Gartner isn't going anywhere.

How do I know?

Because they aren't actually selling software advice; they're laundering personal-responsibility for corporate decision makers.

That's the real business of most brand-name B2B "advice."

Very few people are dumb enough to believe the 22yr-old new grad from Ohio that created the powerpoint you're buying is an expert in Software (or management in the case of McKinsey/BCG/Bain, or law in the case of overpriced white shoe law firms, or accounting in the case of the big 4, etc).

But John Executive with the big house and 3 kids doesn't care what the actual advice is, or if your software will save the company millions. He just wants to keep his job.

Being able to point to a "trusted brand" like Gartner as the escape hatch for why you made a large decision with downside risk is priceless. That's the real grift.

"...so that software implementation didn't turn out well for us? Wow..who could have known? I followed what the trusted experts at Gartner said!"

Yes this is an astute perspective. I would say a lot of consulting firms are basically little more than narrative devices in the bigger story of 'the economy'.

The children of elites need an avenue to fulfill their parents' expectations and propagate the legitimacy of the social order. Consulting firms provide that.

If it's 100% dumb, then it seems unsustainable, as the brand will become tarnished, and no longer an escape hatch. It seems like it has to provide at least okay advice, or it isn't sustainable. I have no idea if that's what Gartner is doing or not, this is the first I'm hearing about them, and it's fascinating. I had no idea a thing like this existed. I guess maybe we're watching them pay for bad advice right now.

If ass covering is easy like that, what’s actually the argument for insane leadership comps?