Fresh from Oxford with a degree in philosophy and no particular interest in business, Matthew Stewart might not have seemed a likely candidate to become a consultant. Striking fear into the hearts of clients with his sharp analytical tools, Stewart lived in hotel rooms and got fat on expense account cuisine—until, finally, he decided to turn his merciless, penetrating eye on the management industry itself.

Providing a bitingly funny account of his own hands-on experience in a management consulting firm along with a devastating critique of management “philosophy” and the theoretical underpinnings of contemporary fads in efficiency improvement, empowerment, and strategy, Stewart lays bare how little consultants have really done for the business of others—while making a killing for themselves.