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McKinsey Growth Issues

This article highlights some of the recent struggles McKinsey has encountered while managing runaway growth. McKinsey consultants tend to deliberately work longer hours than needed. Extreme pressure to perform and manage their images ultimately means many consultants work longer hours than needed. There is an almost inherent belief that they should be proud in having worked so late at the office. This ultimately fosters a strong case of burn-out, disconnect from families and an inability to actually complete work within a reasonable amount of time. In a recent study for a mining company McKinsey undertook a painful study of heat curves and heat charts to estimate the correct amount of energy required. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach. Yet, the McKinsey analyses could not be understood. McKinsey, by its own admission, has struggled when it comes to advising clients where knowledge of technical issues is required. That’s okay; most of their competitors have this problem. However, their response to plug this gap is a little worrisome. We have seen several instances where McKinsey had partnered with technical specialists or taken an excessively technical approach to analyse issues. In a recent study for a mining company McKinsey undertook a painful…

This article highlights some of the recent struggles McKinsey has encountered while managing runaway growth. McKinsey consultants tend to deliberately work longer hours than needed. Extreme pressure to perform and manage their images ultimately means many consultants work longer hours than needed. There is an almost inherent belief that they should be proud in having worked so late at the office. This ultimately fosters a strong case of burn-out, disconnect from families and an inability to actually complete work within a reasonable amount of time. In a recent study for a mining company McKinsey undertook a painful study of heat…

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Boutique Firm to McKinsey

In this post we will show you how we would assess this candidate's chances of transitioning from the boutique firm to McKinsey, BCG or Bain.  Candidate's boutique firm experience "My first consulting job was with a small boutique firm of performance specialists. Their engagements were geared toward performance improvements. They did not perform any strategy work and guaranteed their performance results. Analyses were a two week ’blitz’. It was a combination of day in the life studies as well as manager and supervisory behavioral observations. The projects were geared toward coaching managers and supervisors to increase hourly output and then reducing headcount (savings) due to lack of work. Due to the guarantee there was great pressure to achieve results. The boutique firm was very heavy-handed with staff and turnover was very high (up or out was very much a part of the culture). If you stuck around past 3 years you were pretty good. The boutique firm did not have any formal training and most of what was learned was obtained on field projects (on-the-job-training). This approach made it difficult for many employees to survive past 10 months. It was very much a sink-or-swim environment. New staff learned how to identify issues (using gap…

In this post we will show you how we would assess this candidate's chances of transitioning from the boutique firm to McKinsey, BCG or Bain.  Candidate's boutique firm experience "My first consulting job was with a small boutique firm of performance specialists. Their engagements were geared toward performance improvements. They did not perform any strategy work and guaranteed their performance results. Analyses were a two week ’blitz’. It was a combination of day in the life studies as well as manager and supervisory behavioral observations. The projects were geared toward coaching managers and supervisors to increase hourly output and then reducing headcount…

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Why I joined the World of McKinsey, BCG & Bain

It’s a question I am asked many times and I have never posted my thoughts. Now, a good few years after leaving, I think it is worth giving my reasons for becoming a management consultant, staying as long as I did and exiting as a managing director. Not everyone will agree with my thoughts, but it is an honest opinion. Management consulting is a meritocracy. No matter how old you are, your background or views, if you are smart, can solve problems and clients like you, then you will move up rapidly. I have friends who entered their professional careers at the same time as me. They joined exceptional companies like GE, Nestle and a host of other blue-chips and investment banks. No matter how fast they were promoted, there was always an expectation they would need to work longer in a position before moving up. And they did. If you are truly intelligent and want to be recognized for this, then management consulting can get you to the top and cut out all the waiting time. The path to partnership is 6 -8 years as a principal and another 3 to 6 years as a director. If you are…

It’s a question I am asked many times and I have never posted my thoughts. Now, a good few years after leaving, I think it is worth giving my reasons for becoming a management consultant, staying as long as I did and exiting as a managing director. Not everyone will agree with my thoughts, but it is an honest opinion. Management consulting is a meritocracy. No matter how old you are, your background or views, if you are smart, can solve problems and clients like you, then you will move up rapidly. I have friends who entered their professional careers…

