NMCJ - 3: How 5 years at BCG shaped my career
What I learned from my first job at BCG
Hello everyone!
Hope you’re all looking forward to the weekend.
Welcome to my third newsletter!
If you’ve gone through last week’s issue you would know that, after completing my Master’s degree, I was lucky enough to land a job with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). It was a HUGE deal for me.
I had applied for openings at BCG four times earlier but had never even been able to secure an interview. Somehow, the fifth attempt worked.
I was at BCG for over 5 years and, throughout all these years, I was trained to take a specific approach to problem-solving and to develop a particular mindset. The role I had was within what, in BCG jargon, is called the Knowledge Team or KT for short. KT is a function that serves as the market research and analysis arm of BCG. In an nutshell, KT members have an ‘industry expert’ role.
The general guideline for KT was to make sure our analysis was delivered in a form that was as client-ready as possible and, on the several occasions that I was staffed on client projects, I even got to present my findings to some of them.
Those years at BCG were formative for me.
In this piece, I would like to share some key concepts/learnings that have shaped my journey since then.
Wrong answer, right process always wins over right answer, wrong process
While getting to the right answer is important, what’s more important is getting there with the right process. There are many ways to solve a problem or to ‘crack a case’ as consultants would put it. Whatever solution or suggestion is eventually presented to the client, it has to be vindicated by the approach taken.
I remember that, as part of a project for one of the biggest packaging paper suppliers in Europe, we were building a demand forecasting model in MS Excel. We were chasing an internal deadline and, in order to meet that, I overwrote a hard-coded formula as I couldn’t get the formulas to function for some reason. Upon presenting, I was able to get my point across but the Project Leader told me to revisit the model and make sure it works via the formulas. The client would not be able to follow through otherwise.
Consultants, particularly when you think of MBB (McKinsey, Bain, BCG), are usually running under tight deadlines and, often, there isn’t much time to revisit your approach again and again. Thus, it’s very important to get the process right and document it. Presenting your findings to a client and then realising you can’t walk that client through won’t get you far and is a definite NO!
Since leaving BCG, I have made a conscious effort to incorporate this approach and I haven’t always been great at it. The appeal of quick fix solutions gets to me sometimes but then, as expected, I have to go back to the basics at a later stage.
Never underestimate the importance of segmentation and trends
A common phrase I used to hear was, ‘when in doubt, segment and trend!’. It’s one of the most important ways to build up a story and is also one which helps in uncovering a story. This is the ultimate weapon in a consultant’s toolbox when it comes to ‘cracking the case’.
While at BCG, I was staffed on a project once which was focused on analyzing trends within the graphic paper market. Graphic paper is the segment that covers all kinds of printing paper i.e. A4 office papers, newsprint, etc. The general take on the graphic paper sector was that it’s a declining segment which is going to die out eventually.
However, when we segmented the graphic paper segment and looked at the breakdown, we realised that there’s a very small segment within the market that’s actually growing at double digits. That’s the segment for smart labels and tags and year-on-year it was projected to double as a market within a decade.
Subsequently, we built a story for our client to invest in the smart labels segment and to move away from their existing business gradually. When taking strategic decisions, it’s important to realise where the growth is and to focus on matching the requirements of that particular segment.
80/20
In general, 80/20 is a standard rule that consultants apply. You, quite often, don’t have to get to the exact answer and it would be enough to present a conclusion within a certain margin of error, as long as you have enough data to back it up.
The main idea is to be able to prioritise and those who thrive in consulting are usually the ones who excel in planning their work in a smart way, not necessarily workaholics who spend their weekends working on spreadsheets (not saying it doesn’t happen but it’s a stereotype and doesn’t always hold). The project time frame typically is so short anyway that the need to save any potential loss of sleep is always appreciated :).
It sounds a bit like a no brainer but…. going for the 80-20 approach requires a lot of thinking and planning. When working on a massive project scope under tight deadlines the first thing that comes to your mind is jumping on the dataset and to start to investigating why members left, i.e. taking the first approach. Solving a problem with the 80-20 approach often requires you to take a step back, a deep breath and think creatively of a time-efficient way of reaching the same result. That way, you’ll reach the same conclusions, enjoy a better lifestyle and learn an uncommon but valuable skill for your career.
Don’t boil the ocean
The exact opposite of the 80/20 approach is to ‘boil the ocean’. It’s often tempting to demand as much data as possible but the key is to demand just the right amount of data to get to a conclusion. Imagine you’re provided access to the internal database of a global automotive manufacturer. You could ask for data ranging from actual part numbers to headline growth within each segment.
You could analyze whatever you get your hands on and, eventually, get to cracking the problem. That, however, would mean hours and hours of excruciating analysis which, well, might not have been needed in the first place.
