It is tougher and tougher to retain people. It used to make new recruits spend six years, on average, as associates before considering them for a lucrative partner post. Now, employees can be named partner as quickly as three years after joining the firm. Or, they may elect to take a decade or more to reach the partner level, if they decide to have children or pursue advanced degrees along the way. The firm also is giving associates more say in choosing assignments.
Senior partners can earn multimillion-dollar pay packages.
The marketplace is moving at a much faster pace. One McKinsey partner of 11 years left the firm in February to manage an Internet financial-services company. It's just not possible. McKinsey has a conservative policy about investing in clients. McKinsey has taken minority stakes in more than 100 technology startups.