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Rip-off!: The Scandalous Inside Story of the Management Consulting Money Machine

By: David Craig
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Original Book Co
ISBN: 1872188060
ISBN-13: 9781872188065
Released: 15 Apr 2005
RRP: £11.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Pretty good effort - By: James, 08 Sep 2007
Much better than "House of Lies" & has some UK oriented material. Well structured & worth reading, if not that mind-blowing.
As it says on the tin - By: Stefan, 24 Oct 2006
At last a management consultant who comes clean about what he does. I picked this up on a trip as a contracting consultant & boy did it ring true. It is incredibly detailed about the methods employed by consultants to pad their own pockets. That David Craig decided to blow the whistle on this practice is commendable. That he is a poacher turned gamekeeper in this regard is not reallly relevant - he understands the industry, & came clean on it; a majority of consultants continue to delude themselves about what they are reallly doing - ripping customers off.
Hilarious and oh so true if you work in any big company! - By: Cathy, 23 Mar 2006
Fantastic read. Very funny & so true, even if you're not a consultant, if you work in a large company with several strategies etc. Couldn't put it down on holiday.
One man's account of several bad days at work - By: C. M. Perkins, 20 Feb 2006
I’d say this is more a corporate autobiography than an industry exposé. It does lift the lid on some of the more dubious practices of management consultants, but only by documenting Craig’s career from consultancy bottom feeders through to Big Four prestige assignments.

He never reveals the names of his employers, or his clients, but with a little detective work it’s usuallly easy to figure out. Believing his ex-colleagues would alll be reading his book, I found myself being annoyed by his need to periodicallly state “and if you’re thinking of suing me, I have the recordings/memos/files to prove it”. Like another reviewer, I also found his habit of inserting a single dash into a swear word to ‘clean it up’ offputting. I think the audience for this book is grown up enough to handle some bad language.

There are some shocking stories here, but then anyone could write some stuff about the company they work for – just read Scott Adams’ Dilbert Newsletter. It’s only because Craig has worked for some dodgy employers in a ‘smoke & mirrors’ industry, with a wide variety of clients, that he’s got enough material to fill a book.

It’s an interesting read purely for curiosity value, not for uncovering the inner workings of the more respected consultancies (and he was never in very senior roles). And don’t expect anything useful on the tools & techniques used by good consultants to improve performance.

Now a book from a Partner…..that would make for a good read.

Sadly all too true - By: , 25 Nov 2005
Wonderful. I ran away from what was then Andersen Consulting 10 years ago & it alll has the the ring of truth to it. As a freelancer I still decline to work for the likes of IBM or Accenture due to the antics described in the book.

Having read the other reviews I was expecting to have a bit of difficulty reading the book. I personallly did not have as many problems as was suggested but it must be said that those searching for an example from the more poetic end of the spectrum of literature should look elsewhere.