Providing just one item per category, how would you populate a SWOT analysis for the business consulting industry as an whole?I’ll kick off with an off the cuff strawman…..1. Strength – still attracts the brightest and best graduates2. Weakness – career progression requires sales, not expertise – so non-sales expert staff turnover is on the up3. Opportunities – To do more “success based” billing, particularly in cost cutting at big global clients leading to more revenue4. Threats – Increased staff turnover means disaffected alumni which will tarnish the “magic” associated with MC firms and remove the alumni as a major sales channelThis took all of two minutes to think through, so feel free to improve. I’m only trying to make sure there is at least one thread debating a bit of content, (albeit incestuous content at that).

I think it has similar parallels with the political profression. It too attracts the brightest, most determined and most egotistical people.

Good thread Mr CoolStrengths - still interesting and varied work.Weaknesses - too many consultancy firms has diluted the brandOpportunities - Clients increasingly want specialists and experts, not sales men or generalistsThreats - industry are attracting the best peopleNot sure about the last one but hey it's Friday and I'm still on client site...

i'll tell u where it's going - down the pan, that's where.lack of professinal qualifications and barriers to entry mean that people don't respect the advice of a good consultant anymore because they don't know who is good and who is crap

"Strength – still attracts the brightest and best graduates "That might be where PA consulting is going wrong then

I agree that there are too many firms, many with poorly differentiated offerings. There are other threats not mentioned here, such as the reliance on internal consultants (in some firms) and easier availability of methodologies (tools that used to be proprietary are now available for free on the internet).

Nicholay, you have hit the nail right on the head."tools that used to be proprietary are now available for free on the internet"I couldn't agree more.With the advent of the Internet, away went the 'mystique' of the professional management consultant. Whether or not they have the intelligence and use the tools right, the truth is that many clients now THINK they can do the job just as well as a consultant... and *poof* goes our daily rate.

what a stupid question. You can't do a SWOT on an industry - I mean what are you comparing against?You can do a SWOT on individual MC firms though.

I disagree - why can't you do it on an industry as opposed to other industries? So here we go:Strengths - variety of work, opportunities to see same problems in different environments and share best practice. Low start up costs vs many other types of business (intellectual capital and laptop/Powerpoint only)Weaknesses - use of always the same existing models by less skilled staff combined with losing sight of bigger picture. Commoditisation of offerings.Opportunities - opportunity to develop some genuinely new approaches to business, and an audience willing to pay/listen to it, hence good opportunities to spin off from existing firm and start your own.Threats - integrity and credibility can arguably be lost quicker than in other types of business, more difficult to regain and lack of professional qualificiation (compared to legal profession) means constantly starting the sales pitch from zero.