My Michael Moment was the collective screening rounds to get into the program. I was blown away by the time, energy and cost to screen people and find just a few clients.

I applied with a class colleague and we went through the same process. When I received the 5 page feedback letter my admiration for Michael only grew. He provided very detailed advice on what I needed to do.

Sadly, my class mate was unsuccessful but this impressed me more. To think that Michael went through all that trouble and provided a feedback letter made me realize Michael was serious about his intent.

I am still in the program and loving every minute of it. I learn new things every day and feel I am growing professionally and ready to take on MBB come March 2013.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

I asked Michael about the MBA case competition and he said I should forget about it. I did not believe him and he provided a long explanation which went something like this…

“To win a case competition requires skills very different from that required to obtain an MBB offer. Case competitions require research, power point, formatting and team work skills which will not be required in a case interview. It will also take up a lot of my time, effect your grades and lead to no meaningful reward.”

Michael also pointed out that people who win case competitions generally do not get MBB offers. That was a statistic I found hard to believe at the time, especially since so many other major sites were telling me to do it!

I am sad to say I did not believe Michael, entered 4 major case competitions, hurt my grades and ended up with no offers. That was the last time I ignored Michael’s advice. For round 2 at MBB, at least I hope to get a round 2, I follow his advice like scripture!

Thanks for believing in me Michael.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

A Michael Moment? Hmm…there are so many. And some saved me money and esteem.

For my second round interview with AT Kearney in South East Asia, the company asked if I would be in Malaysia soon and wanted to know if I would be willing to fly in for my own cost. I was excited and thrilled, and ready to go online to spend a few hundred dollars to book the flight and hotel. It seemed normal to me.

When I told Michael about this over Skype, he became upset about it. I had thought he was upset me with! Thankfully he soon clarified the direction of his anger!

He repeated this a few times until I understood the point. I should never pay for my own trip because it implies two things. I am desperate for the position and because it is a double-standard from AT Kearney. If they knew I was desperate for the job, I would lose any chances of getting it. He also felt they would not ask a student from a better school to pay their way. He asked me if I wanted to work for an office with such poor standards?

I was actually quite desperate and it was hard to see Michael’s point that the time. Like many of his lessons, they are not obvious and I needed to think about it. I very reluctantly agreed and asked AT Kearney to pay for my trip since it was a cost I was incurring for them. They refused.

Michael seemed fine with it and we just continued through. In my interactions with MBB I followed Michael’s advice closely. I made every firm think I was heavily in demand and they needed to reach out to me. That worked very well, especially with Bain.

“Image counts. Grades are important but only when packaged with the right image and desperation is never good.”

That was my Michael Moment. Making a decision from the basis of desperation is a bad idea. Thanks for teaching me that Michael.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

I think it is a swell idea of your team to collect the best moments with clients. I hope you will publish some of these stories.

You will probably not recall this moment but it was a turning point for me. I was alone at Wharton, no family in the U.S., I had no money to fly home, all my friends were away for Christmas and I was planning my applications. I sent you a message at 6:15pm EST on Christmas day and never expected a reply.

You sent me a message on Skype and offered to call me. That was a pretty amazing response to take your clients so seriously. We had a short call but you told me something which placed my situation in perspective and gave me the energy to push through.

You said that great people are never happy.

You told me the story about George Stalk’s presentation skills and Kenichi Ohmae’s first McKinsey engagement. You told me that all successful people lack confidence, which drives them to succeed, but they don’t show it. You ended of with the line I will always remember –

On that day in my state of mind I was most receptive to your advice. That really helped with my confidence to know I was important enough for you to speak with on Christmas day.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

My Michael Moment occured after I had received offers from BCG and McKinsey and was trying to debate the best choice. BCG offered me 15% larger package overall and a higher signing bonus. I sent Michael a short note on Skype explaining my decision and intimating that the extra money would pay for a nice vacation with my wife. I received a note saying that money was not everything and I should choose the firm which I felt had a partner who could personally mentor me. Michael gave me 4 things to think about:

• I would only progress to partner if a partner took me under his wings and mentored me. I should think about which firm was not more likely to do that.

• 15% + higher immediate salary translates into very little over a 5 to 10 year career. I should think about the lifetime value of the decision and not the short term value.

• A firm that pays more will have a reason for doing that. No one is that generous. I needed to think carefully about the gap for which the money was compensating. Was it training, the type of engagements etc.?

