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One of the memories

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that is etched in my mind

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is a project

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I did early in my career, many years back.

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A three-month entry strategy

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for large engineering conglomerate

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for an E&P business,

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exploration and production of oil.

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exploration and production of oil.

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Early enough in the project,

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Early enough in the project,

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we did some analysis

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that showed that

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90% of the companies

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that entered this space

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failed or destroyed significant value.

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We further showed that the capabilities

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required for winning in this

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were very different

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from the capabilities that this group had.

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So, what happened

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in the first steering committee?

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The partner stood up and presented

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to say BCG's recommendation was that

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the client should not enter this business.

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Furthermore, he said

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the client should stop the project

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because there was no point

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in doing an entry strategy

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when the recommendation was not to enter.

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Cut to a year,

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year and a half later,

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the same conglomerate

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actually was embarking

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on a large strategy exercise.

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We were invited to pitch,

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but did not fancy our chances because

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our experience in this engineering space

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was not that deep.

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To our surprise

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we actually won the mandate.

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And the single reason that we won it

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was because

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of their experience

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with us in the E&P project.

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The new Chairman felt

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that he did not need "yes men" around him.

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He needed people

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with integrity

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who would challenge him

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have the courage to speak their mind.

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That is BCG for me.

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And that's a lesson that I have carried

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over all these years.

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BCG is about leading,

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leading with impact,

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innovation

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and most importantly integrity.