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When McKinsey Comes To Town...
3x Pulitzer Prize Winner On The Podcast!
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McKinsey & Co… The Modern Day ‘El Pulpo’
Forget secret cabals, the Illuminati, lizard people or globalists, because instead… there is McKinsey.
They used to call United Fruit, ‘el pulpo’, because its tentacles ran through every hall of power from Guatamala to the United States… but while they were big, the type of influence and power United Fruit commanded pales in comparison to the much bigger, modern day octopus that is McKinsey & Co.
McKinsey are the worlds largest management consulting firm, private, and have stained their oily fingerprints over every notable commercial and political disaster of the last 50 years.
They were instrumental in South Africa’s apartheid government, responsible for the economic incentives that addicted millions of Americans to opioids, key consultants to Brexit, and honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The guest on this episode, a 3x Pulitzer Prize winning journalist (yes, you read that right… 3 times) Walt Bogdanich, co-wrote a book called ‘When McKinsey Comes To Town’ which documents case after case of the calamity McKinsey leave in their wake.
Check out the transcript exchange, and then check out the full episode of the podcast. #116 w/ Walt Bogdanich of the ‘Curious Worldview Podcast’.
Forward this email or share this podcast with a mate who works at a consultancy, or even better, someone who watched that John Oliver video that went super viral last week.
Here is a transcript of the opening exchange from the conversation…
Ryan
Alrighty Walt, what sort of doors open up because of three Pulitzer Prize wins?
Walt
What sort of doors open up because of three Pulitzer Prize wins? Not enough, I could say, but more than if I had none. And it's not like I don't appreciate it.
It does mean a lot specifically in terms of credibility. When people don't know you, when you're asking them to reveal secrets and things that otherwise they might be uncomfortable doing. The fact you're talking to somebody who's apparently respected enough in the field to win three Pulitzers, or I should say lucky enough to win three Pulitzers, because there is that element of luck, which I do acknowledge. On the other hand, I thought we did some pretty good work.
Ryan
Can you give us some examples or maybe just one example that stands out of how it made a tangible difference in opening a door… a sense of credibility.
Walt
Opening a door or yes. Well, you know, it's I've never began a conversation saying, look, you need to talk to me. By the way, I won three Pulitzer prizes. I think you get very far that way. I just think, you know, I can't point to any specific story. I do know that, you know, someone who is going to be interviewed by me or received a call from me. One of the first things they do is they look at my bio and this day and age is very easy to do. And the three Pulitzers pop up. So that can only help. Or it could also make you fearful, if you've got something to hide, I suppose.
Ryan
Okay, well that's a nice segway. I mean, was that the case here with when McKinsey comes to town?
Walt
Well, I think it helped. I mean, it's not just the Pulitzers, but I'm working for what I would consider, and most people would consider, the best news organization in the world. So that also helps. And we had done a number of stories on McKinsey before launching into the book. And it was, at times, a hard sell, because not that many, not much is known on McKinsey. Editors before they commit a lot of resources, they want to be kind of certain of a sure thing. And there was no sure thing when you're investigating or proposing an investigation of this super secretive company that never discloses what it does and has tentacles that reach all sorts of places that you kind of wish they didn't. Just find my track record. Look, I was upset about it a little bit, but there were other big stories my unit was working on, the sexual assault Harvey Weinstein stuff. So that's big, and they had a lot of people working on that. So getting an editor's attention is not always the easiest thing to do, but I've known that throughout my career, and I can sort of jump up and down and make myself known.
Ryan
Well, you're teeing me up perfectly. Slimy was your own words, but help me make sense of this statement. Forget secret cabals, the Illuminati, lizard people or globalists, because instead there is McKinsey.
Walt
I just love that quote because those in the know, and there aren't many in the know, and that's why we did the book, realized the reach and power and influence of McKinsey, and that's what makes that quote ring true to people who know about the company and know about……
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