Welcome back!

Forgot password?

Don’t have an account? Subscribe now

Marvin Bower and management consulting

My Michael Moment is crystal clear. Before I applied to the program I sent him an email to get some advice on the best books to read about management consulting. I had bought the books The McKinsey Mind and The McKinsey Way. Boy, was I excited to read them.

Five minutes after sending my email I get a call from Michael! I did not know him and this was my first email to him. He told me the best use of those books would be to send them back and ask for a refund. His view was that McKinsey and BCG are special and lead their peers for a simple reason. They have a better value system. We had 20 or 25 minute discussion about values and Michael told me something I will never forget:

“Firms like Deloitte, Monitor, Booz, ATK etc all hire outstanding graduates from top schools and train them with similar material. So why do those firms not have the same cachet and prestige? It comes down to why they do things and that is driven by a firm’s value system. You can replicate a Harvard graduate but you cannot replicate the right value system.”

That call started my journey to learning about Marvin Bower, Michael’s idol, and my passion for management consulting. I returned the books and bought McKinsey’s Marvin Bower (paid link) which was the best book I ever read. In my final interview, the office director for Chicago asked me why I had selected that office and I recited one of the stories about values from Kevin Coyne’s Firmsconsulting video. We connected through that story and I knew I would get the offer – which I did!

We have published the most useful client feedback. Our commitment to confidentiality prevents us from disclosing the identity of our clients and other confidential information, and we may alter details to prevent such disclosure. Some client feedback may be lightly edited for grammar, spelling or prose, though we never alter or remove any information. Clients in our consultants coaching program are forbidden from sharing sensitive client data with us.

Want to learn more about how FIRMSconsulting
can help your organization?

Related Articles

Uncategorized

Consulting Brain

  We use ex-McKinsey, BCG et al. partners to prepare you for case interviews at the most elite consulting firms We are the only firm worldwide using ex-partners. We do this because we believe only partners who make the final hiring decision in the final round case interview should be training you. My…

Start Here with Case Interviews

Start here if you are preparing for case interviews. This is an overview of what you need to know to improve your chances of receiving an offer.

Guide to FIRMSconsulting Content

We produce an extensive list of podcasts, books, videos, slides and other media. This content guide can help you navigate your way through and build your career development plan. It’s helpful to remember that a leader gets things done. Therefore, always think about how to implement your ideas. We offer…