Flying with McKinsey - packing light

In an earlier post I covered the importance of not checking in luggage when you fly with McKinsey consultants - especially if your boss is one of them.  This post will provide some tips on how to travel light and make the most of your carry-on bags.

Image from "Up In the Air"

 

Flying with McKinsey - checking in bags is not allowed!

It's the holiday season - Thanksgiving is in a couple of days and a lot of people will be dealing with big crowds and long lines at the airport.  It brought to mind a travel tip:  when flying with McKinsey consultants, never check-in your luggage.  It doesn't come up often, but if it does, it's an easy way to get on a seasoned business traveler's bad side.  I'll explain why and offer some suggestion on how to avoid it...

Image from "Up In the Air"

 

You only get to leave McKinsey once - 6 important things to consider about your next job

This was an excellent piece of advice I received when I was contemplating my departure from the Firm.  Leaving McKinsey is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so make the most of it.

Even during the Great Recession, many consultants I know who left McKinsey had multiple offers from which to choose.  When times are good, the opportunities are even greater.  That means that it's important that you understand your priorities when evaluating post-McKinsey job opportunities.  Here are some things to consider as you weight your options:

Were you asked to "be more 80/20" by a McKinsey person? Here are 3 things that could mean...

If you spend enough time working with McKinsey consultants, you'll eventually hear someone being told to "be more 80/20".  In this post I will go over three reasons you might be asked to "be more 80/20" and...

1. Explain what the 80/20 rule is
2. Offer some examples of the 80/20 rule
3. Provide an Excel tool I built to help you illustrate your own 80/20 examples

Leaving McKinsey - when to start "search time"

Paid "search time" is a benefit McKinsey provides to departing consultants.  Bain offers a similar package called "transition".  In this post I'll explain...

1. Definition of search time
2. How search time is calculated
3. Search time rules that will help inform your decision on when to go on search

Leaving McKinsey - when to decide

It's mid-November, so people are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving and gearing up for the holidays.  It also means many current McKinsey consultants are deciding whether or not they will stay at the Firm.  So, I thought I'd switch gears and start including some posts to help current consultants with their decision to stay or go.

Well before I ever thought about leaving the Firm, I received some great pieces of advice on how to make the decision.  In this post, I'll share the three best suggestions I've heard...

What's with all these Appendix pages in our decks?

I was just asked by a friend why the former McKinsey Partner to whom she reports wants PowerPoint decks with detailed Appendix pages, so that's the topic addressed in this post. I'll go over...

1. Definition of Appendix or back-up pages
2. Why McKinsey consultants use Appendix pages

• In team and client discussion documents
• In client deliverable documents

How to give McKinsey-style feedback: The McKinsey Feedback Model

McKinsey is a feedback-driven culture.  It's used to develop better consultants and make sure we're always pushing toward greater client impact.  There's also an expectation that less tenured consultants also provide frequent, upward feedback to their leadership.  Unfortunately, there's a also a tendency for McKinsey feedback to focus on "development opportunities", resulting in predominantly negative feedback that I address in a related post.

As with most things in consulting, McKinsey has developed a framework for delivering structured feedback and it's called "the McKinsey feedback model".

In this post I'll go over...

• Explanation of the McKinsey feedback model
• Format recommended by the Firm for giving feedback
• Explanation of why that format is used
• Examples of what the McKinsey feedback model in practice

Image from excelle.monster.com

 

Feedback overload - now my McKinsey boss wants my "360" feedback!

A CULTURE THAT VALUES FEEDBACK

Giving and receiving feedback is an integral part of the McKinsey experience - it's what drives our development by letting us know if we're on the right track and how we can improve.  At McKinsey, feedback is meant to be constructive, not punitive, even if does feel harsh at times.  It's also part of our culture for McKinsey leadership to value upward feedback from their teams.

In this post I'll discuss the frequency of feedback and our openness to giving and receiving upward (aka "360") feedback.  There's also a link to another post on McKinsey feedback model.

How to keep your McKinsey boss happy - 3 tips for dealing with McKinsey Engagement Managers (EMs)

If you report to a former McKinsey consultant, there’s a good chance that they were a McKinsey Engagement Manager (EM) at some point.  So, the things that made them happy as EMs are still likely to be valued.  

In this post I'll share the three best pieces of advice I received as an early-tenure Associate on how to keep your McKinsey boss happy.  Once I became an EM, I found these tips to be spot on.  If you’re currently a Business Analyst or Associate at McKinsey, then this advice is even more applicable to you.