Juan

Associate Principal

I first considered McKinsey as a possible career choice during my first semester at Columbia Business School. I was impressed with all my cluster mates, particularly with two of them. Both of them were former McKinsey business analysts. As I met other students, I started to realize that all the former McKinsey analysts had a sharp mind, were great contributors in the classroom, were fantastic communicators, and were genuinely interested in being helpful. With that in mind, I thought “Hey, it would be fantastic to work with people like this in the real world.” Not only did they show me what McKinsey’s values were, but also helped me prepare for the interviews.

What I value about McKinsey
McKinsey is the best firm in terms of people development. Many companies have varied and well-organized training programs, but it is McKinsey’s unique approach to developing people that goes beyond formal training. Over my years at the Firm, I have found several senior people who have become my mentors. They created multiple opportunities for me take close care of me. It has been amazing to see how, even early on, multiple partners have made it a personal responsibility to coach, mentor and develop me, and how much passion they have put into that effort. There is absolutely no formal training program that can substitute for the ongoing apprenticeship philosophy of McKinsey.

My work at McKinsey
So far in my career here I have started two major endeavors from scratch. It has been incredibly rewarding to see them realized, and recognize the support I received from the firm in starting these efforts. In one project a few colleagues and I started an internal network of Hispanic professionals to focus on the professional development and recruiting of Hispanic colleagues. In the other project, I teamed up with two colleagues to build a completely new approach designed to serve clients on a specific topic related to the performance of their finance function. In both cases, and with no questions asked, the firm invested necessary resources to make those efforts successful. To see both an entire internal network already in place and an entirely new approach tactic used by several clients have been fantastic achievements that my teams and I would not have been to accomplish so quickly in a different place.

McKinsey builds leaders
McKinsey expects you to be a leader from day one. When I first started I expected to be told what to do and how to help out, but quickly realized that I was expected to identify the problem, solve it, and help my client. I had managed a group of people before joining McKinsey, but I never thought I could become a leader. Since joining McKinsey I have worked with a number of inspirational leaders who have been role models. They have mentored me rather than managed me, and have shown me how to be successful rather than told me what to do.

I have learned that it does not matter how good you are at managing a project, other people, or a work stream. What really matters is how much you can inspire, excite, and motivate others—both your team and your clients—and give them the confidence and support they need to achieve their higher goals.

Interests
Favorite book: Cronopios and Famas by Julio Cortazar, a fantastic, absurd, clever, humorous novel. If you know about MBTI types, you will understand the profile of a cronopio and a fama and be able to see what your cronopio/fama type is.

Favorite movie: Dead Poets Society

Hobbies/interests: Running, hiking, and stand-up comedy