My view of consulting

I used to think consulting is all about problem solving, which is kind of true. But consulting is more than that. It is about professionalism, no matter what you do, whether it is important or not, always deliver the result with highest possible quality. It is about relationship, building trust with clients and teammates in an intensive short period of time.  It is about commitment, dedicating time and effort to learn clients’ business and problems, always deliver what you promised.  As one of my colleague said “consulting is not a job, it is a profession, and it is a lifestyle choice.”

 After talking with my classmates working in other consulting firms, I feel all the firms are more or less the same at the business side. It is the culture that differentiates the firm. One of the key cultures at Deloitte is “Networking”. It is the best way to make yourself known to the rest of the firm. At industry, your boss will tell you what you need to do. But in a consulting firm, you don’t have a fixed boss. You need to constantly look for your next project, so it is important to build your brand and reputation in those networking event and in your project. Good news is Deloitte will organize a lot formal networking event for you. And every Friday, partners, principle and directors will make themselves available, so you could schedule meetings to connect with them.

Another distinctive culture is that you can feel Deloitte really care about you. I still receive emails from the person that interviewed me and asking how I am doing. Several Ross alumni at the firm also contacted me and ask whether they can be any help. The firm also organized many expensive training and social events for us to learn and relax.  There are many other things that make you feel you are part of the big Deloitte family.

E-Retail: is it Tech or Retail?

(MBA, Amazon)
Frugality: that is one of the core values at Amazon and door desks are an enduring reminder of that. Although you can see it across the company I think this is only a mean to a greater core value: customer obsession. Amazon is constantly seeking to satisfy its customers because it truly believes that happy customer equals more revenue in the future.
Amazon’s culture has been the most surprising part of the internship thus far. I’m positively impressed by seeing Jeff’s statement on maximizing long term FCF percolating through daily decisions. It is interesting to seeing a company maintaining that even after becoming a multi-billion-dollar organization. Some examples are: expansion to new regions where profits might not anytime soon, and discussions around making changes to the company’s current capabilities to accommodate a potential important customer at AWS.
Amazon is constantly classified as a Tech company that happens to be a retail company. I would argue it is a retail company that happens to sell products over the internet. I say that based on some aspects of its culture that I have seem, and I am totally biased by the fact that I am working at the more high-tech portion of the company (Amazon Web Services). Let’s go to the facts: Amazon is a low margin company (retail like), from this fact comes frugality; the company’s goal is to have the largest world’s selection (retail like), a high-tech company would probably have a goal related to its products; Jeff Bezos in its famous 1997 letter to the shareholders clearly states that the company is working to maximize future FCF (retail?, Tech?), although future FCF is definitely the ultimate component on any company’s valuation, I have never seen a high-tech firm completely ignoring quarterly results in favor of a greater good.
I believe it is important for Amazon’s success that it is a retail company. What is not (retail like) is probably the fast growth and innovation at Amazon. And this definitely distinguishes Amazon as a unique culture.