Part 4/16:
Understanding the industry's decline requires a trip back to the 1990s, when management consulting was genuinely crucial. During this era, deregulation swept across the U.S., tearing down protective rules and unleashing economic expansion. Mergers and acquisitions surged from roughly $200 billion annually to over $1.7 trillion—an enormous increase that created both opportunities and chaos. Companies emerging from these mergers often found themselves overstaffed and inefficient, leading to a boom for consultants, whose expertise was in trimming the fat without destroying essential functions.