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ManagingYourself 177

self, you have to develop a group of people you can rely on to help
you shoulder the burden. That group might be your official team
or just an informal network you can call on for certain tasks. Once
you’ve found people whose ability you trust, don’t let them go—
they’re worth their weight in gold.
Depending on your position within the organization, you may
not be able to delegate. Sewage, after all, flows downhill. In that
case, you should become someone others can rely on. Eventually,
you’ll be able to move a bit upstream.
Make the most of your network. Beyond those in your inner
circle whom you rely on, chances are you know a lot of other peo-
ple with whom you share a set of experiences and values—a com-
mon culture. These people may be friends and acquaintances from
earlier positions you held, fellow alumni from college or business
school, or members of your church or synagogue. Wherever they
come from, they are all part of your network, and they can help
you get ahead, sometimes in surprising ways.
The network of McKinsey alumni is far closer than that of
most other businesses—if anything, it resembles the alumni orga-
nization of a small college—and the Firm goes to great lengths to
make it so. It might not surprise you to hear that a McKinsey asso-
ciate in New York can leave a message for another McKinsey con-
sultant in, say, Calcutta and expect a response within a day. What
might surprise you is that a McKinsey alumnus can expect a simi-
lar level of response from other Firm alumni. This book is a prime
example of that responsiveness. We could not have written it with-
out the help of former McKinsey-ites who were willing to make
time in their busy schedules for a couple of writers who, in many
cases, they had never met before.
Chances are your current and former employers don’t go to the
same lengths as McKinsey in promoting their alumni organiza-
tions. Even so, you can build your own network. Stay in touch