1. Before undertaking any project, McKinsey will try its best to ensure that:
1. This project can really provide customers with opportunities to gain significant benefits;
2. There are no major obstacles in implementation.
However, in view of the fact that it is usually impossible to determine the above conditions in advance, McKinsey agrees that customers can decide to terminate the partnership at any time when they think that the expected benefits may not be realized during the project. In the same situation, McKinsey also wants to keep the option, that is, when the company judges that changes in the external environment will make the project unable to achieve the expected goals, it can freely withdraw from the cooperative project.
Second, in the consultation process, the company tries its best to cooperate closely with the members of the customer organization. Always establish an understanding of the expected project effect as soon as possible, and often hold formal or informal talks with the senior management of the client company on the project progress during the project. In view of the nature and importance of the topics discussed in the project, various feasible methods and the time schedule for realizing the changes, the company will strive to establish an understanding of these views at all levels of the customer organization. This practice makes it possible for all levels of the company to understand, accept and support the suggestions made at the end of the project. Therefore, the contents of the written report put forward by the company are all suggestions that have been communicated and discussed with customers, and there will be no surprises for customers.
Third, McKinsey solves problems with customers, not for customers. According to this policy, the project work completely adopts the way of cooperation with customers, making use of their business knowledge and McKinsey's problem-solving skills and knowledge. When appropriate, ask the customer to assign personnel to participate in the project research full-time or part-time. This arrangement can bring very important benefits:
First of all, this method can greatly improve the efficiency of project consultants and reduce the cost of customers, especially in the stage of collecting factual data;
Secondly, the determination and commitment established by the client personnel in the actual project work will contribute to the effective implementation of the program.
In addition, this cooperation mode can also enable McKinsey to impart modern management skills to customers.
If we don't help our customers to take necessary and cost-effective steps to ensure real change and impact, we think our work is not finished. The first step to participate in project implementation is to assist customers to make detailed plans and schedules. Whether we will participate in the implementation plan more widely in the future depends on the needs of customers. For example, McKinsey's participation in project implementation may be limited to monitoring the progress and results of plans implemented by client personnel, that is, part-time project support. Or, sometimes customers need more input from McKinsey, so we can help train customers' personnel or help establish and support customers' plan execution teams. In addition, we can assist customers to carry out pilot projects, conduct tests, build models, or simulate new schemes, new procedures and new organizational adjustments.
5. The principle that McKinsey & Company should keep all information of customers confidential. At the same time, it also keeps confidential the sensitive opinions expressed by any individual. Employees in the company must receive special training to ensure that customer information will not be leaked on any occasion; A project team serving a specific customer can't serve this customer's competitors within two years; Project data in the company are blocked from each other, and the transfer of data must be approved by the directors.