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Behind the Feature on Women in Emerging Markets

Behind The Feature: Michael & Irina on Women in Emerging Markets and their ambitions. Michael Boricki, a Firmsconsulting Principal, edited September’s Quarterly article about the significant challenges of women in emerging markets who lack career guidance to join the likes of McKinsey, BCG et al. Irina (see footnote 1), a Big-3 consultant and co-writer of the article, was the source material for the article and the main consultant profiled. The photo-essay above follows a young lady, who lives in Irina's old apartment, through her typical day. This essay aims to provide some context for Irina's former life in Ukraine. Photos are copyrighted to Firmsconsulting. How do you think women should use the inspiring stories in this piece? Michael: Well, I can answer that by telling you how women in emerging markets, or of disenfranchised backgrounds, should not use the article. When we wrote this article I was most concerned with readers looking at these stories and thinking that if they spent a few thousand dollars on advice, along with tens of thousands of dollars on an education, they could achieve an amazing career outcome. That keeps me awake at night. I worry that all of the advice will be taken literally. What Irina…

Behind The Feature: Michael & Irina on Women in Emerging Markets and their ambitions. Michael Boricki, a Firmsconsulting Principal, edited September’s Quarterly article about the significant challenges of women in emerging markets who lack career guidance to join the likes of McKinsey, BCG et al. Irina (see footnote 1), a Big-3 consultant and co-writer of the article, was the source material for the article and the main consultant profiled. The photo-essay above follows a young lady, who lives in Irina's old apartment, through her typical day. This essay aims to provide some context for Irina's former life in Ukraine. Photos are copyrighted…

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Unemployed to The Big-3

Unemployed to The Big-3 This article was co-written with eight clients including those featured in this article.   Feature Begins: Unemployed to The Big 3 Irina did not follow the path of a typical Ukrainian high school graduate. Unlike her peers who studied the arts, economics or mathematics at university, she did not have the luxury of pursuing post-secondary education. She could not afford the opportunity cost. The only child to a widowed and ill mother, she had grown up with the expectation that taking care of her mother was the natural next stage of her life. Therefore, despite graduating 1st in her class, she pursued the unlikely path of shunning an essentially free university education to seek full time employment in Ukraine’s black-market economy. Irina openly admits that even if her mother had been healthy and able to work, she was unlikely to have pursued higher education since there was no one advising her of its value. Irina did not have many role models in her life, yet was inspired by US television shows to dream of a life on the US west coast. An option she felt was out of her grasp. Both her grandfathers had succumbed to alcoholism, and…

Unemployed to The Big-3 This article was co-written with eight clients including those featured in this article.   Feature Begins: Unemployed to The Big 3 Irina did not follow the path of a typical Ukrainian high school graduate. Unlike her peers who studied the arts, economics or mathematics at university, she did not have the luxury of pursuing post-secondary education. She could not afford the opportunity cost. The only child to a widowed and ill mother, she had grown up with the expectation that taking care of her mother was the natural next stage of her life. Therefore, despite graduating 1st in…

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Joining McKinsey from the Military

Meet Eliot, an officer in the US military with 6 years’ experience including combat experience in Iraq, leading a combat platoon and economic planning team, and a subsequent deployment to the US Central Command where he was responsible for logistical planning for Middle Eastern supply lines. Aged 30, he has risen rapidly through the army and completed an undergraduate degree from a top private US university and two masters in engineering and economics from the same institute. Although up for a promotion soon, he now wants to make a transition to consulting. What should he do? Two wars in Asia have made this profile and career decision point not uncommon. We regularly receive requests from ambitious soldiers to review their profile and determine the best route for them to follow. McKinsey and BCG tend to favor successful applicants from the military forces since they have a type of drive and practical experience consulting firms want – they get things done. What follows is the typical conversation we have and what we search for in the candidate before advising them. The key takeout is that not all profiles are the same, so it is almost impossible to give proper feedback from simply…

