McKinsey Presentation Decks - What is the Storyline and What is a "Dot-Dash"?

If you're working with a McKinsey boss to prepare a PowerPoint (PPT) presentation - known in consulting as a "deck" - you might be asked to work on a storyline and prepare a "Dot-Dash" version of that storyline.  In this post, I'll explain what those terms means and why they're important...

McKinsey Presentations - How to Apply Ghost (aka Shell and Skeleton) Decks and Pages

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McKinsey consultants invest a lot of time and effort into making PowerPoint presentations (decks) and pages.  "Ghost" decks are used to align on what the end product will look like and to minimize wasted work.  In this post I'll explain what a ghost deck is and what it means to "ghost out" a deck or pages...

Asking Your McKinsey Boss for Help - Bring Solutions, Not Just Problems

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In a previous post, I provided three ways to keep your McKinsey boss happy.  In this post, I'll explain a fourth, equally important way to stay in the good graces of your McKinsey boss:  When you're struggling with something and need help from your McKinsey boss, make sure you bring solutions, not just problems

The Straw Man - An Important Tool for McKinsey-Style Problem Solving

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As a Firm, McKinsey if often engaged to work on a client's most challenging problems and McKinsey teams apply structured approaches to arrive at the best answers.  The "straw man" is an important tool for collaborative problem solving in all phases and at every level of a client engagement.  In this post I'll explain what a straw man is, why they're important, and caveats for their use...

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of your McKinsey Summer Internship

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It's internship season and that means all the insecure overachievers who are McKinsey Summer Associates and Summer Business Analysts are stressing out about whether or not they'll get a job offer at the end of the summer.  While securing the full-time offer is important, there are other critical things a Summer can get out of the internship.  Here are some tips on getting the most out of a McKinsey summer internship....