What does MBB do?

Question

Hi everyone,

I apologise if this is a dumb question, but I'm new to consulting (recently stumbled upon it).

I know that MBB are strategy consulting firms, but what exactly do they do? Or at least what are they known for?

Do they only do market entry assessment? Growth? Improving efficiency?

Would be great to learn what exactly are the sort of work they do.

Answer 1

Yes, they do all of that. But that is not the business of MBB (and tier 2), nor what sets them appart.

MBB's at their heart are board advisors, they focus on Top Management / C-Suite consulting, i.e., they help boards in their most relevant business issues (please note I said business, not legal, nor financial, nor fiscal, etc.). Many people use the term Strategy Consulting (I do!), but in reality these firms go “way beyond” strategy, but the objective here is to highlight the subset of Management Consulting (as it focuses on Board level issues, not on management level issues).

As such it includes everything you mentioned and much more, as long as it is strategic / high impact. This is why it is hard to describe as it is not a given set of project types.

I hope this makes it a bit more clear, but as other coaches said, you will really need to do some research on your own.

Answer 2

Hi there,

This isn't a dumb question at all! Frankly, I don't think enough people ask this!

Understanding what MBB does is not only important to see if the job is right for you, but it also immensely helps in you being a good caser (remember: a case is a mini-project).

What MBB does

Think of a large company as a large ship. The CEO is the captain. MBB helps the CEO move the ship.

This could mean telling them where to go (what direction), informing them of what's going on with their crew (preventing mutiny, improving their morale, etc.), garnering support for changes (persuading crews to do x), etc.

Ultimately MBB take a lot of complicated information, in a generally ambiugous/hard-to-define problem, and boil it down simply for the organization. They then help boil it down for the rest of the organizationa s well (to make it easier to move the organization). In essence, they are story-tellers!

Answer 3

No question is dumb when you are starting off.

And one of the key skills you will need to be a good consultant is to be resourceful. So, in that spirit feel free to browse the sites of McK, BCG, Bain and other firms and read about their services/offerings. Its very clear what type of work they do.

There is plenty of other literature & videos on the web too and you can self-learn about Consulting firms easily.

Search the PrepLounge Q&A forum and there are tons of threads with similar question.

Answer 4

Hi!

I'd recommend reading the introductory articles here on PrepLounge. Networking would also be a great way to know more about the consulting industry.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Anto

Answer 5

Hi, It depends on the role you are applying to: Experienced hire for a generalist position Research expert Ex... (read entire answer)

Hi, It depends on the role you are applying to: Experienced hire for a generalist position Research expert Expert hire in a particular practice (e.g. implementation coac... (read entire answer)

Answer 6

Well, why don't you just reach out to the recruiting team and follow up? Honestly, sometimes I really don't get the q... (read entire answer)

Well, why don't you just reach out to the recruiting team and follow up? Honestly, sometimes I really don't get the questions that are asked in this forum. cheers, Sidi

Answer 7

MBB is MBB... Can't speak to comp; everything else should be very similar to other locations (except more energy wo... (read entire answer)

MBB is MBB... Can't speak to comp; everything else should be very similar to other locations (except more energy work of course)