The McKinsey Engagement: A Powerful Toolkit For More Efficient and Effective Team Problem Solving

by Paul N. Friga

The third volume in the internationally bestselling McKinsey Trilogy, The McKinsey Engagement is an action guide to realizing the consistently high level of business solutions achieved by the experts at the world’s most respected consulting firms. Former consultant Dr. Paul Friga distills the guiding principles first presented in the bestselling The McKinsey Way and the tested-in-the-trenches methodologies outlined in The McKinsey Mind , and combines them with many of the principles and procedures implemented by the military and other organizations. The result is nothing less than the business equivalent of a Special Forces Field Manual . True to its stated goal of arming consultants and corporate problem solvers with a blueprint for achieving consistently phenomenal results, The McKinsey Engagement is short on theory and long on action. Each chapter focuses on one element in the celebrated TEAM FOCUS problem-solving model and features a concise discussion of a key concept or principle, followed by:

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Leadership

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 24, 2008

Reviews

[Nate LeTavec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some decent heuristics but lacks anything new. Was assigned it for a class.
Hate that this is my first book of 2025

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. Essentially content-free, except for three useful points: write “ghost graphs” early in the project as goalposts for what final reports will look like, avoid doing research which won’t be in the final report, and hide the degree to which you have “hypothesized” your conclusion early on from the client. Oh, and name sure your graphs and charts include source citations.

[Pogger G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid book, I don't think there's much groundbreaking here. Nevertheless, a nice introduction to some consulting know-how.

[Andrew Dick · Rating 2 out of 5]

No really that great a review of general consulting frameworks. As someone who works for a Big 4 consulting practice, I thought what was in here didn't really push beyond consulting basics, while also being too high a level and the concepts to be too vague in explanation to be that useful for a budding consultant (or internal business analyst). Pity, some of the other trilogy books are good.

[InvestingByTheBooks.com · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the latest, best but to be frank - hopefully the last of a trilogy of books on the methods used by the management consulting firm McKinsey (The McKinsey Way and The McKinsey Mind being the prior two). It offers a methodology, a toolkit to run a high performing project team and to deliver solutions on business problems. I say I hope it to be the last, not because the books are especially sub-par, but because the series have reached the end of the road with regards to what could be squeezed out of the material they present.

If the first book leaned towards describing the culture and process of The Firm and the second picked up on lessons from McKinsey alumni, then The McKinsey Engagement focuses on practical examples instead of theory. The book is the result of six years of conducting interviews, developing concepts and synthesizing ideas. Business Professor and McKinsey alumni Paul Friga pitch his book as “[...]a field guide for busy professionals [...] who are facing a team problem-solving situation but don’t have much time to get to the main point or recommendation.”

Also, the author has taken the liberty to deviate from pure McKinsey material and the main model presented is not from within The Firm but is instead the authors own modified version of the same type of process. This is actually a good thing. When employees leave The Firm they make a vow of silence regarding their previous employer’s business secrets. This had hindered the previous two books. By constructing his own so called TEAM FOCUS-model Friga escapes this trap and still presents essentially the same thing. This makes the third book the most interesting of the trio.
“TEAM” covers the interpersonal parts of a project, “how to handle the team” and stand for Talk, Evaluate, Assist and Motivate. Compared to previous books this model focuses less on how to handle the client and your boss. “FOCUS” deals with “how to perform the analysis” in a broad sense and the acronym stands for Frame, Organize, Collect, Understand and Synthesize. Framed by an introduction and an afterword, one chapter is dedicated to each letter. It’s clearly visible how the tenure at McKinsey has formed the author as the chapters themselves are structured according to Barbara Minto’s pyramid principle as used by The Firm when they present to clients. First three “rules of engagement” for each letter are presented. These constitute the quintessence of the action that should be performed by the project manager. Then follows advice on practical implementation and finally a large amount of war stories that validates the rules of engagement.

