the mc kinsey way

Madison Book Club

Presenter: Anil Shankar

In short..

• Provides a through-the-keyhole perspective on the way this worldwide consulting institution approaches--and solves--the myriad professional problems encountered by its high-powered clientele. – New and useful skills to everyone who wants to be more

useful in their business.– Explaining the highly structured, fact-based proprietary

methodology that McKinseyites are taught to employ with their Fortune 100 clients

– Complete with details on the entire process from first considering the basic situation at hand through finally selling a solution to the appropriate powers that be.

Few reviews……• "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

• "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.

• It's 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 Japan's Kenichi Ohmae.

Finding a solution

• Fact-based– You must not fear

the facts. Hunt for them, use them, but don’t fear them

• Rigidly structured– MECE

• Hypothesis-driven*– Defining the initial hypothesis.– Generating the initial hypothesis.– Testing the initial hypothesis.

Developing an approach

• The problem is not always the problemSometimes a business problem will land on your desk and you will be told to solve it. Fair enough. But before you go rushing off in any particular direction, make sure you're solving the right problem – it may not be the one you were given

DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL

• Most business problems resemble each other more than they differ. This means that with a small number of problem-solving techniques, you can answer a broad range of questions.These techniques may be somewhere in your organization, either written down or in the heads of your fellow employees. If not, use your experience to develop your own tool kit. McKinsey,

DON’T MAKE THE FACTS FITYOUR SOLUTION

• Avoid the temptation to view your initial hypothesis as the

• answer and the problem-solving process as an exercise

• in proving the IH. Keep an open and flexible mind. Don’t

• let a strong initial hypothesis become an excuse for mental

• inflexibility

MAKE SURE YOUR SOLUTION FITSYOUR CLIENT

• 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. Know your client. Know

the• organization’s strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities—

what• management can and cannot do. Tailor your solutions

with• these factors in mind.

SOME PROBLEMS YOU JUST CAN’T SOLVE . . .SOLVE THEM ANYWAY

• Eventually, you will run into a brick wall that is tougher than

• your head. Don’t keep pounding; it has no effect on the wall

• and does your head no good

DON’T BOIL THE OCEAN

• Work smarter, not harder. There’s a lot of data out there

• relating to your problem, and a lot of analyses you could do.

• Ignore most of them

80 / 20 and other rules to live by

MANY FACTORS AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS. FOCUS ON THE MOST IMPORTANTONES—THE KEY DRIVERS.

FIND THE KEY DRIVERS

KNOW YOUR SOLUTION (OR YOUR PRODUCT OR BUSINESS) SO THOROUGHLYTHAT YOU CAN EXPLAIN IT CLEARLY AND PRECISELY TO YOURCLIENT (OR CUSTOMER OR INVESTOR) IN 30 SECONDS. IF YOU CAN DOTHAT, THEN YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE DOING WELL ENOUGH TOSELL YOUR SOLUTION

THE ELEVATOR TEST

PLUCK THE LOW-HANGING FRUIT

• Sometimes in the middle of the problem-solving process,• opportunities arise to get an easy win, to make

immediate• improvements, even before the overall problem has been• solved. Seize those opportunities! They create little

victories• for you and your team. They boost morale and give you• added credibility by showing anybody who may be

watching• that you’re on the ball and mean business.

MAKE A CHART EVERY DAY

• During the problem-solving process, you learn something

• new every day. Put it down on paper. It will help you push

• your thinking. You may use it, or you may not, but once you

• have crystalized it on the page, you won’t forget it.

Just say, “I don't know”

• Honesty includes recognizing when you haven't got a clue. Admitting that is a lot less costly than bluffing

Hit Singles

• It’s impossible to do everything yourself all the time.

• If you manage it once, you raise unrealistic expectations from those around you.

• Once you fail to meet expectations, it is very difficult to regain credibility

LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE

• Focussing day to day problems is good.• However never ever forget the long term goals• take a step back, figure out what I’m trying to

achieve, and then look at whatever I’m doing and ask myself, ‘Does this really matter?’”

DON’T ACCEPT “I HAVE NO IDEA”

• People always have an idea if you probe just a bit. Ask a few pointed questions—you’ll be amazed at what they know. Combine that with some educated guessing, and you can be well along the road to the solution.

ASSEMBLING A TEAM

• GETTING THE MIX RIGHT• A LITTLE TEAM BONDING GOES A LONG WAY• TAKE YOUR TEAM’S TEMPERATURE TO

MAINTAIN MORALE• Let your teammates know why they are

doing what they’re doing• Get to know your teammates as people

MAKE YOUR BOSS LOOK GOOD

• If you make your boss look good, your boss will make you look good. That’s the quid pro quo of hierarchy.

Specific Research Tips

• Start with the annual report• Look for outliers• Look for best practice

SIX TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEWING

• Have the interviewee’s boss set up the meeting

• Interview in pairs• Listen; don’t lead• Paraphrase, paraphrase, paraphrase• Use the indirect approach• Don’t ask for too much

BRAINSTORMING

• PROPER PRIOR PREPARATION• There are no bad ideas• There are no dumb questions• Be prepared to kill your babies• Know when to say when• Know when to say when

Presentation Tips

• Complete before 24 hrs• Do open discussion atleast 12 hrs before

presentation• Good/Tight sleep before presentation• Charts simplifies the point• Last but not the least “Never surprise the

audience with your findings” (Prewiring is very much necessary)

IF YOU WANT A LIFE, LAYDOWN SOME RULES

• Make one day a week off-limits• Don’t take work home• Plan ahead