Rating: 
Summary: Obviously, this book is merely a marketing effort
Review: I had great expectations about this book. After all, McKinsey consultants enjoy a very good reputation. However, I was amazed to find this book extremely superficial. I hope this is not the type of analysis that this consulting firm does. Obviously, this book is just a marketing effort, not an intellectual exercise.
Rating: 
Summary: A Short Classic
Review: I really enjoyed reading this - from the descriptions of how to structure problem solving and displaying information visually, to the snippets on consulting life. I wish I had this when I was interviewing with consulting firms, although his info on case interviews is cursory. I plan to use this to augment my firm's training. I just wish it was longer, and that there were more books out there like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Put McKinsey's Secrets to Work for You
Review: Many books purport to teach the reader about management consulting. With "The McKinsey Way" I try to do something different; after all, not everyone wants to be a management consultant. I want to share with you the strategies and techniques that McKinsey & Company, arguably the world's most successful and influential management consulting firm, teaches its people. These are lessons that I and my colleagues learned - sometimes the hard way - during our time at McKinsey, or, as it is known to its employees, "The Firm". For these lessons to be useful to you, I try to make them both accessible and applicable to your business life."The McKinsey Way" will show you how to apply the three pillars of the McKinsey problem solving process. You will learn the three keys to effective messaging; which three things you should always take with you when travelling on business; and why everything at the Firm comes in groups of three. In the business world, the Firm is respected and sometimes even feared. As any McKinsey-ite can tell you, everybody knows somebody who was fired because of McKinsey. "The McKinsey Way" sheds a little light on the inner workings of this powerful, respected, but ultimately secretive organization. The book also describes what it is like to work for McKinsey and how to survive in a company that demands total commitment from its people. If you really do want to become a management consultant, you will even learn how to make it through the recruiting process at the Firm. I believe "The McKinsey Way" offers a lot of new and useful information, as well as an interesting and fun read. I hope when you read it you will feel the same.
Rating:
Summary: McKinsey Lite...very Lite
Review: Possibly a good book for someone fresh out of school, with little management experience or someone just assigned their first consulting type project. Any moderately experienced manager will not likely learn much from this book. Do we really need a list of things to pack for a business trip. Best quote, " Remember that the interviewee (client) probably knows a lot more about her business than you (consultant) do..." p.84 and almost the same statement on p.80.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of Generalities
Review: This book is nothing special because it contains no revolutionary\evolutionary business concepts that are unique. To be sure, it contains lot of good business anecdotes you will find in most business books. But if you want to find out what makes McKinsey's business practice so special and so much better than its competitors, the book leaves a lot wanting. Furthermore, the book is full of generalities, for example, the chapter on interviewing for facts was nice, but again, nothing special. You would be far better off buying specialty books on such matters. I think this would be a good book to buy if you want to enter into consulting or are looking to work for McKinsey. For others, however, the book does not break any new ground nor provides any brainstromy insights. Rather, it is full of nice business generalities and suggestions.
Rating:
Summary: McKinsey Lite...very Lite
Review: Possibly a good book for someone fresh out of school, with little management experience or someone just assigned their first consulting type project. Any moderately experienced manager will not likely learn much from this book. Do we really need a list of things to pack for a business trip. Best quote, " Remember that the interviewee (client) probably knows a lot more about her business than you (consultant) do..." p.84 and almost the same statement on p.80.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written, waste of time & money
Review: The McKinsey Way has a great title but the content fails to live up to it. The book has 178 pgs but could have been covered in 60 pgs, and without the bad jokes (please). The book could be summarized as (1) break problems down into components systematically, (2) use facts but don't overload yourself with too much information, and (3) if you work for McKinsey you'll have no life. Do not buy the book, just flip through it in a store.
Rating:
Summary: Ironic
Review: Like the firm itself, the draw of this book is the McKinsey name, and the perception that they *must* know something special. Content-wise you could do better with the user manual for your HP 12C calculator. If the book serves any useful purpose it's to strip a little more of the paint off the McKinsey facade. Read it, but check it out from the library because there's nothing in it you will want to reference later.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid
Review: There is very little information in this book that would justify its purchase. Interestingly, even if the author's only goal was to provide an entertaining account of life within McKinsey, he would fail. Basically, there is no actionable information for the practicing consultant nor any material for a third party looking for insights into the consulting world or McKinsey.
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