I was staffed on a growth strategy project once for pulp supplier and I was assigned to a module that was focused on mapping the growth trends for a particular grade of pulp. It was one of the first projects I was staffed on and I was eager to impress everyone so I went about making a deck of 25 slides on competitor analysis, raw material pricing, cost benchmarking and, of course, growth. Eventually, only 5 of those slides were taken on. The feedback that I got:
‘Good effort but avoid boiling the ocean!’
Building a story is key
On a basic level, consultants take data and analyze it to present conclusions. Yet, it’s not enough to conduct analysis. It won’t really add much value if the findings aren’t presented well and add to a broader message.
In consulting language, story-lining is a key concept. Essentially, it means that a deck of slides should present a story. At BCG, the guideline was that the slide headings on the ‘Agenda’ page of the deck should read like a story.
Another key aspect of this approach is the ‘So what?’ mentality. The idea behind that was quite straightforward: as you prepare something to present, ask yourself “So what?” after every point you make. In other words, ask yourself why your audience should care about what you are saying. This can help you identify unnecessary or irrelevant information and ensure that your presentation is focused and impactful.
Everything you add to a deck should eventually add up to the conclusion. Focus is key and extraneous analysis, while tempting, has to be avoided. In other words, analysis is important (and it’s crucial to have it ironed out) but what’s even more important is to show how it fits into the overall story being presented.
Success is better, when shared
When I was at BCG, the standard practice was to make sure everyone’s efforts were acknowledged. I don’t mean that in the financial sense. If we were to look into that, the higher ups would always get a higher share and, well…..no surprises there.
Yet, in one way or the other, everyone on a particular project team contributed to the successful completion of a case or a winning proposal. After completing a case, there would always be a CTE (Case Team event). Everyone who contributed to the case in one way or the other (be it the Project Leader, Partner or an Executive Assistant) would be invited. The idea was to acknowledge the hard work and effort put in by the whole team and that everyone’s contribution is recognised.
Maybe it’s me but, in my post BCG career, I’ve felt as if this part is often not given much attention. People work hard, deliver and then move on to the next bit. I think it’s important to take a step back once in a while and appreciate each other’s efforts.
Expectation management is key
When I had just joined BCG, I got a request from a Partner to make a primer (high level overview) on the US tissue and hygiene industry within a week. I had seen a few examples of primer decks and thought I knew what was expected of me. I went about producing slides on the main players, market size and trends. Within a few days, I was done and I submitted the deck to the Partner, whilst patting myself on the back.
That evening I got a call from him and he, in an angry tone, started off by:
”Where’s the slide on industry costs???”
“There’s nothing on pricing trends!!”
“Where are the case references??”
He calmed down once I explained where I was coming from and I, subsequently, had to work late into the night, getting the missing parts into the deck. The experience made me realize how a simple call with him would have helped before I had started pulling the slides together. It would have set expectations from both sides and, well, saved me hours of late night work.
Expectation management is something I strongly advocate and have tried to practice ever since.
Document, debrief and share best practices!
In the consulting world, especially if we’re thinking of a global firm like BCG, several projects are often running at any given point in time. This makes it very important to do a debrief whenever a case is completed. Key learnings from any given project can be useful and, in some cases, even tools developed for a certain client can be productised and re-used. Furthermore, best practice sharing can often work wonders.
At BCG, we used to have global or regional practice area meetings to highlight winning proposals or successfully completed projects. Not only did it help inspire BCG teams to think of new approaches, it also helped spread best practices.
I also remember one case, during which, a demand forecasting model was developed for a certain client. We did a debrief session with that team and they agreed to share that model with us. We, subsequently, cleaned out sensitive client data and made it a product to approach other clients with. Essentially, something developed for one client became the basis for securing multiple projects afterwards.
Thus, best practice sharing and debriefing is something I have tried to inculcate in whichever way I have found possible.
The power of a network
Being in the Knowledge Team, I got to work with BCGers from across the company. Being one of two experts on the Paper and Packaging industry, I got reached out by BCG teams worldwide. Basically, if BCG was conducting a Paper or Packaging related project in any part of the world, I would likely be involved in some way, shape or form. This helped me build a BCG wide network.
On the consultant side, staff turnover is quite high at BCG. This meant that most people I worked with, whilst at BCG, went on to take up positions elsewhere quite rapidly.
I did not realize it back then but this network helped me a lot in my future progression. When I was planning to find my way out of BCG, I knew who to reach out to and, even further down the line, I could reach out to ex BCG colleagues for guidance. I even landed interviews in my future job hunt endeavours through this channel.
It’s been almost 8 years since I left BCG but kicking off my career there was one of the best things to have ever happened to me. I learned a lot during my 5+ years there and the lessons that I was given are still with me. It was an amazing first job and it set the tone for a lot that came up afterwards.
P.S. If you’re curious to get a sense of the kind of projects I worked on at BCG, do visit my LinkedIn profile.
Great article! It’s a steep learning curve as a young consultant isn’t it! Looking forward to reading more of your work Nausherwan!