Book Review: The Firm by Duff McDonald

In the popular imagination, McKinsey, the global consulting firm, is a cross between the Pinkertons, the Men in Black, and Harvey Keitel’s “cleaner,” Mr. Wolf, in Pulp Fiction. They arrive in suits and cuff links and make your problems disappear. They promise to teach you how to do whatever you do better than you do it—and certainly better than your competition does it. Who could deny the appeal?

Duff McDonald’s book, The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business, shares its name with a famous novel about another seemingly bulletproof, imposing corporate entity. While McDonald may be giving a nod to John Grisham, his title is taken directly from McKinsey’s shorthand for itself, and the author, a longtime reporter for Fortune, hasn’t written an anti-McKinsey screed. Instead, through an expert accretion of damning detail, McDonald builds a convincing case that, for better and (mostly) worse, McKinsey became the quintessential American business of the 20th century. Which is bad news for America in the 21st century, because McKinsey doesn’t actually make anything. The greatest product ever sold by McKinsey is McKinsey.