Erika
Associate
My biggest learning so far
I went through a mental shift, from feeling unsure of myself in a new situation to thinking, "I can do anything I want if I really put my mind to it, break the problem down into pieces, and focus first on the areas I can touch".
I’ve been working on a very big operational transformation. When I started it, it was a totally new area to me and it seemed like a massive challenge—really intimidating. Then I realised that I had to take a small piece of the problem, not the whole problem, and start to solve it. So I got on with it one piece at a time, and then later I had a crack at the bigger picture. As a team, we made a big impact. For me personally, it was a new approach to complex problem solving. It was a really big personal learning, and I think I can apply it to just about anything.
My friendship group in the office
I haven’t met anyone here I don’t like. It’s an interesting environment, full of young, enthusiastic people, who are very intelligent and also very keen on achieving impact. We actually sit in the lunch room and talk about it. I think it’s terrific. We spend a lot of time together outside the office as well—we call each other, have our house warming parties, go to the cinema, to the opera or whatever. We also do a lot of sport together. I have very good friends among my colleagues now and I really enjoy this. I think it’s also the main reason why people stay in the firm—it’s really nice to be able to work with highly intelligent people. I also like being able to seek advice. There are many people I know I can trust enough to go and seek their advice.
My future ambitions
Within McKinsey, there are two things I would like to do. One is to work in Asia in consumer goods. The second is to do some pro bono work in either Africa or South America. It’s unlikely I’ll achieve both in the medium term, but I’m quite positive I will be able to do either one or the other. Outside McKinsey, I’m very keen on consumer goods. I’d like to work for a publishing company eventually.
Keeping some time free
I am very much a morning person. I prefer getting up at 5:00 a.m. to work if it means I can end at 6:00 p.m. and have the evening to myself. I do that a lot. Also, I am very strict about not working at week ends. The secret behind this is making it plain that I am not always available. If the phone rings at the week end and I don’t pick it up, then it won’t ring the next weekend.