Are the top consulting firms the top for you?

What kind of impact do you want to have within your consulting company?

🛳️: You are pragmatic and like having a safety net, working with methods that have been tested and optimised through a history of failures as well as changes that have been improved as much as possible. You prefer learning from your colleagues and being guided clearly by pre-established and rigorous lists of rules, of dos and don’ts. You prefer working in an environment where you know you’ll be able to be the most efficient, the fastest possible. Having a big impact within your company isn’t your main focus, doing things right and efficiently is what gets you going.

🚢: You like being guided and surrounded by people who can help you with their previous experience, but who will also follow you in your endeavours. You want to make an impact, create methods, implement new projects, and expend in your business; you value having “artistic liberties” when working to allow you to express your ambitions. Still, having an existing structure to stir you in the right direction is appreciated.

⛵: You like taking things in hand and being at the source of change. Failure doesn’t scare you, you get back up, learn, change what needs to be changed and go on. You like exploring new business opportunities, creating projects, forging relationships, and developing new expertise. You have an entrepreneurial mindset that leads you to like having a visible impact on your surroundings. You don’t see the need to be guided, you will form your own opinion on what is good for the company or not and become the person who will lead your company to be the best consulting group in town.

What kind of relationship dynamics do you seek at work?

🛳️: You believe in the benefits of networking above all and a well-defined hierarchy. Having connections and knowing a lot of people is important to you as it can always be helpful but at the same time, you don’t feel the need to know everyone in your company. You like a vertical hierarchy as it is the way to go for a consulting business to be efficient according to you, it allows clear processes and a straightforward and agile way to make decisions.

🚢: You value human relationships a lot but also like networking to help you get things done, so who your company hires is crucial. Within a company, you prefer real relationships more than superficial ones, and you believe that talking with a lot of different people is fulfilling and instructive. It helps you understand how the company works, how every cog fits with one another and how to improve the business. Knowing most of the people who work with you is valuable, as it can also help you learn new skills from different backgrounds, so you can ultimately choose the one that fits you and the company best. New acquisitions mean new opportunities for widening perspectives.

⛵: You believe that human capital is the cornerstone of a business and creating meaningful relationships is what will take your consulting firm to the next step. A horizontal hierarchy based on collaboration and trust in everyone is a strength to foster social bonds between colleagues. What you do is not the most important part of your work, but who you’re doing it with, that is what motivates you. You have an entrepreneurial mind and the relationships you form are fundamental.

How do you prefer to organise your consultancies?

🛳️: You’re not afraid of working long hours and you want to focus on your career to get the most out of it. You don’t mind staying longer to finish your projects, at any rate, you can rest on the weekends or during your holidays if you want! You see yourself as a career-focused person and you will give your all to perform as best as possible. To have a competitor is even welcomed as an incentive to work more and better. Your mindset is close to “work now, enjoy later”.

🚢: You like going out after work, but you also like seeing a project to its end. Depending on your engagements or your drive of the moment, you can choose to do either of them on a whim. You want to be able to organise your time as you want, and you respect that not everybody has the same timetable as you. Still, if you decide to work long hours, you don’t want to be completely alone, so the company of other colleagues is appreciated even past the official hours.

⛵: You believe that a good life balance between personal and professional time needs to be guaranteed to allow you to perform better. You believe that a good work life balance is key to be fully focused during working hours during the day, as you know you can have the time to make plans after. You feel more self-fulfilled, hence you can deliver a more qualitative performance. In a family-like company, a family-friendly atmosphere that allows you to leave on time every day is what you are looking for.

What do you want from your consultancy firm?

🛳️: You dream of a global consulting firm, of high revenues and little to no worries about expenses. You want your company to cover everything: they will pay for your hotel, transportation, meals with clients and they will do so as often as you need it without restricting your moves. You want your company to have your back for you not to be afraid of doing anything, you want to have access to opportunities that are only available because your firm name is that globally powerful.

🚢: You want your company to be invested in the well-being and development of its teams, so employee satisfaction is a must. Team building seminars, fostering bonds between employees, helping them develop new skills… You want your company to be involved with its employees. Your consulting firm has to offer you training, to create synergy within its teams and to thrive to better itself as much as possible in order to provide the best environment possible to its employees. You want a people-oriented company that will help you grow, one with a developed human resources department.

⛵: You want to live an entrepreneurial adventure; you want to be able to move freely within your company and to actually make things. You want to make history, you like creating things from scratch and bringing them the furthest possible with your skills. You are cognizant of what you pursue, and you want to decide on what benefits it will give you; you and your colleagues are those who will decide on what your company will give you and help you with.

How important is the international dimension for you?

🛳️: You love going abroad, you see yourself working on every continent within a short time, you enjoy being headquartered in a different capital each month, you don’t even suffer from jet lag, and you never had any problems sleeping when travelling anyway. Going around to discover new cultures, new ways of working, and new people from one side of the globe to the other in just a few months doesn’t scare you. On the contrary, you feel that it would be even more profitable for you to be in an ever-changing environment, so global consulting might be for you. The world is your playground, and you don’t like playing the same game every day.

🚢: You like travelling but still you want some stability. You don’t necessarily want to go to the other end of the world but going to some countries not too far away is a good opportunity you want to experience. You’re curious and want to move around a bit but you prefer going home for the weekend. You want the best of both worlds.

⛵: You don’t really care that much about exploring the world for work. You consider that you have a lot to discover where you already are, the rest of the world will come after. You don't really have to go from one continent to another to experience a multicultural workplace with people from different backgrounds when you're looking for opportunities because you can experience one right where you are.

Now onto the results!

• If you had more 🛳️: the large consulting firms are made for you! You like security and stability and you thrive in a fast-paced demanding environment. You enjoy relying on the prestigious reputation of your company to network, you want to be part of an empire with well-honed methods and a clear hierarchy. You want to work around the world, to build your career and move up the corporate ladder and enjoy the benefits a big multinational company can offer you. They can give you the big life you dream of.

• If you had more 🚢: middle-sized consulting firms are your go-to companies! You want to create things, make an impact, help clients, and you want your colleagues to be with you for this adventure. You’re a social bee at work but also value your personal time so you want to organise your time as you’d like. These structures are more likely to offer you personalised training, benefits and will help you fulfil the projects and ambitions you envisioned for your career path, be it on a local or an international scale. Ekkiden would fit in this type of firm as it is implemented in four European countries (France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain) and has a Learning and Development program that is dedicated to its employees, to expand its business as much as possible but most important, to help them get new skills and support their projects through their work life.

• If you had more ⛵: small consulting firms are the best fit with your vision! Your motto is “Let’s go down in history!” and everyone around you is driven by your passion. You have an entrepreneurial spirit and relationships are important to your work. As you build everything around you, you want to do things your way and you don’t mind trials and errors, you’ll get back up, learn from your mistakes and go on stronger. You like how human-sized your company is, and you value every single member of the team.