Rob Ende had always viewed consulting as a stepping-stone to other things.
"It's really a great door-opener for lots of other opportunities in the business world," he says. Ende should know. Ende left the world of management consulting in July to join Brandwise.com, a comparison-shopping Web business seeded by BCG, Whirlpool, and Hearst Publications.
Ende says he never viewed consulting as a lifetime endeavor. He got the job at BCG after he received his MBA from the Wharton School.
He had to interview at Brandwise just like everyone else. Although BCG had provided the start-up with an interim management team, Ende was not involved and knew next to nothing about the business. By the time he joined, Brandwise was a fully independent company.
His main reason for leaving BCG is that he wanted to be more closely involved with a business for a longer period than the span of a consulting gig.
"I'm much more important here than I ever was at BCG," says Ende at his New York–based dot-com. "The thing that is rewarding and frightening about the position I'm in now is that when I make a recommendation, the next day, someone is actually doing it. It's very rewarding because you see the fruits of your labor very quickly. But, it's also frightening because there is no place to hide. When you're in consulting, there are a lot of layers, so it's easy to feel detached."
The stress levels are more consistent now as opposed to the peaks and valleys he went through in consulting. "But, the thoughts [of work] tend to consume you. You tend to think about it when you wake up and on weekends," says Ende, who saw his cash compensation go down, although he now has stock options.
Ende, the father of two-children doesn't think he'd go back to consulting, because the lifestyle was too hard on the family. He works about the same 55- to 60-hour week, but his late nights can be planned.
"In consulting, you are driven by the client," he says. "The client's needs come first. And now, I'm the client. This is my business as much as everyone else's."
He does miss the intellectual stimulation, though. "It's not that I don't get that here. But, there is a level of conceptual thinking that goes on day to day at BCG, and you can get into really amazing discussions with people about the problems you are solving. This is a different environment. There are also very smart people here, but we're much more focused on executing and running a business."

Voices from the Life After: Five former consultants reflect on the ups and downs of their new careers

Related Stories

Recommended For You