Whitepaper

The Transition from Management Consulting

into Industry Perspectives before and after the move

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METHODOLOGY

This whitepaper is based on the findings of research undertaken by 325

Consulting in October 2013. Tim Carroll and Dominic Moore, of 325 Consulting,

conducted interviews of 19 professionals in Australia that had transitioned

from management consulting into industry. The interviewees had transitioned

to companies in a diversity of industries including retail, media, technology,

financial services and industrials. The most recent transition was 6 months

prior to the interview.

INTRODUCTION There has been lots of research conducted and content

produced about the transition into management

consulting but not much published on the converse. This

whitepaper has been created to:

1) Help consultants better understand the decisions

and factors surrounding a transition into industry

2) Help industry executives attract and retain from a

rich talent pool of consultants looking to move

into industry

It captures the perspectives of those who have already

made the transition to industry.

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THE MIGRATION A WELL-TRODDEN PATH

For as long as the best and the brightest young guns have been striving for the opportunity

to work in the illustrious management consulting industry, management consultants

themselves have been considering their next steps. Equipping professionals with a

formidable strategic toolkit and supreme critical thinking, consulting is a powerful

springboard into any corporate role, in any industry. However, the fears and hopes

associated with the decision to leave this familiar environment are complex and the

challenges, real.

Whilst former consultants rarely regret their decision to move into industry, many wished

they had possessed a better knowledge of the resources available to support them. At 325

Consulting, we knew we were in a unique position to capture one of the most important

resources of all – a collection of the perspectives of those who have made the transition.

With this paper, we hope that organisations that are hiring and individuals embarking upon

this well-trodden path can be informed, enlightened and above of all, guided by their

stories.

Insight #1

Pre-move

Management consultants are almost always open to, if not seeking, “the

next thing”

The average tenure held in corporate roles is on the decline and the statistics clearly show

the impermanence with which roles are increasingly viewed by professionals of the up-and-

coming generation. That said, management consulting seems to be in a league of it’s own.

For most, management consulting is seen as a stepping stone or a springboard into the next

opportunity.

All of those interviewed acknowledge the rapid up-skilling they experienced whilst in their

former roles but 84% claim that they were passively open to or actively seeking new

opportunities from day 1, even for post-graduates. Whilst transience can be correlated with

the types of individuals that enter consulting, not simply caused by it, the fact remains that

“career consulting” is seen to be attractive to a select few.

”The desire to leave can be building up for a long time,

years even, but you often don’t have the time to think

or consider life outside your project.”

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Most consultants interviewed see their consulting careers as a collection of phases, with

clear entry and exit points. These can be broadly categorized by, but not limited to, points

of:

• Achievement such as reaching a promotion or achieving a big client success

• Change in personal life such as a sick parent or the birth or a child

• Adversity such as trying to go for a manager promotion and realising the risk reward

does not stack up or getting “smashed” on a case

• New opportunity a job offer comes across their table

• Reflection such as a holiday, LOA, reaching a certain depth of expertise or simply

looking at the people around you and realising that you were no longer on the right

path

Insight #2

Pre-move

Greater perceived “life balance” is one of the key pull factors to industry

Virtually all respondents noted the same reasons, in varying degrees, as to the factors that

pushed them out of consulting and the forces that pulled them into industry, and it was

almost always a combination of the two.

Push factors

Every professional interviewed calls out the sheer effort required to keep up with the

unrelenting pace of consulting. The “constant travel and lack of visibility” were initially

sustainable but quickly became out of hand. The inability to see recommendations through

was considered deeply unsatisfying for most and the sentiment usually compounded over

time.

“There was a sense in consulting that everyone lived

and breathed work – I didn’t want that.”

Pull factors

Former consultants are largely aligned on the perceived draw-cards of industry. Almost all

consultants were attracted by the opportunity to see implementation through (with the

exception of strategy roles in some cases). Industry has a reputation for better work-life

balance, stability and visibility. This pull factor gained strength in the middle and upper

echelons. Many consultants also wanted to explore specialising in a passion of theirs such as

technology or consumer.

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Many consultants also craved the ability to form, deeper, more meaningful relationships.

Interestingly, money was rarely a key driver; for most it was a hygiene level factor. At the

lower echelons, feeling underpaid for the effort required was a moderate theme.

Insight #3

Pre-move

Consultants utilize 4 key channels to find new opportunities

Over the course of their consulting stint, many former consultants interviewed underwent

long-term passive searching, for example, “exploring and considering life on the other side

of the fence” amidst their day-to-day interactions with clients. This pre-research

undertaken by 53% of interviewees, formed the foundation for the active search that

entailed sometime later.

