We're McKinsey and We're Here to Help
I was leafing (digitally) through the New York Times today to get to Wordle and Connections (they may have lost all objectivity in their reporting but the NYT word games are pretty damn good.) when I saw, prominently displayed, actually prominently displayed twice, an ad for McKinsey & Company, “Shaping the Future Defense Landscape. Creating Key Advantages with Cutting-Edge Strategy.” I clicked on the ad and was brought to the McKinsey website’s section “Aerospace and Defense.”
The page details how McKinsey helps clients, which I guess includes helping their client, the China Communications Construction Company (Black-Listed by the United States Department of Commerce) build military bases in the South China Sea.
There is No America, There is Only McKinsey
Funny, that bit of work didn’t make it on to their website.
First of all, why does McKinsey buy TWO front page ads in the NYT? Is somebody going to read that and engage them based on an ad in the NYT? Probably not. Perhaps it’s a payoff to write article after article trashing Tulsi Gabbord and anyone else who thinks endless war isn’t a good idea. The whole media ad/payoff thing has worked wonders for Big Pharma so why not?
Anyway, McKinsey states it helps its clients with the usual consultant word salads such as
Changing trajectories through holistic interventions in performance, capabilities, and health.
Helping A&D organizations create the right culture for their people, design the right structure, and attract and retain the right talent.
However, when you cut through all the BS, what it all really comes down to is
Helping clients capture the aftermarket potential—the largest source of untapped value in aerospace and defense—by assessing the installed base opportunity, improving pricing, and optimizing operations.
I read this as, “If you haven’t already, engage us and we’ll get you a seat at the big table, our global network of war for profit.
The Installed Base Opportunity or All War All the Time, an endless stream of conflicts that MUST be fought, a growing list of enemies with whom there is NO CHANCE to find common ground and peaceful resolutions. It means a web of consultants, think tanks, media, congressmen, government officials pushing war 24/7.
BTW, I wonder if McKinsey used the “Installed Base Opportunity” lingo when they came up with the “Wildfire” sales strategy for Purdue Pharma to flood targeted states, cities, towns and doctors with opioids? I’m going to say there’s a good chance.
McKinsey paid a $78 million settlement for this bit of nastiness, which was probably equal to their annual global client entertainment and “outreach” budget. When I think about what companies like McKinsey pay for these horrific crimes I’m reminded of the Stalin quote, “A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic.”
Good times. I’ll leave you with this cute video from McKinsey’s website.
Theses people go on to staff our government at the highest levels.