| | By Mick James
The recent boom in
consultancy has been
particularly marked by a
kind of "back to basics"
movement in which clients
have increasingly
returned to the
fundamentals of
traditional management
consulting. But how has
this played out at the
top end of the market in
strategy consulting?
Michael Jary,
worldwide managing
partner of OC&C Strategy
Consultants, is in no
doubt that these are good
times for strategists as
well.
"In 22 years I've not
experienced as long and
as strong a market as
this one," he says.
"Managing demand is our
biggest challenge – at
our Monday morning
meetings we are always
discussing which clients
are we going to turn down
and how."
"For clients it's
clear that 'strategy is
back' – they need to
address long-term issues
of competitive advantage
and positioning," he
says. "In recent years
the boardroom agenda has
become crowded with
seemingly urgent
operational issues: they
may be critical to
competitiveness but it's
a zero sum game –everyone
does them and they do not
create a long-term
strategic advantage.
Clients have woken up to | |
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they can't put strategy
on the back burner any
more."
A good indicator for
strategy firms is the
level of M&A activity in
the economy, says Jary.
"It's not in itself a
driver, but when the
investment banks make
money, we're in demand
too." Then there's the
new phenomenon of private
equity firms, which have
not just become major
clients in their own
right, but have also
driven many corporations
to look at how they can
meet the challenge of
private equity by
transforming themselves.
As a result, says
Jary, all of OC&C's 15
worldwide offices are
"hungry for talent" and
the firm is looking far
and wide for the resource
it needs to meet demand.
As well as the
traditional recruiting
grounds of Oxford and
Cambridge and the major
business schools, OC&C is
also extending the hunt
to other UK universities,
as well as schools in
Eastern Europe and India.
"It's important to
attract the best people:
the fundamental of what
we look for is raw talent
and we haven't
compromised on that,"
says Jary. "The
temptation to compromise
on quality is fatal – you
always live to regret
it."
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Whereas other branches
of consultancy have
become increasingly
focused on experience on
content – and OC&C does
hire from industry – for
OC&C strategy itself is
the key skill.
"If you just take
industry experts and make
them consultants you do
nothing but recycle the
conventional thinking,"
says Jary. "The way you
learn strategy is as a
generic skillset which is
applicable across
industries, otherwise how
do you get to spot trends
and to swap ideas between
industries? Clients hire
us for fresh thinking and
you don't have that
without experience across
industries."
This is not to say
that OC&C doesn't have
industry practices and
deep content knowledge
based on experience and
research.
"As people move up the
firm they tend to move
into industry sectors,"
says Jary. "But we
absolutely don't place
people who join us into
an industry practice,
it's forbidden, even if
they ask for it."
OC&C also uses its
growing network of
international offices to
expose its consultants to
an even greater variety
of experience and is
particularly keen to
recruit consultants who
want to pursue an
international career.
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"We've expanded
significantly into India,
China and the Middle
East," says Jary. "They
are all critical
locations in our point of
view – we couldn't stay a
European firm, we're now
a global strategy firm.
That's what our clients
need to serve them in the
boardroom."
The breadth of
strategy work means that
OC&C has a dual message
to potential consultants.
On the one hand it's keen
to recruit people who
want to go far in the
firm. On the other hand,
it recognises that a
long-term career in
strategy is not for
everyone, but provides a
superb foundation for a
business career:
"You don't necessarily
go into strategy as a job
for life, but for the
skills it imparts," says
Jary. "It can be
something you do for four
or five years, it's the
fastest way to develop
and you get a tremendous
toolkit out of it."
Strategy has a
reputation for being an
intense working
environment, but Jary
says that a lot of this
comes from the fact that
strategy firms recruit
ambitious, driven
individuals. In fact,
OC&C has a number of
mechanisms to prevent
consultants falling into
the trap of working too
hard.
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"We advise clients
with our best quality
thinking when we have the
best environment for
consultants and they're
not fatigued and
pressurised."
Consultants also have
a "personal development
bank" which enables them
to study something
completely
extracurricular. "People
are currently doing all
sorts of things, from
cooking to ballet to
photography," says Jary.
"We also have a unique
scheme of flexible leave
so that people can
automatically opt to take
additional unpaid leave
to go travelling or build
their house or whatever
they want to do."
OC&C is still a
growing firm and it
places a high emphasis on
creativity and
entrepreneurialism.
However, Jary says,
growth will always be
tempered by remaining
true to the core product
of strategy:
"We've always stuck to
a very rigorous view of
what we do," he says.
"Good quality advice
backed up by facts and
analysis delivered in an
open and honest
relationship – we've
resisted the temptation
to deviate away from that
core."
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