/26 17:06:00 Robert Wheeler
                              Re:Re:Re:Re:Olly Fights Back17/04/26 18:47:00 Michael Brigo
                              Re:Re:Re:Re:Olly Fights Back18/04/26 16:32:00 John Hawkes
                                 Reply18/04/26 19:01:00 Michael Brigo
                        Reply17/04/26 17:29:00 Sue Hammond
                           Re:Reply17/04/26 18:46:00 Steven Rose
                              Re:Re:Reply17/04/26 18:51:00 Michael Brigo
      Reply17/04/26 21:44:00 Michael Brigo
   Reply18/04/26 11:53:00 Michael Ixer
      Re:Reply18/04/26 14:17:00 Steven Rose
         Re:Re:Reply18/04/26 16:58:00 John Hawkes
            Reply18/04/26 17:29:00 Michael Ixer
               Re:Reply18/04/26 19:58:00 Steven Rose
                  Reply18/04/26 20:59:00 Michael Ixer
                     Re:Reply18/04/26 21:13:00 Robert Wheeler
                        Reply19/04/26 00:39:00 Sue Hammond
                           Re:Reply19/04/26 10:00:00 Jonathan Callaway
                              Re:Re:Reply19/04/26 10:31:00 Steven Rose
                                 Reply19/04/26 11:23:00 Michael Ixer
                                    Re:Reply19/04/26 11:46:00 Alexander MacLeod
                                    Re:Reply19/04/26 11:47:00 Steven Rose
                                       Re:Re:Reply19/04/26 12:33:00 Robert Wheeler
                                    Re:Reply19/04/26 12:46:00 John Hawkes
                              Labour's new candidate to replace Starmer steps up with exciting  progressive policy19/04/26 12:31:00 John Hawkes
                              Re:Re:Reply19/04/26 13:17:00 Ivonne Holliday
   Reply19/04/26 13:27:00 Michael Ixer
      Re:Reply19/04/26 13:53:00 John Hawkes
         Reply19/04/26 17:22:00 Michael Ixer
            Re:Reply19/04/26 18:57:00 Jonathan Callaway
               Reply19/04/26 20:12:00 Michael Ixer
            Re:Reply19/04/26 20:03:00 Steven Rose
               Re:Re:Reply19/04/26 20:28:00 Philippa Bond
                  Re:Re:Re:Reply20/04/26 10:15:00 John Hawkes
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply20/04/26 11:45:00 Philippa Bond
               Reply19/04/26 21:05:00 Michael Ixer
                  Re:Reply19/04/26 21:17:00 Steven Rose
                  Re:Reply19/04/26 21:26:00 Steven Rose
                     Reply19/04/26 22:11:00 Michael Ixer
                        Re:Reply20/04/26 10:29:00 Philippa Bond
   Reply20/04/26 09:23:00 Richard Carter
      Re:Reply20/04/26 10:22:00 Steven Rose
      Re:Reply20/04/26 10:46:00 Ivonne Holliday
      Re:Reply20/04/26 11:53:00 John Hawkes
         Re:Re:Reply20/04/26 18:38:00 Sue Hammond
            Re:Re:Re:Reply20/04/26 19:02:00 Ivonne Holliday
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply20/04/26 19:35:00 Robert Wheeler
                  Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply20/04/26 20:39:00 Ivonne Holliday
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply21/04/26 13:39:00 John Hawkes
               Reply20/04/26 20:03:00 Sue Hammond
                  Re:Reply20/04/26 21:23:00 Ivonne Holliday
                     Reply20/04/26 21:48:00 Richard Carter
                        Re:Reply20/04/26 22:25:00 Ivonne Holliday
                           Re:Re:Reply21/04/26 00:07:00 Steven Rose
   Reply20/04/26 22:37:00 Michael Ixer
      Re:Reply21/04/26 18:02:00 Steven Rose
         Re:Re:Reply21/04/26 18:29:00 Robert Wheeler
            Re:Re:Re:Reply21/04/26 19:31:00 Steven Rose
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Reply21/04/26 20:18:00 Robert Wheeler
                  Reply21/04/26 23:29:00 Michael Ixer
                     Re:Reply22/04/26 14:37:00 John Hawkes
                        Reply22/04/26 15:04:00 Michael Ixer

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