The Surprising History of Management Consulting Firms: McKinsey, Bain, BCG, LEK
The value of history, counter-factual thinking and philosophy
Happy Sunday!
Before we get started, here are some quick links and reminders
Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, read philosophy in college. So did Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn. When you analyze the backgrounds of the most iconic founders and CEOs of the last century, you will be surprised how many of them were liberal arts graduates.
Bill Bain, the founder of Bain and Company, was a history major. He did not have an MBA, he did not have an engineering degree, and he did not have a quantitative degree of any kind. Bain pivoted his career in history and got a job with his alma mater, the University of Tennessee to raise money. He met Bruce Henderson, the founder of BCG, when he was trying to raise funds.