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THE
MCKINSEY
WAY

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THE
MCKINSEY
WAY
Using the Techniques of the
World’s Top Strategic Consultants
to Help You and Your Business
ETHAN M. RASIEL
M C G R A W - H I L L
N E W Y O R K
S A N F R A N C I S C O
WA S H I N G T O N , D . C .
A U C K L A N D
B O G O T Á
C A R A C A S L I S B O N L O N D O N
M A D R I D M E X I C O
C I T Y M I L A N
M O N T R E A L N E W
D E L H I
S A N
J U A N
S I N G A P O R E
S Y D N E Y
T O K Y O T O R O N T O

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McGraw abc
-Hill
Copyright © 1999 by Ethan M. Rasiel. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States
of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of
this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in
a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
0-07-136883-3
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-07-053448-9.
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DOI: 10.1036/0071368833

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FOR
EMMA AND JESSICA

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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ix
INTRODUCTION
xi
PART ONE: THE McKINSEY WAY OF THINKING
ABOUT BUSINESS PROBLEMS
1
1. Building the Solution
3
2. Developing an Approach
15
3. 80/20 and Other Rules to Live By
29
PART TWO: THE McKINSEY WAY OF WORKING
TO SOLVE BUSINESS PROBLEMS
47
4. Selling a Study
49
5. Assembling a Team
57
6. Managing Hierarchy
65
7. Doing Research
71
8. Conducting Interviews
77
9. Brainstorming
93
PART THREE: THE McKINSEY WAY OF SELLING
SOLUTIONS
103
10. Making Presentations
105
11. Displaying Data with Charts
113
vii
Copyright 1999 Ethan M. Rasiel. Click here for Terms of Use.

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viii
Contents
12. Managing Internal Communications
119
13. Working with Clients
127
PART FOUR: SURVIVING AT McKINSEY
139
14. Find Your Own Mentor
141
15. Surviving on the Road
145
16. Take These Three Things with You Wherever You Go
149
17. A Good Assistant Is a Lifeline
153
18. Recruiting McKinsey Style
157
19. If You Want a Life, Lay Down Some Rules
163
PART FIVE: LIFE AFTER McKINSEY
167
20. The Most Valuable Lesson
169
21. Memories of McKinsey
175
INDEX
179

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Icould not have written this book without the help, input, and
support of many others. I would like to thank Julie Weed for get-
ting the ball rolling and my agent, Daniel Greenberg, for keeping it
in play. Thanks also to my editor, Mary Glenn, and all the team
at McGraw-Hill Professional Book Group for believing in this pro-
ject and helping make it a success. Much appreciation goes to
Simon Carne, especially for his help with the section on MECE;
many thanks as well to Adam Gold for pushing my thinking dur-
ing the very early stages of this book. I thank my parents, Amram
and Rosa Rasiel, for their understanding and assistance.
Of course, my deepest gratitude goes to those former McKin-
sey-ites who shared their knowledge and experiences with me.
Without them, this book would never have come about. They are
Kristin Asleson, Abe Bleiberg, Gresh Brebach, Tom Burke, Eric
Hartz, Jason Klein, Hamish McDermott (you know who you are),
Seth Radwell, Jeff Sakaguchi, Wesley Sand, Drew Smith, Suzanne
Tosini, and the many others who, for their own reasons, did not
wish their names mentioned.
ix
Copyright 1999 Ethan M. Rasiel. Click here for Terms of Use.

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Document Outline

• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• PART ONE: THE MCKINSEY WAY OF THINKING ABOUT BUSINESS PROBLEMS
  • 1. BUILDING THE SOLUTION
  • 2. DEVELOPING AN APPROACH
  • 3. 80/20 AND OTHER RULES TO LIVE BY
• PART TWO: THE MCKINSEY WAY OF WORKING TO SOLVE BUSINESS PROBLEMS
  • 4. SELLING A STUDY
  • 5. ASSEMBLING A TEAM
  • 6. MANAGING HIERARCHY
  • 7. DOING RESEARCH
  • 8. CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS
  • 9. BRAINSTORMING
• PART THREE: THE MCKINSEY WAY OF SELLING SOLUTIONS
  • 10. MAKING PRESENTATIONS
  • 11. DISPLAYING DATA WITH CHARTS
  • 12. MANAGING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
  • 13. WORKING WITH CLIENTS
• PART FOUR: SURVIVING AT MCKINSEY
  • 14. FIND YOUR OWN MENTOR
  • 15. SURVIVING ON THE ROAD
  • 16. TAKE THESE THREE THINGS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO
  • 17. A GOOD ASSISTANT IS A LIFELINE
  • 18. RECRUITING McKINSEY STYLE: HOW TO DO IT (AND HOW TO GET THROUGH IT)
  • 19. IF YOU WANT A LIFE, LAY DOWN SOME RULES
• PART FIVE: LIFE AFTER MCKINSEY
  • 20. THE MOST VALUABLE LESSON
  • 21. MEMORIES OF McKINSEY
• INDEX
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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