True North

Quoted from the Economist profile of Orit Gadiesh - head of Bain & Co.


Ture North: Bain's logo is a compass pointing a few degrees to the right of vertical, and Bainies use the phrase all the time. In the firms Paris office there is a printed notice above the men's loo" "Veuillez viser juste, s'il vous plait. Le "True North" c'est droit devant". (Please aim straight. 'True North', is directly in front of you.

And:

"...What Ms Gadiesh calls the 80/100 rule; the most brilliant solution to a business problem is useless if cannot be implementd, so look for the 80% perfect answer that can actually make a differeince to a client's results.."


I have only limited (though positive) experience of working alongside Bain, yet both these thoughts are worth us all considering. As consultants and analysts is all too easy to follow magnetic north, always shifting, and miss our true destination. Likewise when we advise clients we should always be looking to provide the client with a better way of working. Rather than an idealistic way that the client cannot in reality embrace.