It’s up to the reader’s individual taste if they prefer more of theory or more of case studies. The later brings concepts to life, but I personally would have wanted the balance tilted somewhat more towards theory - case studies probably makes up two thirds of the text on the 176 pages,. First you often get a case study showing how things fall apart if you don’t follow the rules of engagement and then two success stories when they are implemented and then throughout the book each chapter is ended by one of Friga’s students presenting on a pro bono project done at the Kelly School of Business at the University of Indiana for Johnson County, Indiana. It’s a bit too much and at times gets tiresome.
After reading the trilogy I’m slightly torn when it comes to my opinion on The Firm. On the one hand there is definitely something machine-like, military and unimaginative about the organization that isn’t overly attractive but on the other hand the level of professionalism is impressive. Take for example the situation when a project team is assembled and where a well thought out balance is made between the people who are needed for the job and persons who need to learn specific tasks. The long term improvement of the consultant’s skill sets and hence the on-going competence of The Firm is deliberately weighted against the immediate needs of the client. Many small but crucial steps like these are all around. The Firm will continue to engage and fascinate.

[Fred Cheyunski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Field Guide, Other Parts of Trilogy Also Illuminate - While this reviewer is initially commenting on "The McKinsey Engagement," he also looked at both "The McKinsey Mind" and "The McKinsey Way" as the books really do inform one another as a trilogy. As Rasiel comments in the first book, "3" is a "magic" number at McKinsey as most pronouncements there seem to come in threes (see page 3).

"The McKinsey Engagement" basically fills in and conveys the McKinsey problem solving method as it can be applied by a team. Its tenor is much more tactical than the other two books, an appropriate field guide for a business school or other group seeking to proceed and learn along this path. Apparently, for this reason, the author complements the core McKinsey material with other information to provide more detailed information on running a TEAM with a FOCUS on this method (acronyms for the main ideas in its two main emphases). So taken in this light the author succeeds in what he is trying to do. Although, one should also consult the other volumes depending on one's interest.

For instance, Friga's book deals with the various aspects of "The McKinsey Engagement" such as forming hypotheses, being MECE (i.e. mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive), constructing issue/decision trees, and collecting data as they are applied by a team. However, his work with Rasiel in "The McKinsey Mind" provides more of a rationale for the use of these elements and their background (e.g. the benefit of structure, the combination of intuition and data, gut instincts and experience, as part of fact-based decision making). Whereas, Rasiel's solo effort in "The McKinsey Way" discusses the manner in which the consulting firm operates and addresses client problems (as well as what it means for an individual in the organization). The reference to the culture and discipline as similar to the Jesuits, the reliance on charts (as described in more detail by Gene Zelazny elsewhere) and other tidbits conjure smiles in recognition.

One thing that drew this reviewer to the book initially was the mention of Barbara Minto, among the author's other mentors, accomplices, and friends. Minto developed and authored the "The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking" which appears to be the first work that articulated the approach used in McKinsey. It is interesting to see the parallel's between the Friga and Rasiel books, Minto's, and the approaches used in major consulting firms such as McKinsey, PwC, and others (Elizabeth Haas Edersheim's book on Marvin Bower as well as Duff McDonald's "The Firm" are also illuminating - see my review on the latter).

So, if you want an applied methodology with examples try "The McKinsey Engagement;" if you want more description and depth consider the "The McKinsey Mind;" if you want to better understand the firm and its context seek out "The McKinsey Way." If you are after a comprehensive view, get into all three.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about a method called Team Focus. There are quite a lot of examples that I can see on day to day while working with McKinsey consultants written on this book. The problem solving way of thinking is quite interesting: Pyramidal mind. What I don’t like in this methodology is that early in the problem solving you pickup a hypothesis based on gut feelings, and then working on this biased opinion you find data, evidences to confirm a biased hypothesis. One must the very pragmatic and not be bound to his early opinion, so that you can give up with initial hypothesis and switch to another one. That’s the difference between a senior and junior consultant. Overall I liked the book and recommend.

