Pros
* Smart, talented consultants * World class I.P. * Great offices and office locations around the world * A brand you want on your resume * Smart M&A strategy
Cons
* OPERATIONS - remember the 'Land of Broken Toys' in "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer"? Although the M&A strategy is great for investors, the acquisition pieces - specifically, the people and processes - never fit together. This company has so many tools, but it's so difficult to make things (R&D, sales, delivery) work smoothly. * CULTURE - remember Lord of the Flies? Its kind of like that minus the conch. There is a zero-sum game mentality across all lines of business. It's intensely tribal by business unit, office and even floor. Some offices are worse or better than others. Are you female? You should ask another current or former female employee about her opinion of the culture. Or, look at other reviews on this web site. * LEADERSHIP - Top down, distant leadership style from corporate. In Search, many old men act afraid they will be (finally) retired, so they take a hands-off approach to managing their offices and bad behaviors. In Advisory, it's a revolving door of "leadership." They have no P&L responsibilities and it was only this year that they organized by industry like Search. Finance, not the business unit leaders, run the show. * COMPENSATION - Until this year, the firm would not give annual raises, and bonus pools for all businesses have shrunk because of acquisitions. Support staff has been hit particularly hard. Advisory is a drag on revenue and that impacts annual bonuses in all business units. * THE COBBLER WEARS NO SHOES - You'll see this comment a lot. They need to use their own services to find, select and develop their own employees and leaders. The company has surprisingly few millennials except for FutureStep, the smallest part of the business. GenXers have been leaving Advisory and Search in droves. I hope FutureStep employees are being groomed for Search when they are more seasoned.