HiIf I was to buy just one book on 'management consultancy' which one should it be?I've looked at quite a few:Flawless Consulting, Peter BlockThe Professional Services Firm, David MaisterManagement Consulting: A Guide to the Profession, Milan KubrManaging Transitions, William BridgesI'm actually interested more on the various methodologies used for problem solving than a general history & overview.Any comments would be much appreciated thanks

In my feedback from the first stage at McK, I was advised to read "The 10-day MBA" by Steven Silbiger to help prepare for the final round. While it does have lots of general subjects that are covered, the last chapter is focused on Strategy etc. (Some other chapters are interesting too). While brief it does offer insight to 5-forces, 7 S's, Portfoilio strategies adopted by the main firms etc.I managed to pick up the last copy at my nearest Waterstones as they did think it had gone out of print, but worth look.

Hi! could you probably advise any other books - I'm now at the stage of interview with McK and will highly appreciate your advise.Thanks!

advise = verbadvice = noungood luck with your interview!

To be honest, my interviewer did say not to get too 'booky' trying to become a qualified consultant!!I find what is useful is to go through all of the online example cases from all the various firms and see out how their answers are structured, certainly some sort of pattern emerges:1) Profitability problems: Simple revenue vs costs structure - I see the challenge with these problems is to really see if you can identify the particular issues and importantly perhaps how you can find out if these are the problems. Broad thinking required!2) Acquisition of SPECIFIC target: Structured look at how good the target is: a) Stand alone value, b) potential synergies (cost, revenue, management, etc), c) implementation issues.3) New product/market: Being able to identify consumers/competition/market opportunity/economics/implementation etc (I think this is down the line of Porters 5 forces)4) Might well be more!If anyone here sees some faults, please shout as I might well be off target!!!

This depends what you want to know. I can recommend two books, which look at consulting from two perspectives:Perspective 1: HOW TO BE A CONSULTANT - Block's 'Flawless Consulting' is a good start. It's a collection of essays about the industry, approaches and challenges. Kubr is also good, but perhaps not as accessible a read as Block.Perspective 2: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A CONSULTANT - Harding and Long's 'MBA Management Models' is worth a look. It sets out around fifty of the most influential structured analysis models in simple terms, and shows in many cases how they can be used together to broaden an analysis. Of course, if you join a firm, you'll get training about this stuff on the job, but it's a useful reference to have to hand. Trust me, I know!Hope this helps. Of course, my list is not exhaustive and there are any number of good books out there.Good luck.B

Thank you for taking the time to reply it's been very helpful...I'm now off to Amazon!

I quote:"advise = verb advice = noun good luck with your interview!"I think this sums up the sad mentality common to many contributing to this web site; get a life (or, probably more accurately, get over your failure to get into Oxbridge?)

To BlaBla: You make a good point about people being needlessly pedantic. However, the ability to communicate accurately and effectively is central to being a consultant. If you can't get the basics right, how is a client going to be able to take what you say seriously?Just a thought.

A fair point. My position, like yours and many others on this site, indeed requires a pedantic attention to detail to ensure optimum clarity in communication. The point, though, is that is is a forum, a chat room, not a client report. So I get irritated that half of the forum is full of aggressive people more intent on correcting spelling and grammer than offering constructive adviccccce.

If you can't answer the question, don't post and make yourself look an idiot by correcting grammar. It's a message board not a deliverable. If you're interviewing with McK then a good strategy book is probably the way to go. Perhaps you can supliment this with a general business book which covers the main areas / functions of organisations.

A good attempt, but watch you punctuation:Here is your sub-optimal sentence:"If you're interviewing with McK then a good strategy book is probably the way to go. "I would suggest:"If you're interviewing with McK, a good strategy book is probably the way to go."This is mainly a stylistic point. However, errors of this nature would cost you dearly if you were communicating with a client. Chin up – you will get there eventually.

A good point but you watch you punctuation!

If you WERE to buy just one book I'd recommend Peter Senge over Block. Senge changed the course of consutling when he came on the scene around 1990 ...and still has much to say about learning organisations.