Consulting One on One with Bain's Miles Cook

As Bain & Co.'s newly appointed Global Performance Improvement Practice leader, Miles Cook oversees one of his firm's largest practices — one that touches almost all of the firm's client engagements. And because of that perspective, Consulting's One-on-One sat down with him to learn where and how he thinks client demand is shifting.

Consulting: What are the biggest issues facing your clients today?Cook: Because of the economy, companies have been working to rid their business processes of waste to free up cash. They are continuing to attack inefficiencies, but are starting to get to the harder stuff. And they are realizing it's going to require more outside help to make that change happen. The easy, first order things have already been driven internally. Now, a lot of functions need to change to drive the next layer of cost savings. And it will require firms like us to manage the delivery of those programs.

Consulting: Are firms also looking at growth opportunities?Cook: I also think that people are beginning to think about transitioning from defense to offense. They are seeing competitive windows opening and companies are moving to capture market share and expand into new sectors. We're hearing from a number of companies who want help to figure out when, and how, they move from defense — driving efficiency — to offense – leveraging their existing, and/or building new, capabilities to win in the market.