About 10 years ago, my firm hired McKinsey (at inordinate expense) to come up with some big strategic ideas.

When they presented all of their findings, and after much soul searching, we concluded that it was 50/50 as to whether their proposals would ultimately improve our business/profitability, but that it was 100% likely that they would rip apart our culture. We ultimately ignored almost all of them. We are now twice as big and twice as profitable. Who knows; perhaps we could have been three times as big and three times as profitable…but I doubt it (and none of their models suggested as much).

Sometimes the people who are paid to run a business day-to-day really are the people who know what’s best for it. And - if they’re not - the answer is to replace them. I don’t think the answer is ever to hire some very expensive outside consultants who understand spreadsheets but normally don’t understand the multifaceted “soft” things which really make a business tick.

This current debacle has not changed my mind. (And I say that as someone who is a happy GCH and will likely remain as such under the new system).

Madness.

YMMV.