“It was quite a growth experience for me to manage a global team and a global client. I would try to understand what’s going on by watching body language and listening to the translator.”
“We would go to bed in North America, send our documents off to the team in Asia, wake up in the morning and the transitions were seamless. The way we talked and solved problems was the same regardless of whether it was an Asian associate I was talking to or someone from the Dallas office.”
“After a big meeting it’s customary to go out and drink with your colleagues. And there are three things you do in Asia: You eat, you drink, and you sing karaoke. We did all of those. I was amazed at the partners’ ability to rap.”
“In one meeting I had to argue with a senior client member. I respectfully told him I could prove my point of view. I was worried I was making a mistake, but after the meeting my McKinsey colleagues told me I had done a good job by showing confidence in that situation, and that is what McKinsey expects from the consultants.”
“We often went out to a nice place in the city, especially when a U.S. team member was here. In the summer, we had a barbecue party. That was a fun event.”
“As we picked through numbers with the client, we changed our perspective in one week. It turned out every time they sold one particular product in the United States, they lost money. Just to get to that number was exciting.”