Beware Management Consultants
A UK frozen food chain’s candid “Dark Ages” corporate history, blaming a period of decline on management consultants and overcomplicated bureaucracy, has reignited debate over the value of big-name consultancy firms. Commenters contrast consultants’ roles as scapegoats and enablers of top-heavy, self-serving reorganizations with cases where external experts genuinely add strategic or technical insight, especially in complex or regulated environments. Many see the core problem as misaligned incentives and leadership using consultants to validate predetermined decisions rather than to solve real operational issues.
Reactions to Iceland’s “Dark Ages” Story
- Many praise the supermarket’s blunt, self-critical history and its explicit attack on management consultants and over-complexity.
- Commenters note the irony and entertainment value of a mundane frozen-food chain publishing such a candid corporate autopsy.
- Some connect the turnaround narrative to founder-led, idiosyncratic companies that resist “bland corporateness” and PE-style hollowing-out.
Management Consultants: Problem vs Symptom
- A strong thread accuses management consultants of destroying companies, over-layering management, and justifying decisions executives already wanted.
- Others argue the real issue is leadership: consultants reflect existing dysfunction, misaligned incentives, and “top-heavy” structures.
- One view: hiring consultants is effectively an admission that senior management can’t run the organization.
Why Organizations Hire Consultants
- Common motives cited:
- Scapegoat-as-a-service and liability shifting (“the consultants said so”).
- Political cover for unpopular restructurings or layoffs.
- Information laundering: aggregating internal knowledge into “authoritative” reports executives will believe.
- Several note that staff frequently say the same things for free, but aren’t listened to until a costly consultancy repeats them.
Examples of Value and Misuse
- Positive cases mentioned:
- Complex M&A, supply-chain optimization, big regulated engineering projects, municipal-scale design (e.g., city recycling) where internal capability and bandwidth are lacking.
- Acting as integrators and quality controllers across many vendors.
- Misuse cases:
- Endless, expensive strategy cycles that produce little action.
- Using consultants to rubber-stamp “egoic” CEO plans.
- High-profile scandals where firms misused confidential or government information.
Technical vs Management Consulting
- Several distinguish hands-on technical/engineering/software “contractors” from high-level management consultants.
- Technical consultants are generally viewed more positively when they add scarce skills or temporary capacity.
Broader Themes
- Debate over whether consultants’ misaligned incentives make the whole model flawed, or merely overused.
- Discussion touches on human irrationality, bureaucratic politics, and the desire for action and change, even when “doing nothing” might be wiser.