#123 McKinsey Partner to Indie Freelancer - Adam Braff on writing online, the gig economy, consulting skills, consulting
- 0:00 – Video intro
- 0:42 – Introduction
- 4:28 – Shifting from MIT to Brown
- 6:06 – Becoming interested in consulting
- 8:01 – What was it like from 1999 to 2002?
- 9:44 – Adam’s path to becoming a partner at McKinsey
- 12:35 – Leaving McKinsey
- 14:45 – What kept Adam at McKinsey for 10 years?
- 16:47 – What do people get wrong about McKinsey?
- 19:32 – Decentralization and the emergent order
- 22:32 – The new ideas in customer experience Adam helped shaping
- 24:52 – Going into the finance industry in 2009
- 26:11 – Turning data into insights
- 28:14 – How to influence other executives to embrace the “hypothesis first” framing?
- 29:39 – The 2 skills from the consulting world that are missing elsewhere
- 31:24 – Teaching the importance of feedback
- 34:20 – Development Group Leaders
- 36:20 – Lessons from working at a hedge fund
- 43:02 – Did the world of billions inspire Adam to go solo?
- 43:57 – Becoming a freelancer
- 47:54 – Should you clearly define the services you’re offering as a freelance consultant?
- 51:20 – The role of Adam’s writing
- 52:47 – Did the nature of Adam’s projects shift over time?
- 54:17 – The best part of the self-employed life Adam didn’t expect
- 55:19 – AI
- 58:24 – braff.com & newsletter
- 59:17 – The forecasting contest
Adam Braff grew up in a house where writing was always encouraged. His mother published a newsletter, and his father was a data analytics consultant. He started out as a lawyer, but after the dot-com boom led to a surge in demand for consultants, he decided to make the switch. He now runs his own consulting firm and writes regularly on a variety of topics. Braff himself became interested in consulting during the first dot-com boom. He transferred from MIT to Brown in order to study linguistics, and eventually became a strategy consultant at McKinsey.
Relevant Links:
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Tom Critchlow’s Writing
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Venkatesh Rao’s The Art of Gig
Timestamps
0:00 Audio Intro
0:48 The scripts Adam grew up with
3:54 Shifting from MIT to Brown
5:33 Becoming interested in consulting
7:25 What was it like from 1999 to 2002?
9:08 Adam’s path to becoming a partner at McKinsey
11:56 Leaving McKinsey
14:05 What kept Adam at McKinsey for 10 years?
16:06 What do people get wrong about McKinsey?
18:49 Decentralization and the emergent order
21:46 The new ideas in customer experience Adam helped shape
24:06 Going into the finance industry in 2009
25:23 Turning data into insights
27:20 How to influence other executives to embrace the “hypothesis first” framing?
28:44 The 2 skills from the consulting world that are missing elsewhere
30:28 Teaching the importance of feedback
33:22 Development Group Leaders
35:21 Lessons from working at a hedge fund
42:01 Did the world of billions inspire Adam to go solo?
42:56 Becoming a freelancer
46:52 Should you clearly define the services you’re offering as a freelance consultant?
50:18 The role of Adam’s writing
51:44 Did the nature of Adam’s projects shift over time?
53:14 The best part of the self-employed life Adam didn’t expect
54:15 AI & The Future
58:10 The forecasting contest
