Apparently the consultants are wrapping up at Conde Nast, with a report due in a few weeks. Through the process, it sounds like some staffers have had some stunning realizations! Here's what one Nastie says: "You don't need to send an entire posse to Joshua Tree for a shot in the desert! Who cares! If the photographer is good, and the clothes are good, the models are good, it's fine-you can shoot downtown." HERESY!

We wondered this morning just how much Conde Nast was getting bilked by McKinsey to tell them who to fire. We heard from one very informed type that it depends, obviously, on the scope of the project, though they can bill up to $2 million a month if you let them. (NEAT GIG.) More typical would be billing in the range of $400K-$750K a month, and a typical engagement could last between three and six months. (The person notes also that companies seem to become often quite entangled/enmeshed with McKinsey, and the relationship can stretch on and on.) Also, they'd never heard of a commission-type arrangement, which was suggested [...]