Page 56 - The McKinsey Mind

02 (031-048B) chapter 2 1/29/02 4:49 PM Page 34

34 The McKinsey Mind

the million and one demands on your time. When you’re feeling
swamped by it all, take a metaphorical step back, and figure out
what you’re trying to achieve. Ask yourself how the task you are
doing now fits into the big picture. Is it moving your team toward
its goal? If it isn’t, it’s a waste of time, and time is too precious to
waste.
Don’t boil the ocean. Work smarter, not harder. In today’s data-
saturated world, it’s easy to analyze every aspect of a problem six
ways to Sunday. But it’s a waste of time unless the analyses you’re
doing add significant value to the problem-solving process. Figure
out which analyses you need in order to prove (or disprove) your
point. Do them, then move on. Chances are you don’t have the lux-
ury to do more than just enough.
Sometimes you have to let the solution come to you. Every set
of rules has exceptions, and the McKinsey problem-solving process
is no different in this regard. Sometimes, for whatever reason, you
won’t be able to form an initial hypothesis. When that’s the case,
you have to rely on your analysis of the facts available to point
your way to an eventual solution.

LESSONS LEARNED AND IMPLEMENTATION
ILLUSTATIONS
In their post-McKinsey careers, most of our alumni have a lot less
time to devote to analysis than they did at the Firm. Still, they find
that the knowledge they gained about designing analysis plans has
helped them get the factual support they need to make decisions
in their new organizations. We’ve distilled their experiences into
four lessons that will help you speed up your decision-making
cycle: