Maybe you want to sound like a $5,000 a day strategy consultant.
Maybe you think if you sound like a McKinsey consultant the CEO will suddenly pay attention to what you’re saying.
Or maybe you have consultants swarming all over your offices, trying to work out how to cut enough costs… to afford $5,000 consultants. And you just want to understand what they’re saying.
Either way, you want to speak McKinsey.
Here’s a start.
Here are fifteen quintessentially McKinsey expressions. Some of them my colleagues and I noted down while we were at “the Firm.” Others have been suggested by other former McKinseyites.
Pepper these into your conversation and you’re part of the way there.
1. “What’s the so-what?”
Translation: How is this analysis useful?
Real meaning: You’re one up on me because you’ve done a ton of complex analysis and I haven’t. Allow me to reassert my authority by challenging you to explain the purpose, and implying that while you are living inside a spreadsheet, I’m actually living in the real world.
Example: “OK, so you’ve found that the client sells more beer in Australia than in New Zealand. But what’s the so-what?”
2. “MECE”
Translation: Mutually Exclusive and Completely Exhaustive.
Real meaning: Tell me you haven’t missed something big in your analysis that is going to bite us in the heiny.
Example: “Have you checked your analysis for MECE-ness?”
3. “Quick wins”
Translation: Easy cost savings we can show the client as soon as possible to justify our fees.
Real meaning: Lay-offs.
Example: “The entire Cleveland operation is a quick win.”
4. “Low-hanging fruit.”
Translation: Really quick wins.
Real meaning: Completely useless client operations and staff that even a child could lay off.
Example: “Boy, that guy Bob in accounts is low-hanging fruit.”
5. “Directionally correct.”
Translation: The analysis is correct in its broad conclusions.
Real meaning: The analysis is incorrect in some of its numbers.
Example: “Let’s not get hung up too much on the details. The analysis is directionally correct.”
6. “The right road, but the wrong direction.”
Translation: The analysis is asking the right questions.
Real meaning: The analysis is wrong, and one of the consultants is going to be fired.
Example: “We found the right road, but we took the wrong direction.”
7. “At least we now have a better idea of the questions.”
Translation: The next stage of analysis is going to add value.
Real meaning: The analysis just finished is so completely wrong that we can’t even claim it is directionally correct, or even that we found the right road.
Example: “OK, so’re going to have to go back and do this again. But at least now we have a better idea of the questions.”
8. “We’ve left that open.”
Translation: We haven’t answered that question yet.
Real meaning: We don’t know. In fact until you asked we hadn’t even thought about it.
Example: “How will this impact the new product launch? We’ve left that open.”
9. “Boiling the ocean.”
Translation: Doing a lot of analysis.
Real meaning: We’re so busy in meetings we really want to economize on the amount of actual analysis have to do.
Example: “You don’t need to look at the cost structure of each of the operations. Don’t boil the ocean.”
10. “Delta”
Translation: Change.
Real meaning: The consultant is so insecure he is afraid of using a simple word like “change.”
Example: “It’s going to be hotter tomorrow than today? What’s the delta?”
11. “On the beach.”
Translation: Between projects. (Has nothing to do with any actual beach)
Real meaning: No other consultant wants me on their project.
Example: “I’ve just spent a couple of weeks on the beach.”
12. “Peeling the onion.”
Translation: Doing deeper and deeper analysis.
Real meaning: We’re still trying to understand the client.
Example: “We’ll get a better idea of that once we peel the onion a bit more.”
13. “Granularity.”
Translation: Details.
Real meaning: The consultant is so insecure he is afraid of the simple word “details.”
Example: “Let’s see if we can get a little more granularity on that.”
14. “Version 2.0.”
Translation: A new version.
Real meaning: The first version didn’t work.
Example: “We want version 2.0 of this.”
15. “IPM.”
Translation: In Production Mode.
Real meaning: It’s not finished yet.
Example: “That latest analysis? Don’t worry, it’s IPM.”
