Page 149 - The McKinsey Mind

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124 The McKinsey Mind

One of the associates on the McKinsey team got an appoint-
ment with me to cover the team’s analysis of one of our
problems and their initial recommendation. This young
woman came in, sat down, and gave me one of the best
lessons I’ve ever had. She said, “Let me tell you what I think
the problem is,” and started into her presentation. I said, “I
think I understand the problem; let me tell you why,” and
gave her my assessment in four or so points. She replied,
“That’s right. So I don’t need to waste your time telling you
what your problem is. Let’s just turn the first 16 pages over,
and we’ll go right to the solution.” I don’t ever recall hearing
a McKinsey consultant say that before. That was a wonder-
ful lesson for me.

Being flexible and, more importantly, respectful of your audi-
ence will gain you a lot of points.
You should also be aware of the physical circumstances of your
presentation and adjust accordingly. You can deliver the same mes-
sage using very different styles according to the setting. For
instance, if you are meeting with three or four executives around
a conference table, you probably don’t need to use an overhead
projector; a laser-printed “deck” of your exhibits should work fine.
Conversely, if you have 50 people in an auditorium, you need to
use something that will allow you to reach the people in the nose-
bleed seats.

EXERCISES
• Determine who the critical decision makers are for the
issues you are currently tackling. What are their agendas,
strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, etc.? You might want
to write these thoughts down for future reference.