The McKinsey Way

Summary

If more business books were as useful, concise, and just plain fun to read as THE MCKINSEY WAY, the business world would be a better place. --Julie Bick, best-selling author of ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW IN BUSINESS I LEARNED AT MICROSOFT.

Enlivened by witty anecdotes, THE MCKINSEY WAY contains valuable lessons on widely diverse topics such as marketing, interviewing, team-building, and brainstorming. --Paul H. Zipkin, Vice-Dean, The Fuqua School of Business

Its been called a breeding ground for gurus. McKinsey & Company is the gold-standard consulting firm whose alumni include titans such as In Search of Excellence author Tom Peters, Harvey Golub of American Express, and Japans Kenichi Ohmae.

When Fortune 100 corporations are stymied, its the McKinsey-ites whom they call for help. In THE MCKINSEY WAY, former McKinsey associate Ethan Rasiel lifts the veil to show you how the secretive McKinsey works its magic, and helps you emulate the firms well-honed practices in problem solving, communication, and management.

He shows you how McKinsey-ites think about business problems and how they work at solving them, explaining the way McKinsey approaches every aspect of a task:

How McKinsey recruits and molds its elite consultants;

How to sell without selling;

How to use facts, not fear them;

Techniques to jump-start research and make brainstorming more productive;

How to build and keep a team at the top its game;

Powerful presentation methods, including the famous waterfall chart, rarely seen outside McKinsey;

How to get ultimate buy-in to your findings;

Survival tips for working in high-pressure organizations.

Both a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most admired and secretive companies in the business world and a toolkit of problem-solving techniques without peer, THE MCKINSEY WAY is fascinating reading that empowers every business decision maker to become a better strategic player in any organization.

Table of Contents

   Part I: The McKinsey Way of Thinking About Business Problems.
    Building the Solution.
    Developing an Approach.
    80/20 and Other Rules to Live By.
   Part II: The McKinsey Way of Working to Solve Business Problems.
    Selling a Study.
    Assembling a Team.
    Managing Hierarchy.
    Doing Research.
    Conducting Interviews.
    Brainstorming.
   Part III: The McKinsey Way of Selling Solutions.
    Making Presentations.
    Displaying Data with Charts.
    Managing Internal Communications.
    Working with Clients.
   Part IV: Surving at McKinsey.
    Find Your Own Mentor.
    Surviving on the Road.
    Take These Things with You Wherever You Go.
    A Good Assistant Is a Lifeline.
    Recruiting McKinsey Style.
    If You Want a Life, Lay Down Some Rules.
    The Most Valuable Lesson.
    Memories of McKinsey.