| Topic Name: |
The Booznian tragedy |
| Message Name: |
TB vs. McKinsey? |
| Date Posted: |
12/24/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
Stranger,
I agree with you that young people usually have unrealistic expactations, point taken. However, here is where the problem lies. TB does not have a program in place, an infrastructure, to guide junior staff, to train them and allow them to go from flipping hamburgers to preparing a Filet Mignon. The problem lies in the fact that TB is a very specialized team, in which the offerings are segmented by offerings with specific and very specialized skills (deep knowledge in that field). This poses a catch 22 to junior staff- you must have skills to participate in worthwhile projects, yet to get the skills you must be on projects. This makes junior staff somewhat of a burden for project managers... Lets take a look at the competition with Bain, McKinsey, and BCG. They have a 2 year program in which their junior staff is pretty much set on a development schedule. During this time they typically become generalists, and are set on a track for their career development. At the end of these 2 years, the company either keeps the associate and sends him/her to biz school or thanks him and sends him off. This is a win win situation. The company weeds out who they want, the individuals have a set 2 year program at the end of which they come out very well prepared. At TB however, there is no such thing. In fact, since it is expected that most Level 1s and early 2s leave for biz school after a few years, the company sees no need in investing in those individuals- this results in a challenge for their development. I think TB is a great place to be if you have the skills, you know what you want to do, you can contribute and add value. I do not think it is a good place for someone trying to build themselves, for a level 1 in particular. I heard recently that Booz is trying to increase their recent grad hirings... this is great, but getting people in the firm (by in essence misleading you- you don't do what you were hired to do) is only the first step. What to do with these individuals once they're in is the hard part- Booz has to rethink their strategy at that level. |
| Message: |
Frankly, I don't care how McKinsey, BCG or Bain run their development programs. With leverage ratios of 8:1 it is hardly relevant for an institution (WTB) that operates with a leverage ratio of 100:1. It is a different model and it seems to work fine. We just had a another record month of hiring in WTB, turnover remains low, staff are highly satisfied (I see the surveys) so what's the problem? If you want to operate in an apprenticeship model such as what one finds in McKinsey, then I suggest you do so.
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