Speed to output

consulting
New answer on Jul 02, 2020
9 Answers
1.9 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Jun 27, 2020

Hey guys

Recently joined a consulting firm and was wondering if any of you have any tips on how to improve speed to output?

thanks

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Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 27, 2020
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience

One thing I found super helpful was shortcuts

1. For PPT - I arranged my quick access bar to have the most frequently used functions there and learned the shortcuts to access these

2. For excel - install any sort of tracker that tells you your most commonly used functions and then learn the shortcuts for these. It saves a LOT of time

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Robert
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replied on Jun 28, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

You can optimize each single action step throughout your day - even if it might be only a few seconds here and there it also adds up to a lot of time.

If I would choose one single aspect that I see most new hires wasting a lot of time on ... it's executing before having it thought through completely from start to end (and here we don't talk about seconds, but usually more like hours...). So always make sure you understand the big picture and how your work needs to be integrate into that ... before you start execution!

Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

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Anonymous replied on Jun 27, 2020

Hi there,

The general appraoch you need to have is to

(1) think first on paper - draw up the slide skeleton and identify the key message(s)
[this is a good backup to use for discussion in case you final PPT isn't ready by the deadline]

(2) Take you time thinking - but execute fast (here, having a customized toolbar helps a lot)

(3) Pomodoro technique + start with the toughest parts to get them out of the way

(4) Stay organized: don't have too many tabs open - do have your information all over the place - keep your folders and files well archived to quick access

I hope this helps

Khaled

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Anonymous replied on Jun 27, 2020

20/80 principal. What are the smallest number of key activities which will drive the greatest impact? In other words, what are the highest leverage actions/opportunities and what is the goal? With a clear goal and intention of the desired goal, reverse engineering in order to understand the most effective process is something which I have found to be effective. I would also like to know what has helped others too.

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Anonymous replied on Jul 02, 2020

Dear A,

Alwya remember the 80/20 principle, that will help to stream your efforts and raise you KPI

Also, for candidates like you, I have designed a program "Get ready for the first 100 days " as well as long-term career planning. This program touches all the important aspects: the mindset, the skills, knowledge, networking and ,managing yourself as well, your bosses and clients - everything that is important in your successful career.

In fact, I'm sharing my knowledge of 6 years career experience in consulting, where I was able to land on the fast track promotion and to be promoted from consultant to a project manager just within 3 years, which is extremely fast.

Happy to share these insights with you, feel free to reach out directly to me.

Good luck,

André

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 29, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Altough is not very usefull as a tip, practice is what helps most.

On top, you can invest some time into some efficency trick:

  • Creating packs of slides with common graphs, layouts, etc.
  • Personalizing your Excel quick commands to go faster

Cheers,

Clara

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Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jul 02, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

1) Less is more - realize what's needed and what isn't. If you focus on just what's needed, well, there's less to do. Amount of stuff divided by time = speed to output...

2) Plan - What are you going to create? Write it out. Evaluate. What steps can you remove, accelerate, shorten, etc.?

3) Sketch and wireframe - draw what your slides might look like. Create a shell deck with titles only. Only create the key bullets in your email first. Etc. etc.

4) Learn tricks/shortcuts - voraciously learn any hotkeys, built-in macros/tools etc. There's the obvious excel, but I found that learning BCG's built-in powerpoint macros saved me hours and hours (that left/right/upper align/centre macro as well as the resizing one were lifesavers!)

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Anonymous replied on Jun 27, 2020

Hi,

I would soon publish a PrepLounge product on the first 100 days as a new consultant.

Please find below the framework I used to build this "survival guide".

Feel free to come in PM to further discuss it

Best

100 first days in consulting

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Anonymous replied on Jun 30, 2020

Hi,

PowerPoint: collect as many Templates as possible, try creating your own algorithms for creating slides, use big screen, use mouse vs touchpad, USE SAVE BUTTON

Excel: use buttons vs mouse, build the structure of the file before proceeding, USE SAVE BUTTON, master shortcuts

Best,

Anton

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Udayan gave the best answer

Udayan

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Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /6 years McKinsey recruiting experience
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