Speaker 2
It's actually an excellent way to answer the question. Lucy, so you've left McKinsey to set up your own practice, which is TBD. So the first question is, why TBD? And the second is, I'm curious to hear some of your impressions, because you've worked through with a very wide range of clients, both with McKinsey and now in your own practice. What are some of your observations on maybe differences across industries, maybe differences across type of clients, and I guess also the difference of moving from a big established consultancy like McKinsey to the more flexible and customizable world of having your own practice.
Speaker 1
TBD Futures, I was very excited about this name because after I left McKinsey, I thought if I continue to do this, I need a good name that I really have my hat on and I feel excited about. So TBD means to be determined, to be designed, and to be developed. It captures the three key things in my services. So to be determined means the future is not set in stone. It's not the future, but the futures. It's not defined yet, and it's here for us to define it. To be designed means we're going to use creativity. We're going to come up with solutions. We're going to shape it. And then to be developed, it means we also need to take actions. We don't just stop there. We don't just stop at ideas and visions. We actually have a plan to make it happen. So that's why TBD futures, because our futures are TBD. And then the differences between working at McKinsey and having my own thing are huge. So on one hand, it's very freeing. It gives me access to clients that are typically not at the McKinsey or Big Four level. They might not have a very deep pocket. They're not Fortune 100 or even Fortune 500. But like I said, all of them have a leader's mentality. They are either leaders in a much smaller, but their own industry, their own field, where they want to be leaders. And they can really benefit from what I bring. So I feel like there is a wide world out there where people can use my service. And that makes me feel very privileged. And then these companies are also in many ways more nimble, more open-minded than some of the bigger ones. Not to say that the bigger corporations are not. They're all excellent people, great leaders. But just because of the sheer size of them, it's harder to implement something. It's harder to make a change versus the smaller guys tend to be more willing to test, to try something faster. So it also gives me a sense of accomplishment. So when I see that the client is ready to act and then we're doing something together. So those are great. I mean, the downside, of course, I don't have a huge platform with a lot of resources. So I also need to learn how to be nimble and how to be more adaptable and more resourceful and figuring out how to do my research, talk to experts without signing up with a bigger platform that has $80,000 a year fee, right? I need to start in a smaller way, which is a great exercise for me too.