A former McKinsey consultant informs us mere mortals of ten things he learned on the job. Number 1 is pretty important:
1. There are no “experts” in business.Number 10 is even better, and number 9, Everyone is in sales, is the one that gives me fits every day. If I would admit that it is true, I'd probably have a better chance of getting married. Some things I'd add:
It was my first grown up job, and this was the biggest surprise. Before I joined I had assumed that people in the upper echelons of the business world really knew what they were doing – that they were imbued with great wisdom, and knowledge, and insights, and secret data that the rest of the world didn’t know about. Turns out they are pretty much guessing, much like the rest of us. That’s why they hired a bunch of smart young people to tell them what was going on in their own companies. And we were able to tell them.
No matter how smart you are, always assume the person you are talking to can teach you something.
Listen. Not just to what people tell you, but how they tell you and why you think they tell you it.
If it seems like a good idea, ask yourself why somebody else isn't already doing it.
Think for yourself. If the consensus has formed around an idea, think about why it may be a good idea, then think about why it may be a bad idea.
There are a lot of other suggestions I can give out, but these are some of the more important ones, in my opinion.
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