Friends,
This Friday will be my last day at McKinsey, at least for a bit. In a few weeks, I will be moving to the US to pursue a master’s in Public Administration at Harvard.
It feels odd to be leaving; just a few years ago, I was convinced the firm would never take me. Somehow, I made it through the final round interviews, and nearly three years later, here I am.
I have loved (almost) every minute. McKinsey gave me the opportunity to figure out many things including how many rolls should be in a pack of toilet paper*, what your taste in whiskey says about you, why Western skin creams don’t work in Korea, how hard it is to start a non–profit (even with McKinsey’s backing), and what it feels like to write an illustrated novella in five weeks. Through it all, I have also been fortunate to see the impact of my work, on the BBC news ticker, while shopping for everyday items in London, and even in local TV ads in my native country of Pakistan. Plus, I met some of my idols along the way, including Kofi Annan, Muhammad Yunus, Fatima Bhutto, and Mohsin Hamid, and some other people who’re pretty cool (Emma Watson, Meghan Markle, and Justin Trudeau).
I could not have asked for a more powerful experience – in its diversity, intensity, influence, and personal development. Thank you.
Yet, when I think back to why I chose McKinsey over peer organizations, these factors didn’t sway me. What made McKinsey stand out when I was interviewing and today are the values. Over the years, I’ve consistently seen them in practice. Three months into my time as a business analyst, I wrote to [then–managing partner] Dom Barton with an especially strong opinion on something he’d said on his blog. He responded almost immediately and put me in touch with people who could help me do something about it. Our values are not just lip service; they make the firm a special place and made my experience enriching and memorable.
As I move on, my hope for McKinsey is that we always preserve this ’sparkle’ so we remain a truly caring meritocracy, that always upholds the obligation to dissent, and consistently develops its people through mentorship. I’m confident we will because McKinsey is full of exceptional people who love tough challenges.
Khuda Hafiz,
*Answer: It depends, but a 6–roll pack is particularly ’under–penetrated white–space’.