Video summary

What Consultants REALLY Do All Day at McKinsey, BCG & Bain

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

  • Management consulting is a structured, team-based service delivered to clients via projects (“cases”) rather than a single continuous job.
  • Consultants’ day-to-day work is centered on solving client problems in phases, typically: 1) diagnosing the issue 2) analyzing data and benchmarking 3) forming hypotheses/solutions 4) preparing and polishing presentations (PPT) 5) reviewing and pitching recommendations to senior client leadership
  • External perspective is a key value proposition: clients hire consultants to validate decisions and provide fact-based research they may not see internally.
  • Consulting firms rely on networks of experts:
    • Internal experts (former/current colleagues with relevant experience)
    • External experts (industry veterans sourced via agencies and contacted anonymously)
  • Communication and presentation are heavily emphasized, with significant time spent on slide creation and “storylining,” often as much as analysis.
  • Consulting can expand beyond strategy into implementation, extending project duration and staffing.
  • Different “case types” exist, such as profitability, growth strategy, market entry, and unconventional decision problems.
  • Career/work logistics include:
    • travel
    • client hospitality expectations
    • intense schedules
    • periods on the bench (unallocated consultants)
  • Consulting firms make money mainly by billing time (weekly/hourly or similar), with profitability driven by staffing cost vs. billable rates.
  • Work volume and demand affect employment: in weaker market periods (e.g., 2023 in the video), consultants may face “benching.”

Consulting firm structure (as described)

  • Partners
    • Senior leadership; relationship owners; present final outcomes in many cases.
  • Principals
    • Middle layer below partners.
  • Managers (engagement managers / project leaders)
    • Run parts of delivery and manage team execution; often manage specific topic areas in presentations.
  • Execution team
    • Junior consultants/associates/analysts who do most of the research, data work, benchmarking, and slide preparation.
  • Teams are formed per “case”
    • “Case” = client problem / client study (terminology varies by firm: e.g., “study” vs “case”).

Example workflow: Profitability case (e.g., Jio facing losses)

1) Diagnosis phase

  • Define the problem statement
    • Example: losses over several years; question is how to become profitable.
  • Use structured thinking
    • Profit framework: Profit = Revenue − Cost
  • Break down revenue and cost
    • Determine whether the issue is in revenue or cost.
    • Example result: revenue is growing, but costs rise faster, causing losses.
  • Identify specific cost drivers
    • Examples mentioned: tower-related fees, marketing expenses, excessive incentives/free offers, and other operational spending.

2) Benchmarking / comparison

  • Benchmark against comparable competitors
    • Example competitors: Airtel, Vodafone, Idea (as cited).
  • Find mismatches
    • Example outcome: Jio’s incentives and marketing are too high relative to others.
  • Deliver an initial view to client leadership
    • Present findings and validate assumptions in a steering discussion.

3) Steering Committee meeting (“Steer Committee”)

  • Purpose
    • Align with the client’s CXO-level leadership (CEO/Chief Sales/Chief Ops, etc.).
  • Scope
    • Consultants present phase 1 results and propose next steps and timeline.
  • Timeline proposal
    • Example: propose a plan like Phase 2 in ~4 weeks.

4) Solution development (second phase)

  • Craft recommendations
    • Goal: reduce costs without relying on revenue growth.
  • Duration
    • Could be weeks to months depending on complexity.
  • Internal team execution
    • Analysts/associates/junior staff work on data + analysis; managers coordinate.

5) Presentation preparation (PPT + production team)

  • Heavy emphasis on PowerPoint
    • The final narrative is delivered via slides.
  • Time allocation
    • Substantial time is spent on PPT creation and refinement:
      • ~40–50% analysis and ~50% PPT/storylining (speaker notes estimate).
  • Production team / slide polishing
    • A “production team” makes slides clean and “stylish,” sometimes ahead of time.

6) Client presentation cadence

  • Steer Committee meeting length
    • Typically about 3 hours (may vary).
  • Partner and managers present
    • Managers present parts; junior consultants may present depending on:
      • tenure (e.g., 2–6 months mentioned)
      • confidence level
      • complexity of topic
  • Client may request data proof
    • Junior team must be ready with templates, Excel, and backups.
    • Mentioned: they connect HDMI and present evidence quickly.

Why clients hire external consultants (as stated)

  • Validation / outside perspective
    • Internal teams may feel uncertain; consultants provide confirmation based on facts.
  • Fact-based approach
    • Consultants combine client-provided inputs with external market/company comparisons.
  • Expert networks
    • Access to both internal and external subject-matter knowledge that clients might not have readily available.

Expert networks (internal + external), including how anonymity works

Internal experts

  • Senior people within the consulting firm (including partners/experts) who previously worked on similar industries/clients.
  • Consultants can reach out quickly via internal networks.

External experts

  • Industry veterans (often ex-employees) sourced through agencies such as:
    • GLG, Third Bridge, Guidepoint
  • How access is structured
    • Experts are contacted for calls to gather insight/data points.
  • Confidentiality / anonymity
    • Expert identity is typically not revealed to the expert’s counterpart; the external expert doesn’t know the consultant-side identities.
  • Cost
    • External expert calls are expensive (rates described broadly as hundreds of dollars per hour or more).

Growth strategy case example (different from profitability)

Problem type

  • Client wants to double revenue in 3–5 years.

Approach

  • Evaluate multiple business units (example: six units).
  • Team splits work (example: three people; two streams each).