• Don’t pick the firm that likes you, pick the firm that wants to develop you. In the long term, my personal development would be more important.

It pained me at the time, but I turned down the BCG offer and chose McKinsey. No one agreed with me and my wife had to settle for a Florida vacation over Aruba!

That is my Michael Moment, he took my career seriously even after getting me in – beyond our contracted relationship – and I still count on him for advice. Michael is willing to be the lone voice of dissent if he cares about you.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

A client from South-east Asia wrote 3 memorable moments from our coaching.

I think 3 traits describe Michael for me — utmost professional integrity, excellence and valued relationship. This story is about the 3rd trait:

My “Michael Moment” came when I had finished the case coaching program, having spent ~4 months, and 15 hours being mentored by Michael.

That day, I received the email decision from the consulting firm I was applying to. Sadly, I was unsuccessful in my application.

Of course the first thing I did was shared it with Michael, and after some comforting encouragement from him, he said one the most inspiring words I’ve ever heard:

That for him clients are friends.

I understood this when I later on chatted with him. He provided me with guidance and resources, beyond the scope of what I had assumed as the “formal business contract” of the program.

Michael, I am so fortunate to be your client and your friend.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

I requested Michael to speak to me before my McKinsey interview.

So, one day before the interview he tried to find time but could not accommodate me. At about 9:00pm, my phone rings and least of all I am expecting to hear Michael’s voice on the other side;

I am surprised as hell, because Michael is available on Skype only.

In his characteristic tone he says, “[Redacted] how are you”? And then goes on to say some of the most simple but profoundly motivating words for me. He says,

“[Redacted], good luck for tomorrow. You have it in you and you can make it, you just need to believe in yourself. If you were one of the mediocre candidates then I would have said, have a good time at the interview, we will teach you the networking skills and attempt to get you another interview next year.

But, you have the intellectual rigor needed for a McKinsey interview. All you need to go in is with extreme levels of self-confidence. And please do me a favor – Don’t talk to and listen to your friends, because they don’t know anything about what McKinsey wants in a candidate.

And that’s why I don’t have many friends, because I don’t listen to them. Go in the interview and demonstrate your rich experience, your unique family background, and the way you speak, and you will do fine. If you run in the interview, then they will chase you. So, don’t run, just believe in yourself.”

Next day, I went in to the interview thinking about Michael’s words. Michael is truly gifted and has a super worth ethic; this is an explosive combination. I love him as a mentor.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

My fondest Michael Moment occurred during networking.

I sent an email to an MBB partner and I received a slightly aggresive response. I was really worried and not sure how to respond. I wanted to send a detailed response trying to salvage the relationship by explaining my choices of questions.

I was pretty sure my chances were finished and my dream of an MBB offer was finished.

Michael gave me the strangest advice. He said I should do nothing.

That was such bizarre feedback.

He told me partners are the face of the firm.

“A partner should always be polite and professional since they have such selective requirements and need to balance that with utmost professionalism.”

If I waited long enough the partner would try to correct the situation since he could not leave the situation as it was. Michael was right as usual!

2 days later I received an email from the senior partner saying he had reviewed my resume again and felt we should talk.

That call did not lead to an offer but I eventually got into Bain by using similar advice from Michael.

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

Greetings from the West Coast.

My Michael Moment happened before I applied to Firmsconsulting. I wrote to Michael asking if he could help me transfer from Bain in a non-U.S. office to a U.S.-office. He was polite but said I needed to go through a complete screening process including a selection interview.

I was shocked! I was at Bain! Either Michael did not know how good Bain was or was just arrogant.

He calmly and carefully explained the process to me. Everyone needs to go through the process. If Firmsconsulting took me in without verifying my abilities they would be accepting a client which may not be a good fit for them. Michael also indicated that even on their best days, MBB does not have uniform recruiting standards and weaker consultants get in – they screened for that and assumed nothing.

After speaking to Michael I realized he had an exceptional understanding of Bain, our history and culture and even knew more than me. He was extremely polite, and knew my office very well – maybe to well!

Much later, I learned that FC has a principle of aiming to have higher standards than the 3 consulting companies they serve. That impressed me a lot.

I was also very impressed to see the thoroughness with which he handled things. That was my Michael Moment. I never regretted joining and am collecting more moments every week!

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.