Working in Top-Tier Management Consulting Develops Excellent Project Management and Problem-Solving Skills
Management consultants help organizations solve problems and manage change (e.g., targetjobs n.d.). They typically provide these services to their clients in the form of projects, making project work part of the essence of management consulting (Deltek 2022). To best meet the challenges associated with consulting projects, the so-called top-tier consultancies, such as McKinsey & Company, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Bain & Company, have developed or adopted certain techniques over the course of their existence. These “proven methods for the structured, fact-based solution of business problems” (Rasiel 1999, p. xiii) are taught in training programs tailored to the specific needs of each career stage* and practiced using case studies and later “on the job.”
The global alumni networks of the three top-tier consultancies currently comprise a total of just over 143,000 people, of which >50,000 are at McKinsey & Company (o.D. c), >38,000 at the Boston Consulting Group (n.d.) and >25,000 at Bain & Company (n.d.). Even if you include former tier-2 management consultants (e.g., from Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, Strategy&), these well-trained ex-consultants make up only a very small percentage of the people involved in projects worldwide.
For example, McDonald (2014) characterizes the approach of top-tier consultancies as objective, skeptical, fact-based, integrative, and analytical in relation to McKinsey. As a result, several years of work and training at a top-tier consulting firm has an excellent reputation for training in project management and solution development in general. Consulting thus provides excellent preparation for running a business; some of the most successful entrepreneurs and executives started their careers in management consulting (The Beacon Fellowship 2019). More than 15 percent of the CEOs of the world’s 500 largest companies are alumni of McKinsey & Company, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), or Bain & Company; often referred to as “CEO factories,” these consulting firms are replacing the best MBA programs in training the next generation of leaders (Loos 2019). Indeed, when former consultants have taken the helm as CEOs, they have been able to improve the situation of their company more often (in 71 percent of cases) than executives without a consulting background (42 percent) (Gavett 2013; see Exhibit 1). Thus, working (for several years) for one of the top consulting firms is a kind of formal qualification, or as former McKinsey consultant Paul W. Chelgren put it (in Byrne 1993): “You got your BS, your MBA, and your McK.”
Some companies, especially the large international consulting firms, provide internal training to their employees, primarily in project management. These companies offer training programs tailored to the needs of different career levels, with internal and external trainers and coaches. Participation in these programs is partly mandatory and partly optional** (see Exhibit 2). Compared to other firms, top-tier consultancies invest heavily in the training of their consultants (see Exhibit 3). The training program at McKinsey & Company (n.d. d) requires consultants to complete five to nine weeks of training in the first two years alone. The formal training programs are systematically supplemented by extensive on-the-job mentoring during daily project work and support from experienced colleagues. Due to the very demanding hiring criteria of top-tier consultancies, the requirements for passing these internal training courses are correspondingly high.
* From Business Analyst/Junior Consultant to (Senior) Consultant, (Senior) Project Manager to (Senior) Partner
** For example, in the case of specific development needs based on an individual profile of strengths and weaknesses or personal interests
References
Bain & Company (n.d.) About Bain: BeyondBain. Accessed February 13, 2025, https://www.bain.com/about/alumni-services/.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) (n.d.) Our people and culture: Our alumni. Accessed February 13, 2025, https://www.bcg.com/about/people-culture.
Byrne JA (1993) The McKinsey Mystique. Business Week (September 20).
Daschner P (2019) Die wichtigsten Ergebnisse [Key findings]. Daschner P, Hanisch R, eds. Lehrkräftefortbildung in Deutschland: Bestandsaufnahme und Orientierung [Teacher Training in Germany: An Analysis and Guide] (Beltz Juventa, Weinheim, Germany), 12–17.
Deltek (2022) How consultants can deliver successful projects. Accessed November 22, 2022, https://www.consultancy.uk/news/30692/how-consultants-can-deliver-successful-projects.
finanzen.net (2022) Dollarkurs [Dollar exchange rate]. Accessed March 03, 2022, https://www.finanzen.net/devisen/dollarkurs.
Gavett G (2013) Crisis management: Is your next great CEO a management consultant? Harvard Business Review (online). Accessed December 12, 2022, https://hbr.org/2013/11/is-your-next-great-ceo-a-management-consultant.
Lin-Klitzing S (2022) Lehrer wollen lernen [Teachers want to learn]. DIE ZEIT 77(9):37.
Loos E (2019) McKinsey, Bain and BCG exit opportunities and how MBB alumni snag executive roles at major companies. Accessed December 07, 2022, https://casecoach.com/b/mckinsey-bain-and-bcg-exit-opportunities-and-how-mbb-alumni-snag-executive-roles-at-major-companies/.
McDonald D (2014) The Firm: The Inside Story of McKinsey—The World’s Most Controversial Management Consultancy (Oneworld, London, United Kingdom).
McKinsey & Company (n.d. a) Your growth at McKinsey. Accessed February 23, 2022, https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/explore.
McKinsey & Company (n.d. b) About us, Overview. Accessed February 23, 2022 and December 12, 2022, https://www.mckinsey.com/about-us/overview.
McKinsey & Company (n.d. c) About us, Overview: Keep exploring—alumni. Accessed February 13, 2025, https://www.mckinsey.com/about-us/overview.
McKinsey & Company (n.d. d) Entwicklung: Passgenau lernen [Development: Learning that fits]. Accessed December 12, 2022 and February 13, 2025, https://www.mckinsey.com/de/karriere/entdecken/entwicklung.
Rasiel EM (1999) The McKinsey Way: Using the Techniques of the World’s Top Strategic Consultants to Help You and Your Business (McGraw-Hill, New York, NY).
Seyda S, Placke B (2020) Weiterbildungserhebung 2020: Weiterbildung auf Wachstumskurs [Continuing vocational training goes on growing: Results of the German Economic Institute’s (IW) Survey of Further Training 2020]. IW-Trends 47(4):105–123 (pre-release).
Siemens (n.d.) Education in numbers. Accessed March 03, 2022 and December 13, 2022, https://new.siemens.com/global/en/company/sustainability/education.html.
targetjobs (n.d.) Consultant: Job description. Accessed November 18, 2022, https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/job-descriptions/consultant-job-description.
The Beacon Fellowship (2019) Ten famous CEOs who started in consulting. Accessed December 07, 2022, https://www.beaconfellows.org/blog/2019/9/23/ten-famous-ceos-who-started-in-consulting.
Copyright © 2022–2025