A Career for Life Scientists in Management Consulting
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Downloaded from http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/ on September 27, 2021 - Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press A Career for Life Scientists in Management Consulting Rodney W. Zemmel McKinsey & Company, Incorporated, New York, New York 10022 Correspondence: [email protected] Compared with life sciences, management consulting is a relatively new field. Nonetheless, leading firms have assumed a central role in the global business economy and command increasing influence as advisors to corporations and organizations in the public and social sectors. Offering robust analysis, independent and expert perspectives, and—in the best cases—valuable creative input, these companies focus on helping clients to improve their performance or more effectively execute their mission. Because the top firms tackle the most complex problems for the most successful orga- nizations in the world, theyattract top graduates. But the field is no longer the sole province of those with MBAs. In recent years, the profession has increasingly diversified and now actively recruits candidates with advanced degrees in a range of disciplines—including the life sciences. Those who join the field will find many parallels between the consulting approach and scientific inquiry. As a result, life scientists have many of the intrinsic skills needed to thrive in the industry,which can offer an extraordinary breadth of assignments, global experience, and an accelerated way to learn. At leading firms, the intensive training and development offered can pave the way for partnership, in which consultants counsel senior executives as peers. Many of those who leave become entrepreneurs or join top organizations—sometimes their former clients—at a leadership level. anagement consulting took root in the did, to seek unfettered opportunity in cities. M1920s, when James O. McKinsey, a Uni- Small family businesses were giving way to cor- versity of Chicago management professor, porations. The success of Henry Ford’s assem- launched a small business to provide financial bly line fanned interest in specialization, chang- and accounting advice to local companies. Un- ing the profile of industry and the professions. derstanding that financial data could be mined And everyone, it seemed, was growing giddy (if to improve business performance, he launched not rich) by speculating in the stock market. McKinsey & Company in 1926. Against this dynamic backdrop, James It was less than a decade after World War I, McKinsey saw that no one was expressly serving three years before the Great Depression, and a the needs of chief executives charged with lead- time of profound change in the U.S. economy. ing the growing business enterprises. When Ambitious young men and women were leaving he founded his management consulting firm, rural America in droves, as McKinsey himself it was with the idea that it would provide Editors: Kaaren Janssen and Richard Sever Additional Perspectives on Career Options for Biomedical Scientists available at www.cshperspectives.org Copyright # 2018 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved; doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a032946 Cite this article as Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2018;10:a032946 1 Downloaded from http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/ on September 27, 2021 - Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press R.W. Zemmel analytically rigorous and independent advice to consulting firms soon adopted. As technology top management. and globalization have made specialized knowl- Although McKinsey had the initial idea that edge more important to clients, McKinsey has launched the management consulting field, it continued to diversify. Today, more than half was really his prote´ge´, the lawyer Marvin Bower, of its 8000 consultants have non-MBA back- who shaped the industry. Called “the father of grounds. They include entrepreneurs, scientists, modern management consulting” by the Har- doctors, authors, athletes, and military officers, vard Business School, Bower had served on as well as “experienced hires” from many indus- bankruptcy committees, learning how to gut tries, and represent a mix of nationalities, ex- businesses and retain what remained of value pertise, and tenures. for bondholders. When he joined McKinsey in With this polyglot consulting community, 1933, he hoped to serve businesses more broad- the firm solves many complex problems for ly, and indeed, he did. Bower is credited with the world’s leading corporations—in industries shaping the vision and culture of McKinsey, and including energy, pharmaceuticals, telecommu- he ultimately had enormous influence on the nications, healthcare, media, consumer goods, consulting profession as a whole. and banking. McKinsey also works with leading Some of Bower’s best ideas were adapted organizations in the public and social sectors from other fields. For example, the professional and invests actively in pro bono efforts, serving conduct that distinguished law and medicine 70 governments and four of the top five foun- led him to author a set of guiding principles dations in the world. At any given time, the that remain—in an adapted form—a touch- firm’s consultants might focus on issues ranging stone even today. Of note, these include putting from helping hospitals decrease wait times clients’ interests first and maintaining high for patients, cell phone manufacturers to part- ethical standards. According to Bower’s “one ner with music companies, schools to increase firm” concept, offices are encouraged to coop- graduation rates, and consumer companies to erate rather than to compete with one another. integrate postmerger. This principle remains a core feature of the firm Since the founding of management consult- and the basis for its international diversity and ing more than 85 years ago, the field has grown its opportunities for mobility and entrepre- exponentially. Some firms focus broadly on neurship. important issues facing CEOs and other senior Other innovations influenced the manage- executives. These include The Boston Consult- ment consulting industry as well. One of the ing Group (BCG), Bain & Company, and Booze most significant involved recruiting—specifi- & Company. Still other consultancies serve cally, the determination to emphasize talent businesses at different levels of the corporate and intrinsic intellectual strengths over experi- structure. Such firms include Deloitte Consult- ence. This led the firm to “experiment” in the ing and Oliver Wyman, among others. The field mid 1950s with hiring MBAs straight from busi- has also expanded to include a myriad of small- ness school. It is difficult to imagine the con- er, “boutique” firms that specialize in a variety sequences if those early MBAs had failed. In- of industries and disciplines. They serve clients stead, they flourished. And soon after, many more narrowly on almost any topic one can other consulting firms were also mining busi- think of—from helping airlines design their ness schools for talent. route systems to helping companies upgrade In time, the drive to build a preeminent information technology used by salespeople. firm with exceptional talent led McKinsey to Consulting firms have become a fixture in broaden its recruiting to candidates with ad- the world’s business landscape. And their pres- vanced professional degrees, such as PhDs, ence seems secure: As change continues to JDs, and MDs, as well as holders of non-MBA accelerate, as globalization expands, and as the master’s degrees. Again, McKinsey was a pio- private, public, and social sectors increasingly neer in this recruiting strategy, which other collaborate on the world’s most pressing issues, 2 Cite this article as Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2018;10:a032946 Downloaded from http://cshperspectives.cshlp.org/ on September 27, 2021 - Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press A Career in Management Consulting the need for rigorous problem solving and ex- mini-MBA program. This follows a one-week pert, unbiased advice seems unlikely to diminish. training program that introduces the firm’s approach to solving problems and communi- cating with clients. Many associates receive up JOBS to eight weeks of formal training within their Unlike corporate environments, management first two years at the firm, which invests more consulting, with its client and project focus, in knowledge and capability building each can open up a world of opportunity to explore year than do the leading business schools. The different industries, functions, and geographies review processes focus as much on building in- over time and to build expertise in one or sev- dividual strengths as on identifying develop- eral areas. The descriptions here reflect my own ment needs. personal experience at McKinsey but include Learning that happens less formally is some features of other management consulting equally important. Because the firm works in firms that generally have a narrower focus and teams and embraces an apprenticeship model, client base. much development occurs in team rooms and Typically, the associate position is the most client settings. Associates can expect to receive common point of entry—one that offers an ex- coaching from peers (who may have different ceptional growth experience. At McKinsey, for strengths) and from engagement managers, example, associates work on a variety of engage- who lead teams on a day-to-day basis. Associ- ments within their first year and over time have ates also receive mentoring from associate prin- tremendous flexibility to explore, specialize, cipals (who apprentice as