How To Speak McKinsey: 15 Key Phrases To Pass Yourself Off As A Top Management Consultant - Forbes
Maybe you think if you sound like a McKinsey consultant the CEO will suddenly pay attention to what you’re saying.
Or maybe you have consultants swarming all over your offices, trying to work out how to cut enough costs… to afford $5,000 consultants. And you just want to understand what they’re saying.
Either way, you want to speak McKinsey.
Here’s a start.
Here are fifteen quintessentially McKinsey expressions. Some of them my colleagues and I noted down while we were at “the Firm.” Others have been suggested by other former McKinseyites.
Pepper these into your conversation and you’re part of the way there.
1. “What’s the so-what?”
Translation: How is this analysis useful?
Real meaning: You’re one up on me because you’ve done a ton of complex analysis and I haven’t. Allow me to reassert my authority by challenging you to explain the purpose, and implying that while you are living inside a spreadsheet, I’m actually living in the real world.
Example: “OK, so you’ve found that the client sells more beer in Australia than in New Zealand. But what’s the so-what?”
2. “MECE”
Translation: Mutually Exclusive and Completely Exhaustive.
Real meaning: Tell me you haven’t missed something big in your analysis that is going to bite us in the heiny.
Example: “Have you checked your analysis for MECE-ness?”
3. “Quick wins”
Translation: Easy cost savings we can show the client as soon as possible to justify our fees.
Real meaning: Lay-offs.
Example: “The entire Cleveland operation is a quick win.”
4. “Low-hanging fruit.”
Translation: Really quick wins.
Real meaning: Completely useless client operations and staff that even a child could lay off.
Example: “Boy, that guy Bob in accounts is low-hanging fruit.”
5. “Directionally correct.”
Translation: The analysis is correct in its broad conclusions.
Real meaning: The analysis is incorrect in some of its numbers.
Example: “Let’s not get hung up too much on the details. The analysis is directionally correct.”
6. “The right road, but the wrong direction.”
Translation: The analysis is asking the right questions.
Real meaning: The analysis is wrong, and one of the consultants is going to be fired.
Example: “We found the right road, but we took the wrong direction.”
7. “At least we now have a better idea of the questions.”
Translation: The next stage of analysis is going to add value.
Real meaning: The analysis just finished is so completely wrong that we can’t even claim it is directionally correct, or even that we found the right road.
Example: “OK, so’re going to have to go back and do this again. But at least now we have a better idea of the questions.”
8. “We’ve left that open.”
Translation: We haven’t answered that question yet.
Real meaning: We don’t know. In fact until you asked we hadn’t even thought about it.
Example: “How will this impact the new product launch? We’ve left that open.”
9. “Boiling the ocean.”
Translation: Doing a lot of analysis.
Real meaning: We’re so busy in meetings we really want to economize on the amount of actual analysis have to do.
Example: “You don’t need to look at the cost structure of each of the operations. Don’t boil the ocean.”
10. “Delta”
Translation: Change.
Real meaning: The consultant is so insecure he is afraid of using a simple word like “change.”
Example: “It’s going to be hotter tomorrow than today? What’s the delta?”
11. “On the beach.”
Translation: Between projects. (Has nothing to do with any actual beach)
Real meaning: No other consultant wants me on their project.
Example: “I’ve just spent a couple of weeks on the beach.”
12. “Peeling the onion.”
Translation: Doing deeper and deeper analysis.
Real meaning: We’re still trying to understand the client.
Example: “We’ll get a better idea of that once we peel the onion a bit more.”
13. “Granularity.”
Translation: Details.
Real meaning: The consultant is so insecure he is afraid of the simple word “details.”
Example: “Let’s see if we can get a little more granularity on that.”
14. “Version 2.0.”
Translation: A new version.
Real meaning: The first version didn’t work.
Example: “We want version 2.0 of this.”
15. “IPM.”
Translation: In Production Mode.
Real meaning: It’s not finished yet.
Example: “That latest analysis? Don’t worry, it’s IPM.”
How To Speak McKinsey: 15 Key Phrases To Pass Yourself Off As A Top Management Consultant - Forbes
