August 2010

"One of my grand theories is that, fundamentally, there's only one source of innovation, and that's pissed off people."

This month's guest is Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence (and more than a dozen other bestsellers), and one of the business world's leading provocateurs. In his latest book, The Little BIG Things, Peters sums up 163 of his best lessons on pursuing excellence.

Read our interview with Tom Peters

We're also featuring articles on what to do if you're facing a client's selection committee; tactics for avoiding the bad decisions that often result from meetings; how to motivate the performance of others; the essentials for thought leadership to work; and which airlines in North America are the best.

Industry Watch

Each month, we report on events and developments in the global professional services industry. Here's what's been happening:

Last month, consolidation in the HR consulting market continued as Aon Corporation scooped up HR consulting giant Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion. According to reports, Aon plans to integrate Hewitt with its existing consulting/outsourcing business, creating a new entity called Aon Hewitt. Current Hewitt CEO, Russ Fradin, would then become CEO of Aon Hewitt.

That transaction follows on the heels of Mercer's acquisition of IPA, the health and benefits administration technology provider. And, in January of this year, Towers Watson completed the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt.

Speaking of Hewitt, according to a recent Hewitt study, global employee engagement and morale are nose-diving as the economy picks up steam. Almost half of surveyed organizations reported a drop in employee engagement levels at the end of June 2010. It's the steepest drop-off Hewitt has reported since it began conducting employee engagement research 15 years ago.

Hewitt's analysis shows a link between employee engagement levels and financial performance. Organizations with high levels of engagement (where 65 percent or more of employees are "engaged") outperformed the total stock market index even in volatile economic conditions.

In a moment of clarity, executives at consultancies A.T. Kearney and Booz & Company ended talks about a possible merger. The two firms have danced around a possible combination before and reached the same conclusion. It's doubtful that this latest round of talks did anything more than create unnecessary firm-wide turmoil at a time when both firms need market focus, not political intrigue.

Coming Attractions

"Drop your mind on paper."

Next month, we'll talk with Mark Levy, the author of Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content. Levy's book shows us how to use a simple tool called freewriting to explore our ideas and solve problems.

We'll ask Levy about the applications of freewriting for our businesses, why it works, and how to get started.

Look for the next issue of Management Consulting News on September 7, 2010.

Guerrilla Consulting

Don't forget to click over to the Guerrilla Consulting site where you'll find the recent issues of our other newsletter, The Guerrilla Consultant.

Have an Idea?

If you'd like to share your expertise in the form of an article, tip or interview, we'd like to hear from you. Have a look at the guidelines for submitting articles, and send your material to the editor. Also, if you have an idea you'd like to see addressed in an issue of Management Consulting News, let us know.