“Working side by side with the client’s experienced leaders and innovative thinkers helped us develop in ways we never expected. For example, I could not have imagined how much I would grow by watching the CEO’s humble yet inspirational leadership. It has had a dramatic impact on me both professionally and personally. We continue to work with the bank, and I am still learning from the bank’s team.”
“When our implementation team made its first presentation to the client, there were half a dozen McKinsey team members in the room and one from the client—the person who was second in command overall and the lead on the new bank. This was the first presentation for one of our team members, a researcher. She had expected only to observe, but the client asked for her opinion, and she gave it. Ultimately, he made his decision based on her thinking. That made a tremendous impression on our entire team. We saw that we had the opportunity to influence an experienced executive, and that he trusted we would give him the best we had to offer.”
“We earned the trust of the CEO, so that we could walk into his office and say, ‘Can I bounce an idea off you?’ to the CEO of a bank!”
“It was an incredibly fun environment where everybody from the junior McKinsey people to the client CEO developed a level of friendship. The head of HR spent time with my wife when we were expecting our first child. She gave us advice on what to bring from the U.S. when we moved to Asia. She even reminded us never to leave the house without an extra shirt in case your baby throws up on you.”
“It is a perfect example of how McKinsey works together with clients in such a great combination. It builds experiences, it builds skills, and it builds friendships that you cannot have unless you work collaboratively with people you truly respect.”
“At the end of the engagement, they threw a very nice lunch for me and bought me presents and showed me the depth of our friendships. I think that contrasts quite a lot with what some people may think of strategy consulting, which is that some CEO walks past and says, ‘Gee, our market share is declining. Go find out why,’ and off you go and do spreadsheets and so on.”
“We made a commitment every step of the way to building the bank. In working so intensely on it—visiting potential bank sites, helping recruit the client’s internal team and laying the groundwork—we felt it was our bank. The client was pleased at the ownership we took of the project and institution.”