Meet Eliot, an officer in the US military with 6 years’ experience including combat experience in Iraq, leading a combat platoon and economic planning team, and a subsequent deployment to the US Central Command where he was responsible for logistical planning for Middle Eastern supply lines. Aged 30, he has risen rapidly through the army and completed an undergraduate degree from a top private US university and two masters in engineering and economics from the same institute. Although up for a promotion soon, he now wants to make a transition to consulting. What should he do? Two wars in Asia…

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Choosing the Right McKinsey Office

Choosing the Right McKinsey Office This is a critical question that is certainly worth answering in this longer post. This applies to candidates considering four office choices: • Staying in the home town. • Applying to another country with an established office. • Applying to another country where an office will need to be established. • Applying to another country with a younger and smaller office. We have lots of experience in this area and will provide some practical advice. It’s worth discussing the broad considerations when making this decision. Personally, we at Firmsconsulting have extensive experience in the emerging markets have served as principals in such offices and extensively advised clients in these markets. They are vibrant and exciting places to be, but they are not for everyone. So read this and then decide how you want to pick your right McKinsey office. Will you be a better consultant, because of the foreign office posting, then you would have been if you stayed? Be critical and apply the firm’s criteria for success when asking this question. Be careful of asking your friends whether it was a good idea of serving in a foreign country immediately upon joining McKinsey or…

Choosing the Right McKinsey Office This is a critical question that is certainly worth answering in this longer post. This applies to candidates considering four office choices: • Staying in the home town. • Applying to another country with an established office. • Applying to another country where an office will need to be established. • Applying to another country with a younger and smaller office. We have lots of experience in this area and will provide some practical advice. It’s worth discussing the broad considerations when making this decision. Personally, we at Firmsconsulting have extensive experience in the emerging…

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120 McKinsey Cases Practiced and Failing

“Dear Michael, I have a question about case interview preparation which I was hoping you could answer for me. I provided some context and I am sorry if the email is far too long. I listened to the Firmsconsulting podcasts and articles I like the honest views provided. I am currently a PhD candidate at Princeton, with an undergraduate degree from South Korea. I started casing about 6 months ago and completed about 120 cases with casing partners in my consulting club and over the internet. I bought several books and other programs. I paid to have my resume edited with an online service. The problem is that I cased with a friend of a friend recently and it did not go well. He is a McKinsey manager. It was very, very bad and he really did not like my resume. I was embarrassed to explain to him that I did so much work. I am now a little confused and frustrated. I do not know what I did badly or correctly, and not sure what to do. I feel all my efforts have been wasted and concerned that if I continue, I will keep wasting my time. Should I…

“Dear Michael, I have a question about case interview preparation which I was hoping you could answer for me. I provided some context and I am sorry if the email is far too long. I listened to the Firmsconsulting podcasts and articles I like the honest views provided. I am currently a PhD candidate at Princeton, with an undergraduate degree from South Korea. I started casing about 6 months ago and completed about 120 cases with casing partners in my consulting club and over the internet. I bought several books and other programs. I paid to have my resume edited…

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McKinsey Resources or McKinsey Financial Institutions

Following is our email conversation with a young consultant, who had questions on the specializations in McKinsey, namely McKinsey Resources or McKinsey Financial Institutions. “Dear Michael, We have been in contact a few times in the past and you have always provided useful advice. I used the mining version of SAAMC and it helped me on my first few business development roles in a small mining company in Australia. I have an interest in mining and resources and want to consider joining McKinsey resources specialization. I have both a masters’ degree in business administration and undergraduate degree in finance from highly regarded Australian schools – I have attached my résumé. Could you please offer some guidance for me on this? I want to know if this is a sector in which I should specialize, in which country I should focus, and what would be my exit options in about 5 to 10 years. I want to know if this is a sector I could do impactful work. The other option is to follow the advice of all my friends who insist I should make the jump now and move to banking where I have some experience interning at a bulge-bracket…

Following is our email conversation with a young consultant, who had questions on the specializations in McKinsey, namely McKinsey Resources or McKinsey Financial Institutions. “Dear Michael, We have been in contact a few times in the past and you have always provided useful advice. I used the mining version of SAAMC and it helped me on my first few business development roles in a small mining company in Australia. I have an interest in mining and resources and want to consider joining McKinsey resources specialization. I have both a masters’ degree in business administration and undergraduate degree in finance from…

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