The McKinsey Way

"McKinsey will go to the facts first."

"What do you do when you are convinced you are working on the wrong problem?"

"Most business problems resemble each other more than they differ."

"No matter how brilliant, insightful, and original you may feel your initial hypothesis to be, you must always be prepared to accept that the facts may prove you wrong. If they do, adjust to the facts."

"The most brilliant solution, backed up by libraries of data and promising billions in extra profits, is useless if your client or business can't implement it."

"If you get your facts together and do you analyses, the solution will come to you."

"You have several options to pick from when confronted by a problem that seems too difficult to solve."

"If you keep your eyes peeled for examples of 80/20 in your business, you will come up with ways to improve it."

"Know your solution so thoroughly that you can explain it clearly and precisely to your client in 30 seconds."

"By plucking the low-hanging fruit, by resisting the temptation to hoard your information until some big end-of-study presentation, we make our client more enthusiastic, our jobs easier, and ourselves happier."

"It's much better to get to first base consistently than to try to hit a home run and strike out 9 times out of 10."

"When you're feeling swamped by it all, take a metaphorical step back and figure out what it is you're trying to achieve."

"Just as you shouldn't accept I have no idea from others, so you shouldn't accept it from yourself, or expect others to accept it from you. This is the flip side of I don't know."

"The no-selling legacy persists at McKinsey because it works very well in the consulting business. The Firm waits for the phone to ring."

"Before you go hot footing in search of a solution, get a feel for the scope of the problem."

"As a team leader, you should make an effort to promote team bonding; just make sure it doesn't become a chore."

"Learn from others' successes and mistakes. Leverage your valuable time and don't reinvent the wheel."

"When you're picking people's brains, ask questions and then let them do the talking. Keep the interview on track by breaking in when necessary."

"Brainstorming is the sine qua non of strategic consulting."

"A presentation reflects the thinking of the person or team that put it together."

"Meetings form the glue that holds your team together."

"The first thing to do when working with a client team is get them on your side. Make sure that they want to help you."