Продолжение. Начало читайте здесь.

Alarm clock. Clock radio. Cereal. Multivitamin. Rain. No jog today.

The firm represents your career as one pyramid inverted on top of the other. The bottom pyramid represents analysts and associates; the top pyramid, junior and senior partners. At the fulcrum is the case manager. It is the best and worst role at the firm.

Five new voice mails, 12 new e-mails. Scan Red Herring, Venture Wire, American Banker, WS], and the NY Times. Must stay current, I rationalize. Client calls. "Could we have an update before the presentation to review the findings?" The presentation is only four days away. "Absolutely." "I'll see you tomorrow in Parsippany at eight-thirty A.M."

The best part is that you see and do it all. You watch partners agree to outrageous proposals. You design the analysis to execute those proposals. You learn your clients' quirks and earn their confidence. You guide your team. You support the firm, too — writing articles, giving recruiting seminars on "cracking a case interview."


A partner stops by: "I promised Tom that we would incorporate the perspective of Japanese beverage executives." Panic. The analyst reminds you of his vacation. Meet with case team. Reshuffle wогк plan. Interview client CFO. Rewrite executive summary (again). Gently, have "career concerns" discussion with advisee.

The worst part is that you see and do it all. It is all ultimately your responsibility: the right answer, a happy client, a non-mutinous case team, the partner appearing at the meeting and remembering the topic. You are one part uber-analyst, one part therapist, one part administrative assistant. Secretly, I like this responsibility, too.




What time does the gym close? Business plan needs another iteration. Girlfriend calls: "We are meeting for dinner at nine, right?" Panic. E-mail document to client. Grab a taxi. Rain. Everything will be fine. It always is.

Продолжение следует...