why don't they practice what they preach and just do it for themselves and start their own companies? Comments please from the powerpoint monkeys.

I would, but I need a regular paycheque and would be too nervous about taking on the risk of setting up my own business in case it didn't work out. I'm fairly good at crunching through numbers and putting together spreadsheets and powerpoints for people, but actually running a business is a different game altogether.

Strategy and execution are too different things.

Thats why I said practice (execution) what they preach (strategy)

there's your answer, then: being good at strategy doesn't necessarily mean they're implementation experts too

Actually it has nothing to do with being a MC or not. If you posses the soul of an entrepreneur then you will never be comfortable as an employee...even if you work for McKinsey!

Contained in this article is one man's (Stephen Ellis, MD of Bain's) answer to that question:http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/ellis_08.html

a lot of MC words from Ellis, but still no "answer" to the question.

Think about tennis coaches. Agassi's coach wasn't a star, yet made his trainee one. I'm sure you can find other numerous similar examples.Knowing HOW to do things and actually DOING them are two different things...

Jim - illiteracy is so unbecoming in an adult. Assuming you find someone to read this out loud to you, you may enjoy this summarised version for the "developmentally different".Q) "[W]hy don&apos;t [strategy consultants] practice what they preach and just do it for themselves and start their own companies?"A) "As a young Business School graduate Stephen Ellis founded his own company... Slowly it dawned on him that his new <i> entrepreneurial career wasn’t really inspiring him </i>. Ellis, who today is worldwide managing director of Boston-based management consulting firm Bain & Co., <i>realized he would be happier in a more traditional corporate setting </i>" (emphasis added).

Porgie, it says clearly that Ellis founded his company AFTER his graduation, ie he was not a MC yet telling big firms WHAT to do, WHERE to invest etc. Then he realized that he didnt have the right skills&personalities to be an entrepreneur. Hence his words "walking in the sand"...In other words, this question can be answered by people already working as MC. And you simply cant say "well, I am telling GM to fire 30000 but personally I dislike that strategy". When answering questions just get to the point and give me the correct answer, nothing else!

Nobody&apos;s talking to you jerkshaft-Jim - get back to your IBM glory hole. The question was asked by The POwer of Greyskull.

Same goes for ya&apos; Terry Fwit!

Power of Greyskull. I seem to remember you telling us that you were a management consultant and have now set up your own company (seemingly focussed on posting pointless messages on this forum). Also, I would argue that quite a lot of management consultants actually do practice what they preach either by setting up their own companies or by going into leadership roles once they have gained enough experience to be credible in those roles.As far as I can tell, the majority of management consultants are building up their skills base, learning, gaining experience with a view to "practicing what they preach" a few years down the line.

I thought he was a recruiter?

because as us lowly process consultants know too well as we clean up the mess left by the strategy consultants...they aren&apos;t actually that good in the real world!

I took the connotations in the original posting by Power of Grayskull to be that: - MCs think they&apos;re the mutt&apos;s nuts - They&apos;re incorrect to think this as all they are good at are ppts and xlss - The real dog&apos;s doodaahs are the people who actually implement/deliver/do what is preached....or was I reading too much between the lines?