Hi all,I am conducting research for a university projectwith the view to create an event around consulting. Topics that are of interest are: top influencers and trade titles in the consulting world and was wondering who inspires you? Why this is? Are there particular industry titles you read? Do you catch up on industry news at specific times of the day? And what topics are currently being discussed at the water cooler? I have looked at some titles on-line but feel that I am not really getting the full picture.So if anyone has any recommedations or ideas they could share I would be most grateful! Thanks!

We discuss what the PA is wearing at the water cooler

Great thanks, I'll be sure to tell students considering a career in consulting that an eye for fashion is always a good idea.........anyone with any sensible help?Cheers

I suspect most MCs are relatively uninterested in trade rags about the MC industry, and would focus more on those that support their given industry or functional specialism, along with a few respected business publications such as Harvard Business Review, Economist etc. Working in cap markets I dip into various RiskWaters niche publications.

Agree with the above. Would add Mckinsey quarterly for strategic issues. This is miles better than HBR as the articles are shorter and clearer. Consultants don't have a lot of time to read magazines.

Thanks JJ and Billum.In terms of influential figure heads in the industry, do you have any suggestions on who these might be? Thanks

The problem is that consulting isn't really a profession. Most of the people at the top are people you wouldn't want to look up to.

Again it will vary by industry - in cap mkts the thought leaders are all in the banks; the consultancies are delivery vehicles and distributors rather than originators of leading practice.

Re. figureheads, in terms of influence: As one of the other posters mentioned, there isn't much 'consulting press' to follow as most people follow the industry they consult for, and therefore read about leaders of companies within that industry, and attend conferences where the speakers are from that industry. The little publicised influencers in consulting itself are probably therefore the heads of the large consulting firms: the McK, Bz, BCG, Bain, ACN, IBM, Deloitte, PwC, Tata, Wipro, Capco, E&Y, etc. In terms of inspiration: Again, with little publicity for Consulting-industry leaders its hard to be inspired by them. Probably the closes you get are 'management gurus' or authors of business books. If you do some targetted searching on this board you'll find some discussions. Couple of gurus I remember hearing about at ACN were Mahan Khalsa (author of Let's Get Real or Let's not Play) and Stephen R. Covey (author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). People with groundbreaking ideas about how to understand clients better, work with them more effectively and collaboratively, how to sell more, and generally how to be a better consultant. I read the Economist, the FT, and occasionally The Post (insurance industry paper).