Page 192 - The McKinsey Mind

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Managing Your Client 167

nization and not just with the office of the CEO. It is vital for
the “McKinsey Mind” not to confine itself to brilliant prob-
lem solving but to communicate incessantly throughout the
engagement process to integrate effectively and to create a
following.

Shyam pinpoints the locus of problem solving: it is best done in
the “client’s backyard.” For example, more and more manufac-
turing companies’ research and development departments include
customers in the process, often sending scouts to witness how the
products are actually used and how they can be improved. Another
important element to successful integration is “incessant commu-
nication.” Just as we favor overcommunication among team mem-
bers, so too do we recommend keeping your client well fed with
relevant information.

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE
In company boardrooms and academic classrooms, the buzz today
is about changing organizational boundaries. Some believe that the
days of the massive organization may come to an end as “knowl-
edge workers” broker their services on an open, fluid market with
continually changing group lines. Two of the forces driving this
potentially seismic change are new technologies, especially in wired
and wireless communication, and globalization. Although we will
leave the forecasting to the experts—such as they are—it is clear
that assumptions about the role of customers are changing.
Today’s buyers are much more sophisticated and have greater
requirements. This is why many companies (including consulting
firms) have changed their approach to include them in the value-
creation process, from initial design to final implementation. Are
there opportunities where you can go beyond the almost expected