Acknowledgments1 Introduction: The Big Con--A Confidence TrickIn every roomSurfing capitalism's trendsUnlearning by not doing2 What Is the Consulting Industry?A taxonomyMeet the consultantsThe scale of consultingGetting in the roomInterrogating the omnipresence3 Where Consulting Came From: A Brief HistoryWhen consultants counseledFrom engineering to the matrixConsulting by numbersShaping post-war capitalismNeoliberalism's opportunitiesPrivatization and the growth of consulting giantsConsultants without bordersLucrative transitionsTaming a Goliath?4 The Outsourcing Turn: Government by Consultancy and the Third WayContracts at scale and scope"Reinventing" governmentWho contracts the contractors?Digital-era outsourcingConsulting the financial crisisContracting for austerityAuditing the outsourcers5 The Big Confidence Trick: Consultology and Economic RentsWhy bring in the consultants?Extracting rents The best and brightestTalent drainCase-savvy and PowerPoint--readyQuasi-academia and fast fashionsRubber stamping6 Evading the Risks, Reaping the Rewards: The Business ModelConsulting riskThe art of limited liabilityShareholder value in public firmsRisk shifts after acquisitions7 Infantilizing Organizations: When Learning Is Undermined Across Government and BusinessExtortionate costs for likely failuresHow do organizations learn?Learning from consultants?Beyond budgets: The consequences for future learningCapture by brochuremanship"Cronyism" and incapacitySkeletonizing businessApotheosis: Betting on management, stripping out science8 Colliding Interests: Consultancies and DemocracyPrivatizing bankruptcy, avoiding blameBoth sides of the street?Poachers and gamekeepersHidden capital, minimized taxesArresting developmentBargaining against laborDemocracy dies in the shadow government9 Climate Consulting: An Existential Threat?The turning pointThe dawn of climate consultingA brief history of (market-driven) climate governanceManipulating modelsConflicting interests: Running democracy on fumesResisting accountability: The case of ESGFuture-proofing: Commitment with action10 Conclusion: A Government That Rows So It Can SteerInnovating from withinA government that rows so it can steerBibliographyNotesIndex