{"id":18851,"date":"2016-11-18T15:43:26","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T20:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/mckinsey-dedicated-to-digital\/"},"modified":"2016-11-18T15:43:26","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T20:43:26","slug":"mckinsey-dedicated-to-digital","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/mckinsey-dedicated-to-digital\/","title":{"rendered":"McKinsey: Dedicated to Digital"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Management Consulting Reinvented<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Management consultancies have made huge investments in digital to ensure that they can provide the same level of value here as their clients are accustomed to in other practice areas. However, clients are looking for different things in their digital consultants \u2013 as a recent Forbes article identifies, \u201cclients demand faster and more tangible results for their consulting spend. As execution speed becomes a defining factor, clients will pay less for slide decks and frameworks and more for actual products and solutions [1].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In \u201cThe Future of Consulting Through 2020,\u201d Mark Cecere of Forrester highlights several key, digital-driven developments in the management consulting industry:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Software and data-based assets are automating projects or at least expediting duration of projects. Traditional strategy firms have been and will continue to make acquisitions in these areas.<\/li>\n<li>Increasing demand for digital specialists, as opposed to post-MBA generalists.<\/li>\n<li>Strategy and implementation work are merging.<\/li>\n<li>Growth in gain-sharing contracts and subscription-generated revenue [2].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>McKinsey\u2019s Investment in Digital and its Impact on the Firm\u2019s Operating Model<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>McKinsey, acting in line with Cecere\u2019s research outlined above, has made sizable internal and external investments in digital. First, the firm has established a dedicated digital practice, which will typically work on projects in conjunction with more traditional consultants but will occasionally work on projects in isolation. McKinsey has also invested in its implementation practice to ensure that recommendations and technologies are rolled out effectively. Gone are the days of onsite project teams consisting purely of a group of post-MBAs \u2013 today\u2019s case team is likely to also include experts in digital and experienced professionals to lead implementation. As part of this implementation, McKinsey is focused on helping its clients identify the internal talent needed for digital transformation, as shown in the exhibit below.<\/p>\n<p>Exhibit 1: How McKinsey Helps Clients Manage Human Capital in Digital [3]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/McKinsey-human-capital-management-in-digital.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-18570\" src=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/McKinsey-human-capital-management-in-digital-300x216.jpg\" alt=\"mckinsey-human-capital-management-in-digital\" width=\"422\" height=\"304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/McKinsey-human-capital-management-in-digital-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/McKinsey-human-capital-management-in-digital-768x552.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/McKinsey-human-capital-management-in-digital-600x431.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/McKinsey-human-capital-management-in-digital.jpg 821w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 422px) 100vw, 422px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Further, the firm has established McKinsey Solutions, which \u201ccombines software, proprietary data, and extensive expertise in order to significantly improve an organization\u2019s performance and health [4].\u201d This group works closely with the firm\u2019s New Ventures team, which includes an internal team of more than 800 analysts and data scientists working on projects spanning \u201cAnalytics, design thinking, mobile, social\u2026 [5]\u201d This division is led by partners in the firm, many of whom spend half their time working with clients and the other half focused on this idea incubator.<\/p>\n<p>Firm leadership has also looked outside of its own walls, making broad-ranging acquisitions of companies specializing in real-time data (QuantumBlack), design (LUNAR), and retail analytics (4tree) [6]. However, Forbes is quick to point out that nearly all consulting firms have made acquisitions in digital, so the differentiating factor for McKinsey will ultimately rely on the quality of its acquisitions and how well it can integrate their offerings with its existing model [1].<\/p>\n<p>Unlike in the past, McKinsey now has the ability to provide its clients with software and analytic tools. These digital solutions have diversified the firm\u2019s revenue stream away from purely consulting projects; however, cannibalization is not to be overlooked. Unlike in the firm\u2019s traditional model, McKinsey Digital has tried to \u201cde-risk\u201d the client\u2019s investment by tying fees to outcomes. Digital will also \u201ccoinvest, underwrite impact, and prioritize and sequence initiatives to provide rapid returns in order to fund the change [7].\u201d This adjusted contract model is evidence of McKinsey\u2019s focus on gaining market share in this space.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Can McKinsey Win in Digital?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At a high-level, McKinsey needs to maintain its focus on establishing itself as a clear thought-leader in digital, while at a more tangible level it needs to deliver exceptional product in digital. The latter seems to pose a greater challenge for the firm, as it represents a greater shift from its historic operating model. Perhaps ironically, one of the biggest challenges McKinsey faces is parallel to that faced by many of its clients \u2013 how to best integrate new technologies into an existing operating model.<\/p>\n<p>To achieve success, McKinsey needs to ensure that it\u2019s hiring the best the market has to offer in digital. Despite all of its investment, digital innovation is not the first word that comes to mind when people hear McKinsey. The firm needs to clearly articulate how an opportunity in digital at McKinsey can compete with an opportunity at a premier tech firm. This differentiation will be key to successful hiring, but also, reshaping the firm\u2019s brand image.<\/p>\n<p>At present, McKinsey is casting a wide net in digital, which is a very expensive proposition. The firm will need to continually analyze areas where it may not make sense for it to compete with more specialized players. Can McKinsey be all things to all clients in digital? This remains to be seen, but seems to be the firm\u2019s aspiration.<\/p>\n<p>[Words: 793]<\/p>\n<p>Sources:<\/p>\n<p>[1] Falguni Desaid, \u201cThe Rise Of Digital Consultancies,\u201d <em>Forbes<\/em>, March 2016, http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/falgunidesai\/2016\/03\/23\/the-rise-of-digital-consultancies, accessed 12 November 2016.<\/p>\n<p>[2] Mark Cecere, \u201cThe Future Of Consulting Through 2020,\u201d <em>Forrester<\/em>, February 2016, https:\/\/www.prodyna.ch\/documents\/10195\/1650832\/The+Future+Of+Consulting+Through+2020.pdf, accessed 12 November 2016.<\/p>\n<p>[3] \u201cDigital Organization &amp; Capabilities,\u201d McKinsey website, http:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/business-functions\/digital-mckinsey\/how-we-help-clients\/digital-organization-and-capabilities, accessed 12 November 2016.<\/p>\n<p>[4] \u201cSolutions,\u201d McKinsey website, http:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/solutions, accessed 12 November 2016.<\/p>\n<p>[5] \u201cNew Ventures,\u201d McKinsey website, http:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/about-us\/who-we-are\/new-ventures, accessed 12 November 2016.<\/p>\n<p>[6] Stacey Higginbotham, \u201cMcKinsey Buys Formula One Data Analytics Firm QuantumBlack,\u201d <em>Fortune<\/em>, December 2015, http:\/\/fortune.com\/2015\/12\/14\/mckinsey-buys-quantumblack, accessed 12 November 2016.<\/p>\n<p>[7] \u201cMcKinsey Capability Building,\u201d McKinsey website, http:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/business-functions\/learning-programs-for-clients\/overview\/mckinsey-capability-building, accessed 12 November 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>McKinsey is making broad-ranging investments in digital to ensure that it can continue to deliver the value that its clients have come to expect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2060,"featured_media":18852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-18851","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/digitization-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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