Consulting Magazine - January 2016

2 JANUARY 2016 Consulting®

In the Spring of 2007, when I began my role of Editor-in-Chief of Consut-ling magazine, the economy was in a very good place. We were coming off several years of healthy growth and it seemed like the party would go on forever. As with real-life parties, it didn’t. And the hangover was much worse than we could’ve anticipated.

And the clean up took a lot longer, too. So, here we are in 2016

and I’m thrilled to report that happy days are here again!

The long, slow slog back is finally complete. Firms are back in the race and now willing and able to put the pedal to the metal. Yes, after a few years coasting along, consulting firms are living life in the fast lane.

For sure, we’ve been heading in this direction for a few years now, but this year there’s no denying that confidence, based on the results of our annual Executive Outlook survey and exclusive interviews with

15 firm leaders, is higher than it’s been in nearly a decade. For the first time in a long time, executives are using words like “optimistic,” “successful,” “ momentum,” “extraordinary” and “double-digit growth.” Some firm leaders are even reporting growth north of 20 percent. And perhaps even more telling, the “cautiously optimistic” mantra that seemed to punctuate nearly all of previous years’ comments are now few and far between.

That’s not to say there are no speed traps or hazards on this super highway. Economists are quick to point out that we’re still stuck in a slow growth environment and will be for some time. For the foreseeable future, the global economy will have to settle for 2 percent to 3 percent growth. And Europe and China’s economic troubles will continue to have a ripple effect. But here’s the good news: Firm leaders are seeing no indications of a slowdown, and they continue to report strong, even robust, pipelines. If any sort of economic slowdown is coming, consulting firms would be among the first to notice it.

Take a look at the 14-page Executive Outlook section; it’s good news and that’s really good news.

Joseph Kornik

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief jkornik@alm.com

There’s no denying that confidence, based on the results of our annual Executive Outlook survey and exclusive interviews with 15

firm leaders, is higher than it’s been in nearly a decade.

JOSEPH KORNIK Tel: (212) 457-9176 jkornik@alm.com

Editor-in-Chief JOSEPH KORNIK Tel: (212) 457-9176 jkornik@alm.com

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

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