McKinsey PEI--Entrepreneurial Drive: Project in progress?

Question

Dear community,

I would appreciate your thought about this:

Is it okay to talk about something that is still in progress for Entrepreneurial Drive?

Since we need to talk about recent episodes, as well as present multiple ones, I find myself considering to share an effort that is pretty involved and thus still ongoing. (Basically I aimed for something big in vision, but so far I could only achieve part of it and rest are still in progress).

Obviously at this point the “Result” section will be less impressive as it's still ongoing effort, but does that matter a lot in terms of evaluation?

Edit: alternatively, I might talk about something I shared in the 1st round, which I know is also not ideal--so I'm trying to figure out which factor matters more. I understand it's hard to say without the details--but thank you all for your very helpful insight!

Answer 1

Hi there,

Q: Is it okay to talk about something that is still in progress for Entrepreneurial Drive?

I agree with Jorn, it depends on what you can present in terms of results and if what you have achieved so far can still be considered a “full story”. If it is something still in progress I would expect results and learnings to be mostly missing, making the story weaker, but possibly that’s not the case.

Whether it makes sense to use this story or a different one (with completed results) depends on the strength of the alternative, so it is difficult to comment without knowing the other options.

In short:

If you have an alternative “complete” story of equivalent or superior strength, I would use the alternative
If you don’t have any other good story, you don’t really have an alternative. In this case, you will have to structure the current story as much as possible as a “complete” story with clear results

You can find more on PEI and McKinsey interviews here:

▶ 4 PEI Dimensions You Should Know

▶ 4 Ways McKinsey Interviews are Different

▶ McKinsey Final Round Tips

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 2

Hey there,

For this dimension, the interviewer will ask you about a situation where you set a goal for yourself and achieved it against all odds. You need to demonstrate

ambition and dedication by pursuing several goals at the same time
an intrinsic desire and motivation to achieve this goal
how you overcame obstacles or faced headwinds along the way by coming up with creative and new ideas or approaches
how you follow the goals with energy and passion until you reached the desired outcome

You can read more about it here: https://www.preplounge.com/mckinsey-pei

Unless your story contains very (!) strong intermediate results and a promising trajectory (with clear examples that you can discuss), I would not use it as an Entrepreneurial Drive story.

My hunch is rather not to use it and focus on something you can discuss end-to-end.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 3

It can be ongoing. But you should have at least achieved a certain milestone. Otherwise it's just wishful thinking.

This reminds me of a candidate that stated he was learning chinese. When I asked about it, he was in his 3rd lesson… The problem was not that he was still in progress towards a goal. If he was at A2 level, that would be fine. The problem was that he didn't have anything yet to show…

I am sure you will have something you can be proud about your entrepreneurial journey. But if not yet, chose a different story.

Answer 4

Hi there,

I completely agree with the others. You need to ensure that there is clear attainment of the goals you set. This will be hard (not impossible) for an in progress project.

Answer 5

Hi,

I personally think it is okay to talk about something ongoing if:

You have impressive/clear first/intermediary results
You frame it properly to avoid underwhelming the interviewer (e.g. talk about how you secured first customers for a startup vs. about how you want to build a unicorn but only just started your company)

It is difficult to judge without hearing the story. So, you should practice/ test it with a few people.

Best regards,

Jorn

Answer 6

Talking about something ongoing is fine! But you want to make sure that you can demonstrate the challenge of what you're doing, as well as that you're going above and beyond what is expected of you. Just try to find something on the results that you can use even if they're mid-stage results e.g., project has been accepted to move to the next phase.

Good luck!