Magic Consultants

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BBC Radio 4 LW

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Factual

28/03/2023

Adam Shaw peeks behind the curtain of the consultancy industry.

BBC Radio 4 FM

Magic Consultants: Shaping the World

Shaping the World

BBC Radio 4 - Magic Consultants, Shaping the World

The consultancy industry is worth billions. Should we be in awe of their wizardry?

Consultants miraculously turn around businesses and conjure up ideas. Adam Shaw examines how they have shaped the world around us and how their phrases have entered common language

Adam Shaw peeks behind the curtain of the consultancy industry.

Worth hundreds of billions of pounds, consultants stretch across almost every industry, government department and international border.

Since the pandemic there’s been an unprecedented demand for their services and many believe our future is determined by what they think and do. Yet little is known about these largely hidden influencers. They are magnetic and mesmerizing yet, to many of us, shrouded in mystery.

Adam asks who are these wizards, what do they do and how much do they influence our lives.

On the one hand, they're talked of as genius solvers of the world’s greatest problems and masters of the machinery of management. On other, some think of them in more shadowy terms, whispering their guidance into the ears of the rich and powerful. Adam sets off with missionary zeal to detangle two very different stereotypes.

Across the series he hunts for the first ever consultant, finds out how they shape our language and politics and discovers how they bounce back from appalling scandals. He joins a consultancy fair to meet aspirant consultants, hears stories from the glass towers of late nights and rewards, explores FOMO and addition, turnarounds and triumphs.

In this episode Adam takes a close look at how the industry has shaped the world around us. He sees how consultants have been involved in most key stages in the development of capitalism and how the phraseology of 'Corporate Culture' has found its way into everyday language.

Producer Neil McCarthy

BBC Radio 4

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