Evaluation dimensions used

  • Market size (how big)
  • Market growth (future growth potential)
  • Benchmarking top competitors
  • Hypotheses about future performance

Use of expert calls

  • Many expert calls (example: 15–20) from relevant industries (automotive components mentioned).

Case types mentioned (broad categories)

  • Profitability cases
    • Revenue/cost structure, margin improvement.
  • Growth strategy cases
    • Where and how to grow (business unit analysis, strategy).
  • Market entry cases
    • Decision: enter a new market/business or not; build strategy if yes.
    • Example: entering the EV market.
  • Unconventional decision cases
    • Example given: a wealthy individual deciding whether to buy a farm house.

Staffing and assignment process (how juniors get cases)

  • Partner brings some cases
    • Partners have client relationships.
  • Junior selection mechanisms
    • Juniors can apply for cases using internal portals.
  • Evaluation by leadership
    • Partners and managers review profiles and prior feedback.
  • “Orange apple sheet” (as described)
    • A color-coded performance/feedback classification system (orange vs apple) used to indicate senior quality.

Travel, client expectations, and work intensity

  • Locations and travel rules
    • Each consultant has a “home location.”
    • If client is in same city: travel minimal; if different city: travel is reimbursed.
    • Mentioned: company provides a full-time car while on client travel.
  • Hospitality
    • Consultants must keep clients comfortable:
      • good treatment
      • high-quality food
      • continuous hospitality during meetings
  • Work intensity
    • Late nights can happen (example: staying until ~2:30am, then returning early for next meeting).
  • Weekend protection
    • The video claims weekends are often protected in consulting (contrasted with some other finance roles).

Team bonding / “glamorous” perception (and why people may stay)

  • Case team offsite
    • If working with a client/case for >3 months:
      • offsite trips (Friday–Sunday) at resorts
      • can bring a “plus one”
      • includes activities (games, “Oscar night,” etc.)
  • Five-star hotel spending
    • Hotel bills may exceed one’s salary at junior levels due to long client travel durations.
  • Effect on retention
    • Lifestyle and perks can create inertia, making it hard to exit consulting.

Benefits and sabbatical (as described)

  • Sabbatical leave
    • Not paid, but job security preserved.
  • When used
    • Entrepreneurship planning
    • health/mental health needs
    • family emergencies (e.g., injury at home)
  • Support for entrepreneurship
    • Mentions programs/policies helping consultants pursue business starts while in the firm.

Consulting revenue model (as described)

  • Pricing basis
    • Charging per week and/or per hour.
  • Example calculations (approximate)
    • Weekly fees described as potentially large (e.g., “50–60k” in narrative, followed by larger implied ranges).
    • Typical assignment length: ~4 weeks.
  • Margin logic
    • Team salary cost vs. billed client rate creates high margin.
    • Example described: 2 associates (combined salary), 1 consultant, plus principal/partner share (described with a fixed portion).
  • Client rate differences
    • Some clients may pay double; others get discounts based on relationship/intensity.

Private equity division: “commercial due diligence” (CDD)

  • Separate divisions for PE vs standard consulting
    • Example term: PIPE (Public Investment and Private Equity) referenced for BCG.
  • What consultants do for PE
    • Assess commercial health:
      • whether it makes money “the right way”
      • quality and robustness of the business model
    • Not primarily valuation (as described), but commercial viability.
  • Working conditions
    • Intensity is higher; Saturday/Sunday can be working days.

Bench/slowdown risk (e.g., 2023)

Definition: benching

  • Consultants not assigned to active cases due to insufficient demand.

How it happens

  • Many cases vs. number of consultants engaged vs. available headcount.
  • If utilization drops, people may be “empty” (at home, then recalled).

Impact

  • Bench time can initially feel like relief but may harm performance perception.
  • Utilization hours affect performance outcomes.

Why demand can drop

  • Consulting depends on clients’ budgets.
  • With weaker economies or funding constraints, fewer consulting projects get purchased.
  • AI-era productivity pressures and budget tightening are mentioned.

Instructional / “methodology” summary (consulting approach in steps)

  1. Receive problem statement
    • Client defines concern (profitability, growth, market entry, etc.).
  2. Diagnose using structured frameworks
    • Example: Profit = Revenue − Cost
  3. Break down components
    • Identify revenue drivers and cost drivers.
  4. Benchmark
    • Compare against competitor cost structures and performance metrics.
  5. Form hypotheses
    • Use analysis + benchmarking + external inputs to propose likely causes and solution directions.
  6. Validate with client leadership
    • Hold a Steering Committee to confirm direction and secure next-phase approval.
  7. Develop solution proposals
    • Build recommendations and implementation ideas.
  8. Produce and refine deliverables
    • Create PPT with storylining; possibly use specialized production teams.
  9. Present with proof
    • Be ready to show data, templates, and Excel backups on request.
  10. If client wants implementation
    • Extend timeline and staffing for execution/rollout work.

Speakers / sources featured

  • Speaker: An unnamed first-person narrator (appears to be the video creator; refers to themselves as “Nandini” and shares personal consulting experience).

Organizations / entities referenced (sources in the video)

  • Consulting firms: McKinsey, BCG (Boston Consulting Group), Bain
  • Example clients/companies mentioned: Reliance / Jio, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea
  • Expert agencies mentioned: GLG, Third Bridge, Guidepoint
  • Private equity / investment firms referenced: Blackstone, Adia, (also “GIC” mentioned)
  • Named departments/divisions/terms: PIPE, CDD (commercial due diligence) (term explained in-video)

Original video