8 Quotes by Ethan M. Rasiel

If all you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.

Ethan, it’s eleven o’clock. The client will love this. No one will be able to absorb more than you have here. Call it a day. Don’t boil the ocean.” We shared a cab home. “Don’t boil the ocean” means don’t try to analyze everything. Be selective; figure out the priorities of what you are doing. Know when you have done enough, then stop. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time and effort for very little return, like boiling the ocean to get a handful of salt.

The essence of the initial hypothesis is “Figure out the solution to the problem before you start.” This seems counterintuitive, yet you do it all the time.

Why is something done this way? Is this the best way it can be done?” You have to be fundamentally skeptical about everything.

Is each one a separate and distinct issue? If so, then your issue list is mutually exclusive.

Part One describes how McKinsey thinks about business problems. It shows what it means to be fact-based, structured, and hypothesis-driven.

When a client asks the question “How do I boost my profits?” the first thing McKinsey does is take a step back and ask the question “Where do your profits come from?” The answer to this is not always obvious, even to people who have been in their particular business for years.

In our business, it is helpful to get to the one or two really important numbers that need to be considered. There isn’t time for more.” We concur.