Before engaging in the “real search”, professionals usually outlined a broad set of role

criteria for which they were solving, derived from the push/pull factors they had defined in

their own minds. On average, consultants spent between 1 month and 1 year actively

searching. In addition to speaking to individuals at a new potential employer, consultants

engaged various combinations of 4 key resources:

1. Desk research: One of the first activities undertaken by 47% of respondents was to

get a list of the top players in a geography or an industry and from there narrow

down choices based on other criteria

2. Alumni: The source of knowledge and insight most frequently and commonly drawn

upon was alumni. “Speaking to alumni that had recently left - very helpful as the

transition is still very fresh in their minds”

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Key push factors Key pull factors # respondents (n=19)

# respondents (n=19)

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3. Search firms: 89% of individuals actively engaged search firms and one individual

quotes that “head-hunters really helped me understand that step and the options I

would have.”

4. Clients: A lot of people were subconsciously considering what it would be like to

work on the other side of their client and often instigated discussions

Insight #4

Pre-move

Pre-conception of omnipresent red tape within large corporations

With any large transition, there comes an array of fears and anticipated challenges.

Management consulting is a unique micro-environment with its own processes, culture,

mindset and even language. The decision to leave its parameters can be daunting. In fact,

the fears outlined below have admittedly paralyzed consultants out of action for months,

sometimes years. Conversely, several say they didn’t perceive any challenges but all of them

say that that was naïve in hindsight.

63% of consultants were worried about their lack of functional expertise and an associated

fear of “where do I fit in?”. Secondly, there is a general perception of the prevalence of red

tape within industry. Furthermore, consultants had a pre-conception that everything moves

slower because you do not have a mandate from the top as you’re not getting paid a huge

amount of money.

“I knew that I was stepping down in terms of the level

of conversation I would be having, visibility and

strategic importance to the company.”

Insight #5

Post-move

Biggest challenge: learning how to get things done

The fears consultants had before the transition were reasonably diverse but the reality of

the challenges experienced turned out to be quite different. However, there are striking

similarities in what they found.

Consultants took anywhere from several weeks to 2 years to feel settled in with an average

around 6 months. One of the most prevalent challenges that ex-consultants say they

confronted is “learning the mechanics of driving change for the business”.

“It took me 3 months to feel settled...1 year to feel at

home, 2 years to feel really embedded”

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One consultant captures a widespread sentiment about bureaucracy with: “Red tape exists

not because I don’t have access to a senior audience, because I do, but simply because it’s a

large organisation”. Many felt that “It’s not just enough to have an idea and frame it well,

like it is in consulting, you need to know how to communicate that effectively to induce

action. That’s the key difference.” Some consultants even found it hard to settle into lighter

workload. One individual recalls coming home for months and thinking “what do I do now? I

should be busy. I feel like I’m slacking”.

Unfortunately, some professionals did not gain the change in pace or lifestyle they sought

out. One individual argues “you will bring yourself to your new role... the passion,

commitment, drive, workaholic nature- it comes too”

Insight #6

Post-move

Coming back? Probably not but never say never

No respondent regretted his or her move. Many would have liked to consider the decision

more thoroughly, engaged a search firm earlier to understand their options or talked to

more people. Most former consultants lament the quality of people, as one ex-Partner

quotes -“I miss the pipeline, the machine around the pipeline, the ability to delegate work

and know that in hours it will be done to a high standard.”

“I miss the wining, dining, the drivers, flying across the

country for an offsite, the budget, the platinum status

– but it’s not enough to get me back now.”

Insight #7

Post-move

Listen. Learn. Observe.

As a consultant, the nature of your work conditions you to walk into businesses with a

conscious or subconscious belief that “I’m smarter, faster, better, brighter. Leave it to me”.

The primary advice dealt by interviewees is that this attitude simply does not fly. When

going into your new corporate role “you must listen, learn and observe what is going on,

how people and process work – for months”.

Many consultants stress the importance of communication, in particular stakeholder

management. “It’s about having the right smarts and being able to convey them in the right

way.” One former Partner believes “The absence of stakeholder management skills is the

kiss of death, whereas in consulting you could pass on client/team if you were strong on

value addition, particularly at the lower levels.”

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“Success in industry is being able to identify which

parts of consulting can and should be transferred

across into a corporate role and recognising that some

things can’t and shouldn’t.”

On the topic of motivation, one interviewee sums it up nicely with: “When you leave

consulting you realise how your firm has cherry-picked people just like you. Motivating the

top 0.5% most motivated individuals in the planet is a different skill to motivating 50,000

people with different backgrounds, ambitions and ages“.

CONCLUSION

Getting a deeper glimpse into the thought process and psyche of the former management

consultant, we can infer that the notion of always looking for new opportunities is more

pervasive here, than in almost any other industry.

There are benefits reaped, skills acquired and lessons learned in both management

consulting and industry. Should I move? When is the right time to move? To which company

should I move and into which role? It is clear that these are tough questions with no clear

answer. What we do know is that there are a plethora of people and resources to support

you in this decision and transition. This document will serve you as good starting point.

CONTACT US

Tim Carroll

Director & Co-Founder

T: +61 2 9089 8837

M: +61 424 246 454

E: tcarroll@325consulting.com

Dominic Moore

Director & Co-Founder

T: +61 2 9089 8838

M: +61 405 492 969

E: dmoore@325consulting.com