| Firm: McKinsey & Company Location: New York Billable consultants: 7,000 Who knew? McKinsey's impressive alumni network is 18,000 strong and includes the likes of Lou Gerstner, Leo Mullins and Chelsea Clinton. |
In many ways, Peter Attia represents all that is good about McKinsey & Company. About a year-and-a-half ago, Attia was in residency as a surgeon in a hospital. With more than 10 years invested in the medical profession, he realized that it wasn't going to be a good fit for the long term. "I was miserable, working really long hours, and I thought the entire medical system was broken," Attia said. "I had two choices: I could either stay and work to fix the problem or I could leave the profession." Deciding the system wasn't going to get better any time soon, Attia decided to go. Fortunately for him, McKinsey had begun a focused effort to recruit consultants from all walks of life, not just the usual suspects from top business schools.
Attia is now an associate consultant for McKinsey. "When I first joined the firm, I specifically tried to stay away from the cases that involved healthcare. I really wanted to do some different, more quantitative work in the areas of banking, finance and hedge funds," he says. "Lately, however, I have fallen back more on healthcare, thinking that it's probably prudent for me to leverage the things I know." At first, Attia says, he wasn't sure what he could offer as a former surgeon, but now he realizes the value he can bring. "Just knowing the medical language helps; my team always wants me to be the one to speak to physicians," Attia says. "Since I have the background, I think I can bring a certain kind of clinical judgment to these problems."
That willingness to branch out its recruiting efforts shows a flexibility that many may not associate with McKinsey. So, how does the firm enable a smooth transition from surgeon (or lawyer or accountant) to consultant? By investing heavily in its new hires in terms of training and development, Attia says. "McKinsey has been outstanding in the investment it makes in new hires; [look at] the investment it's made in me." Of all 190 firms that participated in the Best Firms survey, McKinsey tops the list in terms of the amount of training it offers its consultants. In Attia's case, it landed him in a program called mini-MBA. It's a "four-week boot camp covering all the aspects of business that I didn't have coming in," he says. "We learn from world-class professors in areas such as accounting, corporate finance and macro- and micro-economics." McKinsey runs the mini-MBA program for all employees who come into the firm without the standard business background. The firm also provides elective weekly videoconferences in various disciplines that are "ideal for someone like me who is always looking for additional learning opportunities to help round out my deficiencies."
 | "McKinsey has been outstanding in the investment it makes in new hires; [look at] the investment it's made in me." — Peter Attia, Associate Consultant, McKinsey |
Another learning opportunity is what the firm calls its Initial Leadership Workshops, two-week, off-site meetings. In preparation for his workshop, Attia had to reach out to former clients to get formalized feedback on his performance. The results of that evaluation are then presented to him during the workshop.
One aspect of McKinsey that has impressed Attia is its respect for its consultants' values. "Personally, I would never want do work for a tobacco company, and here, I would never be expected to," Attia says. "There's a respect for people's values that I find very impressive."
At the end of the day, why do people want to work at McKinsey? "There are other companies that I could go to and make more money, at least initially. There are other companies where I could make the same money and not travel or work the 60 or 70 hours a week I do here," Attia says. "But those other companies aren't McKinsey. I've never seen a place that opens more doors. It's nice to know that the name 'McKinsey' carries with it nearly unlimited options."
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