The Economist: Business Consulting: A Guide to How it Works and How to Make it Work

In the last three decades of the twentieth century, the management consultancy industry grew at a cracking pace, but increased scepticism about the value that consultants genuinely add, combined with the economic slowdown, has made life much tougher for the consulting industry. As firms cut back on consulting services and begin to review the way they use consultants, consulting firms themselves are looking at how they need to change. People are now talking about business consulting rather than management consulting.

Using real examples from a range of private sector firms, public sector organisations, and from the consultants themselves, this book explores the new business consulting world and looks at every element of it with the aim of both helping firms make better use of consultants and showing consultants how they need to adapt and provide their clients a better service.

Gilbert Toppin, an independent consultant, has served as chief operating officer for European consulting at Deloitte.

Fiona Czerniawska is the director of the UK Management Consultancies Association's think tank, as well as the author of a number of books and publications on consulting.