Chapter Two: Learning MECE and 80/20 at Bain
Bain & Company is an interesting company. “Bainies”, as they refer to themselves, take enormous pride in their culture and the “true north” value system which lies at the core of their cultural values. On my first day at the office, sitting through an induction led by a team of partners, the following three points were driven home: • Bain believes in developing solutions which work. The Monday-morning-principle was the belief that any Bain recommendation must lead to an action that could be implemented by the client on Monday morning. • Bain also believes in 80/20 rule. But the rule is different from the famous Pareto principle. Bain's 80/20 rule refers to the fact that it is better to have 80% of the best answer, provided this could be implemented by the client to get success. Chasing the best theoretical answer with limited room for operational success was not an option. • Clients come first. Period. Bain ties this to their “true north” value system of only doing what lies true to their value system, and by default, the client. We went through a long induction period lasting one complete week. A whole host of topics were covered in this…