"Mrs Tittlemouse is “a most terribly tidy particular little mouse”, forever cleaning her house and shooing away intruders. But one day Mr Jackson, a “fat-voiced” toad, arrives and makes himself at home, lounging in the rocking chair and putting his feet on the fender. He not only refuses to leave, he scours the house for tasty morsels, spreading chaos as he goes. It takes Mrs Tittlemouse a day to clear up after him when he finally leaves."
I love EVERYTHING about this awesome article in a recent Economist about management consulting, as it affects the workings of government in the U.K. Of course, many of the accusations and insights in the article apply to both the New World and the private sector as well.
"This counterblast against consultants is largely to the good. They have frequently left devastation in their wake and have treated the public sector as dumping grounds for airy-fairy ideas such as “transformation” that have been rejected by the private sector. They have built overly elaborate management structures that make it harder for people to do their jobs. And they have demotivated people who like to feel that they are working for the public good. The government has wasted huge amounts of money on botched IT projects designed by consultants."This article is spot on. I must, however, add the caveat that as management consulting applies to me personally, I have no complaints whatsoever. As far as my own career, that is--a lifetime ago. I can't say anything but good stuff about my 10 years at Andersen Consulting. I may not have always been happy, but that was certainly not their fault! I must say that some of my husband's cynicism and bad experience, mostly as a client of the evil Accenture, has rubbed off on me. That's all I'm sayin'.
But I LOVE the Beatrix Potter analogy. Bill and I are loving his Christmas-present subscription to the Economist--way too much reading to keep up with, but lots of great food for thought!! (Like I needed more...just fold the laundry, Kim!)
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