The best EM I ever worked with only worked 4 days per week
Junior consultants often fixate on what CAN'T be done. But the best consultants focus on what CAN be done instead. This mindset shit helps to become a better problem-solver.
The best EM I ever worked with only worked 4 days per week.
At McKinsey? Sounds impossible, right?
But on a project in Australia, I saw it firsthand.
I was a Senior Consultant. She was a superstar EM.
Partners and clients adored her.
And she had one strict rule:
No work on Wednesdays.
But one day, that rule was truly tested.
We needed to run a critical client meeting. That was an important alignment before the final SteerCo.
The only slot available? Wednesday, of course.
I assumed she’d make an exception.
Instead, she called me and said gently:
“Rustem, you know I don’t work on Wednesdays.
But you are a smart guy. I trust you’ll figure it out.”
I froze.
No EM had ever said that to me before.
But she was right.
I thought to myself:
“What can I do in this situation?”
I walked over to the client’s EA. I asked her to help me. She didn’t know that we couldn’t make it on Wednesday. Apparently, she could shift the meetings and find a slot on Thursday.
Simple, really.
That moment changed how I think.
Most consultants obsess over why things CAN’T be done:
- 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
- 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦
- 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵
But the best consultants flip the script.
They ask:
What CAN be done despite the limitations?
That one mindset shift is what separates good consultants from great ones.
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Book a Free 1-1 Consultation. We will discuss your pain points, challenges, and aspirations. No strings attached, just straight answers to your biggest questions.
P.S. How did she manage to work 4 days per week? The secret is simple, really. She worked on such a high level, delivered impact that other people couldn’t, so partners accepted her demands. And one of her unapologetic demands was working 4 days per week. And that didn’t affect her work in any way.