The economic world was in flux. A troubled world economy and social unrest undermined confidence. And Japan's emergence as a global power cast doubts on traditional approaches to management and manufacturing.

The 1970s proved to be our most challenging decade, forcing us to learn some tough but invaluable lessons. Realizing we needed a course correction, we subjected our own firm to the trademark McKinsey in-depth analysis.

We discovered that our growth in the 1960s had threatened a precious commodity: our client relationships. We took a hard look at our processes for selecting and evaluating consultants and at the quality of our knowledge.

One outcome of this process was a substantial investment in knowledge development, particularly in our key areas of expertise, strategy, and organization. As the 1970s came to a close, this investment paved the way for the surge of authorship by our consultants that would highlight our next decade.