Category: Industry discussion

Office building and workstations with missing chairs, illustrating Accenture’s 19,000 job cuts and consulting restructuring.

Accenture’s 2023 Job Cuts: 19,000 Roles and What Drove Them

Accenture, a leading global professional services firm, has announced plans to cut approximately 19,000 jobs over the next 18 months, citing rising costs and an uncertain economic outlook. This is the largest cut seen across the consulting sector, and it is expected to hit about 2.6% of Accenture’s 738,000 staff, who provide consultancy and outsourcing…
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Office towers and employee figures with vacant outlines, illustrating McKinsey’s 2,000 job cuts and consulting restructuring.

McKinsey Project Magnolia: Inside the 2,000 Job Cuts of 2023

The McKinsey Project Magnolia is reportedly planning to eliminate around 2,000 jobs, marking one of the firm’s biggest rounds of cuts ever. According to Bloomberg, the move is expected to focus on support staff in roles that don’t have direct contact with clients, as McKinsey looks to restructure how it organizes its support teams and…
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Article cover showing a Big 4 to MBB career transition, with rising stepping stones leading from a Big 4 platform toward a glowing strategy gateway, while a crossed-out “Not a Strategist” discount label symbolizes overcoming the lateral recruiting penalty.

Big 4 to MBB: How to Switch and Beat the “Not a Strategist” Discount

By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated November 2026 Yes, you can move from the Big 4 to MBB. I have coached Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG consultants into McKinsey, BCG, and Bain, and the firms hire laterally from the Big 4 every year. The transition is real and well-trodden. But the thing…
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80/20 Rule in Consulting and how MBB uses the Pareto principle cover image

80/20 Rule in Consulting: How MBB Uses Pareto (2026)

Updated July 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The 80/20 rule in consulting means roughly 80% of business impact comes from 20% of the available actions, so consultants at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain deliberately concentrate their analysis, recommendations, and client effort on the highest-impact 20% rather than analyzing everything. In practice, this…
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StrategyCase.com cover for an insider’s guide to the McKinsey alumni network, featuring connected professionals against a global city backdrop.

The McKinsey Alumni Network: An Insider’s Guide (2026)

Updated July 16, 2026 | By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant Most of what is written about the McKinsey alumni network comes from people who have never been inside it. The same three claims circulate: it is big, it is powerful, and famous people belong to it. None of that tells you what membership…
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