The Young & The Restless

There's been a ton of press devoted to the various qualities—both positive and negative—of this new generation in the workforce. Some stories lean a little more to the negative, discussing this generation's impatience, sense of entitlement and work ethic. There are, of course, other stories that extoll the virtues of these hard-working, tech-savvy, information-hungry overachievers. Well, after reading some 300 nominations for this, our inaugural 30 Under 30 issue, we now have no doubt as to which camp we're in.

When we set out to compile this list, we originally thought we'd write about the consultants who were poised to change the industry. Boy, were we wrong. We realized pretty quickly that these 20-somethings were already changing the profession in profound ways we had never envisioned. What did we learn? Well, in a nutshell: They are eager and well educated. They know what they want, and are not about to settle for anything less. They do not like the status quo. They will challenge the "that's the way it's always been" attitude. (And why not? They've been doing it their entire lives.) They crave responsibility. They are not afraid to take chances. They thrive on success. They value their personal time, and when they get it, they use it wisely. They are active in their local communities, often spending vast amounts of time and energy devoted to a cause they are passionate about. They are very philanthropic; they honestly believe the work they do each day should lead to more than a paycheck. In some cases, much more. In simplest terms, they want to change the world—or at least leave it in better shape than how they found it. And they are determined. I promise you this: They will succeed, no matter the cost.