About book House Of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch And Then Tell You The Time (2005)
Picked this up after seeing the first episode of the Showtime show it inspired...and I'm kind of conflicted about how to rate it. So first off, full disclosure: I've been a consultant for the better part of 6 years now, with 1 year or so in the type of environment the author describes (management consulting). Kihn describes his two years as an associate at a top-tier firm...never named in the book, but only took a little Googling to find out it was Booz Allen. It's written in a comedic style, bouncing from topic to topic (client engagements, travel, the ubiquitous influence of McKinsey and Harvard Business School, to name a few) with some existential flights of fancy thrown in for good measure. Even though it's obviously exaggerated for laughs, a lot of his observations rang true, and he actually does a good job of explaining what a consultant actually does (still mysterious to many of my friends). That being said, the book drags in a bunch of spots (especially a tiresome look at business books towards the end). The chapters where he describes client engagements are where the book is at its best...Kihn strikes a nice balance between letting you in on the details of the work while being sure to highlight the absurdity of said work whenever he can. The final chapter where he details his stint at an auto parts manufacturer that led to his undoing is especially entertaining. In summary: this is probably a 3 or 4 star book if you're a consultant and feeling jaded at work, but dock it a star if you're blissfully unaware of what exactly Mitt Romney did for a living before he shifted gears to public service.
Do You like book House Of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch And Then Tell You The Time (2005)?
