I think that McKinsey is the super elite class of intellectuals, undoubtedly. So, I have targetted McKinsey for this blog of mine. The following points are presented by the McKinsey-ites themselves in the book, "The McKinsey Mind." I am just trying to put the gist of that book. It's a great book to go through. The book teaches you a lot of things. I am in love with the book. Thus, this blog is meant to honour the book, "The McKinsey Mind."
McKinsey’s ways of doing things:
1) Be more descriptive than prescriptive.
2) You must structure your presentation so that it communicates your ideas clearly and concisely and generates buy-in. The structure type of your presentation should be based on inductive-reasoning - wherein the presentation starts with the conclusion - rather than deductive-reasoning - wherein the conclusion comes at the end of the presentation.
3) The client must be kept informed, involved, and inspired by both the problem-solving process and the solution.
4) The organization for which you work must institute a process of iteration that leads to continual improvements.
5) Feel free to be MECE - Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive. The concept of MECE means separating your problem into distinct, non-overlapping issues while making sure that no issues relevant to your problem have been overlooked.
6) Don’t re-invent the wheel.
7) The most common structure tools are: logic tree, issue tree, and decision tree. These tools should be used from the top-to-bottom point of view.
8) Generate your initial hypothesis by drawing conclusion based on the limited facts that you know about the problem at hand without doing a lot of additional research.
9) For your brainstorming sessions to succeed, you should follow these rules:
a) There are no bad ideas.
b) There are no dumb questions.
c) Be prepared to “kill your babies.”
d) Know when to say when.
e) Get it down on paper.
10) An initial hypothesis will save you time and will make your decision making more effective by forcing you to focus only on those issues that can prove or disprove it. This is especially helpful for those, who have trouble focusing and prioritizing.
11) Since you should form your hypothesis at the start of the problem-solving process, you have to rely less on facts and more on instinct or intuition. Take what you know about the problem at hand, combine it with your gut feelings on the issue, and think about what the most likely answers are. This gives you a good starting point.
12) You should do the QDT (Quick and Dirty Test) of your hypothesis. The QDT means: what assumptions are you making the need to be true in order for your hypothesis to be true? If any of these assumptions is false, then the hypothesis is false.
13) An issue tree is the evolved cousin of the logic tree. Issue trees bridge the gap between structures and hypotheses. By creating an issue tree, you lay out the issues and sub-issues in a visual progression.
14) Intuition and data complement each other.
15) Pluck the low-hanging fruit - try to do all the easy tasks as early as possible.
16) Always do back-of-the-envelope analysis in order to perform a sanity check.
17) Bear in mind that your initial hypothesis is a living document, and it feeds off your analysis.
18) Always do strategic data gathering.
19) It is difficult to run an effective Knowledgement Management System without access to the un-codified knowledge in other people’s heads.
20) Internal knowledge creation involves disseminating information to employees through discussions or documents.
21) Data themselves are mute. So, it's your job to make data speak for themselves.
22) Consulting is not just about research and analysis; it’s research, analysis, and insight development.
23) Consulting is not only about analysis; it’s about insights.
24) Data without intuition are merely raw information, and intuition without data is just guesswork.
25) You must make sure the solution fits your client.
26) Always consider outside forces – competitors, suppliers, customers, regulators – that might nullify the effects of your strategy.
27) Stripped to its essence, presentation is selling.
28) Presentation is the “killer skill”. A successful presentation bridges the gap between you – the presenter – and your audience.
29) If you have a well-structured MECE hypothesis, then you will have a well-structured MECE presentation.
30) Pre-wire everything - avoid giving surprises. Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them.Feedback is a double-edged sword.
I have tried to capture the 30 essential points from the book, "The McKinsey Mind." If you want to get into the details, I advise you to go through the book yourself. I assure you that the juice would be worth the squeeze.
