A week in the life of a consultant
Asheesh
It’s been six years since I spent my induction week at Booz & Company on the island of Palma de Mallorca in Spain. Six years is a long time in the consulting world—long enough to build a rich set of experiences—yet it seems very short, as time flies and there is still a lot to learn. The learning curve in these years, both on the professional and personal side, has been especially steep when I compare it to the five years I spent in the energy industry prior to joining Booz & Company. In between, there was the small matter of receiving my MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau.
I started my Booz career in our lovely Amsterdam office and my journey so far has been typical of a Booz consultant in every possible way.
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I have worked on multiple continents, with projects in Europe, Russia, the U.S., and the Middle East
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I have led large transformations at blue-chip clients as well as senior agenda-setting projects for mid-size firms
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I have worked with an extremely diverse and incredible bunch of people across our global offices
I am currently a principal in our energy practice. Three years ago, I moved my family from Amsterdam to Dubai to be closer to my energy clients in the Middle East instead of spending my time in airline lounges and planes on cross-continental flights.
What does it mean to be a principal at Booz & Company? It means there are five key things demanding my attention: leading large strategy and transformation projects, developing the business, building the junior team and the community, developing foresight, and contributing to internal firm initiatives. I constantly need to balance these activities, often within the same week. Let me give you a snapshot of my past five days.
Sunday: We are finishing an international growth strategy for one of my Middle East oil and gas clients, and the client CEO has asked us to present our recommendations to the company’s board on Wednesday. I start the day in the Dubai office with my team to brainstorm the key messages we want to communicate to the board, leveraging all the analysis we have done over the last eight weeks. After a good couple of hours of discussion, we break away to prepare the presentation. In the afternoon, my assistant has lined up a couple of interviews with potential new recruits. I read the candidates’ CVs and tailor the case I will be giving to them. One of the candidates aces the case, with me and with the other interviewers, and we decide to take him to the next round. Late in the afternoon, I receive a request to prepare a proposal on a restructuring project for another of my clients. I lock myself in my office to think through the problem, understand the issues, and consider which experts in our global network I can tap for insight. I call the partner responsible for the client and we agree on the game plan. At around 8 pm, I head home to see my newborn son and put him to bed.
Monday: It’s new hire induction day in the office. Tradition has it that one of the senior members in the office is asked to welcome the new joiners and I have the honor today. After that, I get back to my team to review and work on the board presentation. At lunchtime, we proceed to the social area in the Dubai office, where lunch is typically catered (one of the great luxuries in our Middle East offices) and today we spend time with the new joiners to make them feel welcome and comfortable. Post-lunch, I get back to organizing a series of teleconferences with our European and American colleagues to discuss the restructuring proposal, crystallize the key issues, and start thinking of our approach to crack the case. Early in the afternoon, I get back to my team and we work further on the board presentation. Once we send the presentation to the partner for his review, we head out for our team dinner—quite proud of what we have accomplished over the last eight weeks.
Tuesday: It’s 8 am and I fly with one of the partners to the Mediterranean, where the client’s board meeting will be taking place in quite a picturesque location on Wednesday. Early in the afternoon, after we land, I round up some of the consultants who are “on the beach”—i.e., not currently staffed on projects—to start working on the restructuring proposal, which is shaping up after the discussions with our experts on Monday. In the evening, the partner and I meet with the CEO to discuss the next day and prepare for questions we may receive from the board. After a few good hours of discussion, the CEO feels comfortable with the presentation. I have a quick dinner with the partner to catch up on a few things.
Wednesday: It’s an early start to the day. Prior to the 10 am board presentation, I have a breakfast meeting with three partners from European offices who have also been extensively involved on this project. We go through the presentation one last time and are called into the board meeting just past 10 am. What was supposed to be a one-hour presentation turns into a two-hour discussion. The board members are very engaged and have a number of tough questions for us and the company’s management. Ultimately, the board is very pleased with the outcome of the project and they endorse the strategy and the recommendations. The CEO can now prepare for launch, with our support. It’s all very exciting. Late that afternoon, I head to the airport and proceed to Doha to meet with the client about the restructuring proposal. There are a number of questions that need to be clarified; after checking in to the hotel, the partner and I review the draft of the proposal together and discuss the issues we want to raise with the client on Thursday.
Thursday: At 8:30 am, we head to the client for the meeting on the restructuring proposal. We present our understanding of the project, our perspectives on the key challenges the client is facing, and the issues that need to be addressed in the project. We have a lively discussion with the client team and after an hour we have clarified all the questions. We can now get on with writing the full proposal, which is due next week. Back at the hotel, I have a teleconference to discuss one of my five mentees, who has been promoted from associate to senior associate (i.e., project manager). My mentee, his senior mentor, and I get on the phone with the person who conducted his annual appraisal to discuss his career progress; we are quite proud of how rapidly my mentee has developed over the last couple of years and the fact that he is leading large projects. After the call, I fly back to Dubai and head to a hotel near the office, where the firm sponsors biweekly drinks for staff and their significant others. It’s a nice opportunity to mingle with colleagues, discuss the week gone by, and offer a toast to all the people who have been promoted recently, including my mentee. After drinks, it is time to head home and plan for the weekend with family.