House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time

Name: House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time
Rating: 3.923076868057251 (13 reviews)

Martin Kihn

May 2009 · Hachette+ORM

13 reviews

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"[A] highly intelligent and deeply funny debut memoir skewers a segment of the economy that nearly every white-collar worker has learned to fear and loathe: consultancies." — Publishers Weekly
The basis for the Don Cheadle series on Netflix, an accurate and darkly hilarious behind-the-scenes look at the twisted world of management consulting.
Once upon a time in Corporate America paid certain people huge fees to tell organizations what they were doing wrong. These men and women really knew next to nothing. They trashed business, destroyed careers, and wasted time and money. They called themselves Management Consultants. . . .

When Martin Kihn joined a powerhouse New York consulting firm, he thought his job was to help organizations. In reality, the consultants spent precious work hours prowling for new clients, and offered little or no useful information. From power breakfasts with mind games to the screaming indignity of "Feedback Camp" in New Jersey, House of Lies reveals the truth about a "profession" that could threaten your job, your career, and your life . . . and even throws you some lifelines should the suits start circling your company.

"With sharp wit, consultant Kihn tears down myths surrounding the highly profitable and revered management-consulting industry. . . . No activity avoids Kihn's scathing pen, including his highly critical analysis of business books." — Booklist

"Exceedingly smart and funny . . . Kihn's breezy, Jay McInerney-inspired writing renders the damnable daily life of the management consultant precisely, often hilariously." —Salon.com

"Funny, lucid, and lacerating." —Graydon Carter, editor-in-chief, Vanity Fair

"[A] highly intelligent and deeply funny debut memoir skewers a segment of the economy that nearly every white-collar worker has learned to fear and loathe: consultancies." — Publishers Weekly The basis for the Don Cheadle series on Netflix, an accurate and darkly hilarious behind-the-scenes loo...

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Ratings and reviews

13 reviews

A Google user

May 26, 2012

I picked this book up from the library after having enjoyed the Showtime series. If you aren't interested in consulting, don't bother. While I found the book to be decent, there is no link between the show and the book other than the title and the disdain for the profession in general. Some amusing parts, but a bit lightweight and I was expecting more than what I found.

Teresa Chien

August 30, 2019

While there were some funny chapters, the book mostly felt like mental masturbation for the writer. I was expecting a bit more bite. While Kihn does a decent job skewering the profession, half the chapters felt more like stream of consciousness and less satire.

arion07

February 6, 2016

A brief but cold water rush of my own experience with consulting, but as they say " Even when the devil critizes his hell, he's still being a devil", and Kihn's still that devil making a living of consulting services by this day...

2 people found this review helpful

About the author

Martin Kihn was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work as head writer for MTV's Pop-Up Video, and was also a staff writer for New York magazine. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, GQ, Spy, and numerous other national publications. He is a graduate of the Columbia Business School and Yale University.

Martin Kihn was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work as head writer for MTV's Pop-Up Video, and was also a staff writer for New York magazine. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Forbes, GQ, Spy, and numerous other national publications. He is a graduate of the Columbia Business...

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