Academics are one of the three core constituencies of the MAC Partnership. They play a prominent role in our firm. Some are equity partners and participate in the governance of the firm. Many work with us in delivering projects they initiate. In selective cases, we support their conceptual developments and help them test their new concepts in the field.

We work with Academics in two primary ways.

We Support the Consulting Relationships of our Academic Partners

This is the most common mode of relationship with our Academics. The collaboration with faculty members is also one of the most distinctive features of the MAC Partnership.

Many of our Academic Partners have established consulting practices. They often seek resources that can help them deliver on their assignments. Our role is typically one of catalyst, where one or more senior Consulting Partners of the firm teams up with the Academic to extend his or her relationship with an organization. The MAC Partnership, because of the key role played by Academics in its governance, enjoys a unique trust in delivering faculty-based projects. Our respect for their client relationship role and our scrupulous respect for the integrity of their models are the two drivers of this trust.

We Help our Academic Partners Develop Their Intellectual Property

In a limited number of cases, we undertake responsibility for supporting the development of the Intellectual Property (IP) developed by an Academic. We do so for IP which falls within our general field of interest, which we define as Customer-Inspired Innovation.

We utilize two primary tests for selecting the methodologies we endorse. First, the IP must be original in relationship to what already exists. Secondly, there must be evidence of a demonstrated, positive response by clients. When both conditions are met, we selectively sponsor the development of tools and methodologies, always in the context of “real life” client assignments.