“Management consulting is a pie-eating contest, in the which winning prize is yet more pies,” quips James Crabtree, a student at the Kennedy School and ex-Worlds debater, to the audience at the Leadership & Ethics Forum event last Tuesday. In the time-honored tradition of parliamentary debate, four student speakers took turns arguing for and against the motion; ‘This House believes that management consultants add no value’ with an engaging mixture of serious argument, fancy rhetoric, and cheeky jibes. After a close-run contest, the audience of HBS and KSG students voted narrowly in favor of the motion. The organizers hope the event will help encourage people to try out for the HBS debate team (no prior experience necessary) Monday and Tuesday, 24 and 25 October. This team will do battle with Yale in the annual HBS-SOM grudge match next month.
