Did you know that Top CEOs of companies like Google (Sundar Pichai), Morgan Stanley (James Gorman), and even many heads of state, are all ex-Mc Kinsey, a sign of its once unmatched leadership grooming pipeline?

Well, The King Isn’t Dead, But He’s definitely wounded!!

This month, McKinsey quietly dropped a bomb, firing over 5,000 people, roughly 10% of its global workforce. ​
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The advisory giant, known for shaping Fortune 500 playbooks and government policy, is now staring at the same problem many of its clients face, its model doesn’t work the way it used to.
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​IRONIC?, I know !!!

For decades, consulting thrived on three moats:

1. Information Deficit: The client didn’t know what McKinsey knew.
2. Access to Talent: The best MBAs funneled into consulting.
3. Process IP: Frameworks, playbooks, benchmarking databases.

In 2025, AI is changing the Game:

• Information is abundant (thanks to internet + AI).
• The best young talent prefers startups or building their own IP.
• Frameworks are now public, open-source, or automated.

Clients don’t need a slide deck after 6 months of spending millions of dollars💰; they want execution, speed, and embedded operators.

McKinsey's layoffs aren’t random. They’re a signal.

• Attrition wasn't just back-office cuts.
• Entire teams of data engineers, software experts, and newer service arms were affected.
• Even high performers received “voluntary exit packages”.

Why? Because the old model of charging premium fees for high-level strategy, doesn't cut it anymore:

• On one side: Corporate clients are building internal strategy & transformation teams.
• On the other: Specialised boutiques, tech-enabled advisory platforms are offering faster, cheaper, more actionable advice.

We at Beyond are continously tracking these trends and will keep you Posted!!
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BUT, If You're Building Consulting 2.0

FOCUS ON:

• Outcome-Based Billing > Hourly Rates
• Embedded Teams > External Advice
• Domain Specialization > General Strategy
• Data + AI Fluency > Framework Reliance
• Community-Led > Spray & Pray

The Consulting Empire isn't dead, but there are new contenders on the block, for sure.

McKinsey will survive. So will Bain, BCG, and the rest. But a huge opportunity is opening for operators, domain experts, and nimble collectives who can offer speed, clarity, and outcomes.

And for founders reading this, every time an old king coughs, a new one starts sharpening his sword.

Oh, that is too dramatic, guilty !!!😎

What do you think? Is Consulting 2.0 here?
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We’re curious to see who’s building in this space. Shoot us a DM at Beyondstack​