McKinsey's Marvin Bower: Vision, Leadership, and the Creation of Management Consulting - Hardcover

by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim (Author)

"I had the privilege of working closely with Marvin and McKinsey for many years. This book makes Marvin come to life and perpetuates him as a role model."
-Peter F. Drucker

"A wonderful book about a wonderful man. In many ways, Marvin's McKinsey framed the hypotheses in our own search for excellence-for example, passion for values, belief in people as the prime resource, and willingness to let people experiment. As well as I thought I knew Marvin, however, this remarkable book, drawing on the collective memories of those who worked most closely with him, taught me a ton about how extraordinary the man really was and what made him that way. Many have called Drucker the man who invented management; I think history will conclude that both he and Marvin Bower share that pedestal."
-Bob Waterman, coauthor of In Search of Excellence

"Marvin Bower became a legend, not just within McKinsey & Company, but within professional services and the business world more broadly. In everything he did and said, he embodied the professional approach and the importance of values. This book sheds remarkable insight on a remarkable man and on the power of constancy of purpose."
-Ian Davis, Worldwide Managing Director, McKinsey & Co.

"It is as Marvin would have wanted it-simple, honest, fact-based, wonderful stories with a long-term perspective. An insightful read about the father of management consulting."
-Lois Juliber, retired COO, Colgate-Palmolive

"This book provides fascinating insight into the early days of modern management consulting. It is an extremely enlightening look at the origin of one of America's most important professions and one of America's most innovative leaders."
-Thomas H. Lee, founder, Chairman, and President, Thomas H. Lee Partners L.P.

Front Jacket

Marvin's ideas were founded in basic human attributes of respect for others and promotion of self-esteem and courage. What made him a pioneer was that he took basic values into the business world-a fairly novel approach-to help leaders create value-based compasses for their own leadership. He valued the imagination of youth and understood the power of new ideas.
-From the Foreword by John McArthur

McKinsey & Company is one of the most successful management consulting firms in the world, serving a wide range of clients-from leading corporations to governments. But without the late Marvin Bower, McKinsey & Company would never have become the organization it is today. Former worldwide managing director Ron Daniel put it best when he stated that "McKinsey's impact, reach, power, and influence are directly traceable to Marvin-to his vision, his energy, his relentless determination, and his selfless commitment to making his firm-our firm-the preeminent institution it has become."

So how did Marvin Bower transform McKinsey & Company from a nearly defunct accounting and engineering firm into the preeminent advisor to senior executives and, on occasion, governments? How did he become the founding father of modern management consulting? And how did he put his innovative ideas into action? McKinsey's Marvin Bower: Vision, Leadership, and the Creation of Management Consulting takes you on a fascinating journey that details the personal beliefs and professional experiences that made Marvin Bower one of the most respected men in the world of business.

With the help of the late Marvin Bower and through numerous interviews with friends and colleagues, author Elizabeth Haas Edersheim offers an in-depth look at how this man made his vision of the consulting profession and the institution (McKinsey & Company) come to fruition. McKinsey's Marvin Bower is filled with intriguing stories that capture the defining moments of Bower's distinguished career. Decade by decade, you'll watch as Bower develops the innovative concept of management consulting and travels throughout the business world-inspiring organizational change and courage at each stop.

Even after Bower's retirement from McKinsey & Company, it is still fair to say that the story of Marvin Bower as an institution creator, profession builder, teacher, and leader's leader can provide valuable lessons applicable to a variety of professions-lessons as valuable today as they were in 1933, when Bower first joined McKinsey & Company.

Back Jacket

Praise for MCKINSEY'S MARVIN BOWER

"I had the privilege of working closely with Marvin and McKinsey for many years. This book makes Marvin come to life and perpetuates him as a role model."
-Peter F. Drucker

"A wonderful book about a wonderful man. In many ways, Marvin's McKinsey framed the hypotheses in our own search for excellence-for example, passion for values, belief in people as the prime resource, and willingness to let people experiment. As well as I thought I knew Marvin, however, this remarkable book, drawing on the collective memories of those who worked most closely with him, taught me a ton about how extraordinary the man really was and what made him that way. Many have called Drucker the man who invented management; I think history will conclude that both he and Marvin Bower share that pedestal."
-Bob Waterman
coauthor of In Search of Excellence

"Marvin Bower became a legend, not just within McKinsey & Company, but within professional services and the business world more broadly. In everything he did and said, he embodied the professional approach and the importance of values. This book sheds remarkable insight on a remarkable man and on the power of constancy of purpose."
-Ian Davis
Worldwide Managing Director, McKinsey & Co.

"It is as Marvin would have wanted it-simple, honest, fact-based, wonderful stories, with a long term perspective. An insightful read about the father of management consulting."
-Lois Juliber
COO, Colgate Palmolive

"This book provides fascinating insight into the early days of modern management consulting. It is an extremely enlightening look at the origin of one of America's most important professions and one of America's most innovative leaders."
-Thomas H. Lee

Author Biography

ELIZABETH HAAS EDERSHEIM worked for more than a year with Bower, completing the manuscript shortly before his death. Edersheim holds a PhD from MIT and worked at McKinsey from 1979 to 1988. She was the first woman partner in the Cleveland office and was a global leader of the firm's operations and manufacturing practices. After leaving McKinsey, Dr. Haas Edersheim founded New York Consulting Partners, Inc., and was the managing director for thirteen years until the firm was sold. She is now a strategic advisor to a number of companies, currently working with three Fortune 500 companies. She has written numerous articles for publications including the the New York Times, the Harvard Business Review, and the Wall Street Journal.