[yuching · Rating 4 out of 5]

讀書檔案 2020. 1 .28 星級 四星
1.閱讀這本書的目的
.想知道大公司怎麼處理事情, 怎麼解決問題
.讀不懂其他麥肯錫類的書籍,想多讀一點類似的書籍,以獲得理解.
.他山之石可以攻錯,想提升思考力.
2.閱讀後的收穫與感受
.報告的內容要因人而異. 董事長想聽的 與員工想聽的,能理解的 也會不同.
.團隊合作時,所有與project相關的訊息要完全透明,寧可過度,也不要不足.
.適當評價可以激勵團隊成員.
.可以採用金字塔原來來表達自己對某事的解決看法
3.閱讀後會採取什麼行動
. 在專案進行時, 要和相關成員共享訊息.
. 成員工作前, 會對成員訂立目標 以及期望內容. 完成工作後, 盡量給予成員即時回饋.
. 用金字塔原理來表達自己對某事的看法

4. 3 個月後有什麼改變
.團隊士氣提升
.表達會更有條理

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I got marginally more out of this than the McKinsey Mind. But I find that a lot of these books are way too vague. I think what helped me with this one is having attended lectures by an ex-consultant so the concepts meant more to me than they otherwise would have.

[Ali Khalessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is only one business book that I must read again then this definitely is the one. Very useful and like a bible for teamwork in business consultation area. Many practical examples. A definitely must read for MBA students.

[Olivier de Groot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately just too high-level and vague. Because the book doesn´t go into depth on any of these concepts, it just doesn't add any real value; especially not for consultants, who know these concepts on a high-level anyway

[Whitney Cipolla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good basic introduction of TEAM FOCUS. More of a technical read than a riveting one.

[Vishu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though it is the 3rd book of the trilogy, it summarises the previous books and gives the reader the tactics through which the reader can you the tools and techniques discussed in the book.

[Alvaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good framework

Excellent and simple to follow methodology I experienced working as counterpart of Mc Kinsey consultants. A good set of deliverables makes the book a great toolbox for every executive.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t a ton of concrete information on consulting, but took away a couple of key concepts and frameworks.

[Grayce Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably wouldn’t have chosen this book on my own but it was assigned for one of my classes. I found the frameworks very helpful and hope to take some into a current group project, future school projects, and work!

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toolkit for better decision making

Businesses and other organizations usually solve their problems through team efforts. The business consulting firm McKinsey has developed special expertise in team-based problem solving and change management. In this book, former McKinsey associate consultant Paul Friga describes TEAM FOCUS, an acronym he had invented to describe McKinsey’s method of problem solving. He integrates this McKinsey-based method with other approaches. getAbstract recommends this hands-on book to executives, managers, team leaders and business consultants who want to improve their business operations and are looking for systematic approaches
to problem solving.

[Roman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author shares his thoughts and impressions after doing some work in McKinsey but mostly after doing a university consulting project. It is good analysis given author's experience in the business, but it hardly qualifies as a must-read or a bestseller.

[Paul]

Used in Collaborative Problem Solving course at Tuck

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I have ever read.

[Kiran shetty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic Book. Not as good as two other books Mckinsey mind and Mckinsey Way. Somewhere the academician view is shadowing consultants approach. Just average

[Eduardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good insights here but, not a must-read. In addiction, the reading is quite boring.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an ok read. I read it in preparation for interviewing with consulting firms at the end of grad school. I was hoping for more insight.

[Diego Leal · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are interested in Consulting you would find this informative.

[Aaron Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

書中擁有許多實際的專案例子，非常具有參考價值，有空的話能夠多翻翻

[Michael Musgrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent information on how some of the biggest brains around do it.

[Swapnildubey · Rating 3 out of 5]

most of the ideas are BAU now.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for a leadership training I was doing. Though it was a little dry, the tools offered in this book are very helpful. There are several real-life examples of this method in practice.