Rating: 
Summary: A helpful and interesting read
Review: The first book was a good intro, but this one has more depth. There is a good level of detail - the authors introduce concepts, then use examples from a wide range of industries to clarify their points.The power of the McKinsey approach is its applicability in many situations. For example, I work for a non-profit organization (going through some major changes). I've found this book and the techniques described help me think through strategic issues facing my organization. A single book couldn't possibly substitute for a McKinsey engagement, and this one doesn't try to. But I've found the tools described in the book helpful in guiding my own analyses and it's helped my colleagues and I make better strategic decisions.
Rating:
Summary: Smooth, Crisp and Careful
Review: The McKinsey Mind is a smooth, crisp and careful explanation about how the world-renowned firm continues to build and rebuild the foundations of top corporations and organizations. The authors, ex-McKinsey consultants, lay bare the mechanism in a methodical format aimed at teaching the reader how the firm does its job. The steps are simple: get data, analyze it well, and sell the results to everyone in sight. The book's main value, though, is illustrating just how to do this in a stylish, subtle, and understated way. The best lesson is imitating the authors. As the back cover says, giving a man a fish will only feed him for a day, but teaching him to fish the McKinsey way is a lesson that lasts forever. Reading the book is certainly cheaper than hiring them to fish for you for a day.
Rating:
Summary: Right on target!
Review: The McKinsey Mind is an easy to read compilation of invaluable lessons on how to succeed in business from corporate leaders around the world. Furthermore, its practical element goes beyond business theory, into how business professionals apply best practices. Structured problem solving, getting "buy-in" on your ideas and interpreting data and information to get the right answer are some of the topics that help the reader deal with any business issue. I really enjoyed it and now I know what I'm getting my department teammates for the holiday gift...The McKinsey Mind!
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Summary: More of the same!
Review: This book is more talk and no walk. The book itself does not detail anything new and is very similar to their previous book (The McKinsey Way). Infact the authors themselves (in the introductory section of the first chapter) mention that they cannot delve into McKinsey methodologies, but have gone on to describe methodologies that are _like_ the ones used at McKinsey. If you have read the contents page, you have read the book (this may sound harsh, but its true). Also the book is brand leveraged and does not even talk about the McKinsey ways. All the authors do, is interview some ex McKinsey consultants and get high level opinions from them. Extremely superficial read. Do yourself a favor - go get a quantitative business analysis book like:
1. Quantitative Business Analysis: Text and Cases by Bodily, et al
2. Quantitative Analysis for Management by Bonini, et al - and you will have learnt much more than this book can offer. You can then realize what you learnt into daily decision making. Not recommended. Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic.
Review: This book separates itself from myriad lugubrious tomes by giving theory and execution examples from real-world cases. Complex McKinsey heuristics and processes are demystified piece by piece to get at the true nuggets of tangible value the firm adds. I used to do management consulting, and found at least 50% of it to be an exercise in mental-masturbation. This book (...) gets at the meat. It is also remarkably literate, and refreshingly direct. Forget Michael Porter and the rest... these guys "get it." -- JF (in NYC)
Rating: 
Summary: Caveat Emptor eBooks
Review: This is a warning to those of you who are building a significant library of eBooks as I have. Be forewarned, if you upgrade your PC, as most of us do every year or so, you will quickly find that your eBook investment is worthless. The copy protection on eBooks prevents them from being backed up, and Amazon will not honor your purchase for re-download past 60 days. This means that once you lose access to your library by changing your PC, your libary collection is worthless!!! And Amazon will not do anything about it - their suggestion is to repurchase the book. Guess what, this little 'gotcha' is no where to be found in the eBook FAQ's. If you are not interested in keeping your eBook library for more than a single PC, go ahead and make your purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful!
Review: Throughout the 1990s, consultants were the kings of business and one firm, McKinsey & Co., reigned above all others. In The McKinsey Mind, Ethan M. Raisel and Paul N. Friga, former McKinsey & Co. consultants, describe the methods that the famed firm uses in improving the performance of its consultants. These techniques, which relate to problem solving, management and communications, combine to produce the equivalent of a basic MBA textbook. But unlike much of your grad-school reading, this one is right on target to address your real-life business executive. As such, we from getAbstract recommend this book not just for its McKinsey cachet, but for its applicable approaches to business.
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Summary: I hope there is more to mckinsey than this book
Review: To call this book a "survey book" of the mckinsey way would be an overstatement. Perhaps a better term would be a 200 page infomercial. The constant reference to "mckinseyites" and "the Firm" are enough to alienate even the largest devotees of their methods. I gave up about half way through. This book never gets past the blatently obvious. I suspect that anyone who would buy this book has at least a rudimentary knowledge of business. I am sorry to say that this book does not go much past there.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book for Building a Framework for Problem Solving
Review: When I'm able to get through a business book, I consider it a major achievement. Not for me, but for the authors who wrote it. I have more business books that I'll admit to where I got 1/3 of the way through and decided that they were crap. Why? Because nothing that the authors had presented could be used in my daily business life.
Not so with The McKinsey Mind. Everyone needs a framework for solving problems and delivering and executing solutions. If you follow the guidelines in The McKinsey Mind, you'll get just that an more.
The authors segue nicely from their former book, The McKinsey Way, which I also read with interest. The McKinsey Mind has the same chapters as the former, and with those chapters delves deeper in how employees of "the firm" actually go about getting the job of consulting done, at one of the most highly respected firms in the world.
For me, someone in search of ever-better problem solving frameworks and context, The McKinsey Mind provided a wealth of resources for me to apply immediately. Here are a few that I've used just this week:
Let you hypothesis determine your analysis - for every problem, you need an angle to approach from. This can be considered your hypothesis, which also goes to defining scope. Once you have this, you can decide what work needs to be done to reach resolution
Gathering the data - This wasn't so much a new discipline, especially for those of you that do a lot of research already, but I mention it because they have an impressive appendix called "Data-Gathering Resources" which lists nearly every business-related database and website that you could possibly need to do the due diligence on whatever problem you're working on.
Interviewing - To me, this was the most important, especially because I'm now in a company where there are a lot of veterans that know more than I, and I need to know as much from them about the business as possible. I've never had more productive meet & greets with leadership as I have since I started applying some of the McKinsey interview techniques.
"What's the So What?" - Ask yourself, in every analysis, "What's the So What?" This essentially means asking yourself what value have you generated for your client/stakeholders through your findings. Is there a nugget there that's worth your time? Do you need to adjust your hypothesis because the facts tell otherwise?
Managing Your Team, Client, and Self - Great advice, but nothing you haven't read before. It's interesting to see though how consultants that routinely work 80 hour weeks recommend your reclaiming some of your personal time. I found one quote "If the place isn't falling apart, go home at 5, enjoy the time and reenergize." I find myself using that every day. We could all stay well into the evening, but then what would we be?
The book adds additional value in that it summarizes the 'lessons' in appendices at the end, along with the data-gathering appendix I already mentioned. This alone was worth the price of the book because it gives me a reference that I can turn to until I get some of the better ideas committed to memory.
Great book - great framework for problem solving - a great addition to your business library!
Rating:
Summary: Very few valuable insights
Review: While I'm sure that McKinsey has many sharp individuals, I found that this book gave me no significant insights into why McKinsey and their methods would stand out in comparison with other major consulting organizations. I came away with little in the way of new valuable tools or frameworks to apply. The authors clearly liked their experience with McKinsey, and come off a bit too enthusiastic in their praise of "the firm".
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