ABSTRACT
Our need for certainty in an uncertain world is not new, but the narratives we choose must resonate with the times we imagine. In the twenty-first century, management discourses focus on rapid technological and societal changes to highlight a radically open future that is fundamentally different from the past. Where once oracles used the exploits of Zeus, Apollo and Dionysus to dispense wisdom and provide direction in our collective struggle for survival, we now look elsewhere. With the rise of scientific management in the early twentieth century, the corporate world and public institutions have looked to management consultants to provide the certainty they require. Not surprisingly with its rise, commentators and critics have sought to understand the nature of the industry and why it has become such a significant part of the business environment. Paradoxically, despite over twenty-five years of writing and many authoritative voices, the nature of the industry remains vague (Harvey et al., 2016). To shed light on why this might be this chapter draws on Greek mythology and the god Hermes, the fleet footed traveller dispatched from the heavens to dispense knowledge and wisdom to mortals on Earth - the first consultant
