From jungles to boardrooms
When I arrived in Asia in early 2014, I intended to experience the digital nomad lifestyle and fulfil my adventurous dreams. At that time, I ran a digital design agency with clients mainly from Europe and North America and was busy with daily operations rather than long-term plans.
My first three years in Asia were full of travelling, exploration and awe. Work-wise, I invested a lot of energy in networking within the Southeast Asian digital ecosystem, unlocking many opportunities. As a result, I completely shifted my clientele from the west to the east. I got involved with projects in Asia-Pacific for a wide range of industries and worked on engagements with an audience of millions from places such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong.
After running my business for more than 8 years and living a hectic, remote-intense life, being on the road most of the time, I felt the need to change the setting for something more stable and decided to settle down in Kuala Lumpur.
I landed a job as a lead digital designer for a South Korean e-commerce startup – helping them launch services in new markets and improve the user experience and business profitability. After a year, I was hired by a coveted consultancy
Accenture Interactive to be a manager and a design lead for customer experience teams in Malaysia.
Without having a single idea about what to expect or awareness of the unique nuances of the consulting world in general—driven by my curiosity, adaptability and hunger for new, significant challenges, I jumped in.
1. Starting with a beginner's mindset
My first assignment was to lead a team of expert designers as part of a multi-million dollar project for an oil & gas Fortune 500 company. To achieve results, I needed to figure out how to support the team the best I can. I had to adapt quickly, acknowledge that I was not the strongest designer in the room anymore (methodologically speaking), and let go of my ego. It took me some time to adjust, but soon I realised that when the team shines, I shine.
My first critical moment was discovering that to succeed, I have to become a better enabler, strategic thinker and connector. Design never exists in a silo, and it's the quality of collaboration with the broader team that defines the program's success and, ultimately, the success of the design itself.
The quality of the designers I led motivated me to strengthen my own design capabilities and knowledge.
The quality of the designers I led motivated me to strengthen my own design capabilities and knowledge. In retrospect, I am very grateful for this. It was the first time I saw a genuine obsession with design methodology, which pushed me to master it myself.
At the same time, I figured that each of my colleagues has a different approach to problem-solving and that it's inefficient (and annoying) to be prescriptive about how to tackle challenges. It taught me that I should not be leading a team by telling people what to do but instead by helping to define the outcome and making sure that everyone understands the problem that we are solving.
What also proved necessary to ensure the team's success was a realisation that I, as a manager, have to become a protective shield for the team, preventing people from having unnecessary distractions or accepting requests that may deter the main objectives. As this happens quite often, it's one of the crucial things you have to keep in mind if you want to keep your team's long-term spirit and drive alive.
2. Authenticity as a competitive advantage
Through my initial fear of not having good enough hard skills to truly stand out, I, fortunately, realised that soft skills, which I have been sharpening my entire life, have an incredible value in consulting. The ability to speak up, present with confidence or be courageous and self-driven provide a vital competitive advantage. Yes, there is massive competition inside consultancies between individuals—an efficient but sometimes harsh system.
There was a moment when I concluded that I should stay true to myself and not try to become someone people expected of me—a pivotal moment in my short journey in consulting. Retrospectively, I cannot be happier that this happened, even though it took me a while.
I learned over the time how to seek balance, to modify my behaviour, where it can be beneficial, but never at the cost of going against who I am.
I would strongly suggest to everyone—don't let the environment change who you are. I learned over the time how to seek balance, to modify my behaviour, where it can be beneficial, but never at the cost of going against who I am.
Staying authentic made me happier, more comfortable and allowed me to have memorable interactions with people around me. Changing who you are at your core because of your job is not worth it.
No such thing as an ideal scenario The ability to navigate between design subtleties, business value and real client needs is the most valuable skill.
3. Adaptability is everything
In a consultancy, there is hardly such a thing as an ideal scenario. The design methodology is a complex and robust practice, but there is practically zero chance of its complete utilisation in a dynamic, evolving environment with demanding deadlines.
Therefore, adaptability is critical as you have to read the circumstances well and tailor your design approach accordingly—identify what ingredients are necessary for the best outcome, what is crucial for the client and what is realistic to execute.
I had, perhaps too often, an idealistic vision in mind, putting the purity of design methodology above all else, but the reality of the business world taught me that the ability to navigate between design subtleties, business value and real client needs is the most valuable skill.
In my mind, combining business savviness, design expertise, and excellent communication skills is the difference between being a good designer and being a successful designer.
I can't imagine a different environment that would give me such real, hard and practical lessons so quickly. It might be the most significant selling point of consulting to designers who hesitate to join such companies. In my mind, combining business savviness, design expertise, and excellent communication skills is the difference between being a good designer and being a successful designer.
It's also likely the reason why so many great designers struggle in consultancy—it's just not enough to have only design capabilities. It's necessary to obtain the whole package of consulting skills and design expertise. For me, it was fantastic because I could utilise my formal education in advanced economics together with the design expertise, unlocking opportunities for novel approaches and new directions often.
Proactiveness is key New opportunities are coming your way daily, but to act on them requires a considerable level of proactiveness and determination.
4. Nothing is going to happen while sitting and waiting
The way I see it, in the consulting world, everyone is a creator of their unique journey. You can't see two individuals with identical careers. New opportunities are coming your way daily, but to act on them requires a considerable level of proactiveness and determination.
It is not an environment, in my perspective, for people who are not comfortable with being in a driver seat as idling and indecisiveness lead to being left behind by more driven colleagues.
One little specific example is that many of your emails will not get a response immediately (and perhaps not even within days), and you have to, sometimes, chase people and follow up on your requests. That is not a sign of being rude; it is a sign of a driven individual, and as people's mailboxes are often overwhelmed, it's even necessary for you to do that if you are to get what you want.
It is not an environment, in my perspective, for people who are not comfortable with being in a driver seat as idling and indecisiveness lead to being left behind by more driven colleagues.
Too much proactiveness can also have a counterproductive impact on your career, though, as I learned myself and saw others fail victim to this. The reason is that you have to make sure that you always deliver on your promises. Saying yes to too many requests or assignments can lead to subpar quality of your work, delays, which harm your credibility, and in the worst-case scenario-to a burnout. Hence, choosing the opportunities you say yes to wisely is vital.
A dramatic impact You have to recognise between opportunities that can have a significant, positive impact on your career and inquiries that are just fluff.
5. Recognizing signal in the sea of noise
Critical thinking takes centre stage as you have to recognise between opportunities that can have a significant, positive impact on your career and inquiries that are just fluff and are not worth pursuing at all.
Time is, in the end, the most important commodity there is, which rings especially true in consulting because there is only a limited amount of energy you can truly dedicate to something. This choice will have a dramatic impact on the trajectory of your career, so it's essential not to underestimate that, as I learned the hard way myself.
At the end of the day, there are only two indispensable metrics in consulting: billable time and contribution to sales.
To make the prioritisation process more straightforward, I want to share advice from one of my earlier mentors, putting everything into a simple model. At the end of the day, there are only two indispensable metrics in consulting: billable time (usually illustrated by percentage of your total hours, which is seen as a critical productivity factor) and contribution to sales (for senior roles).
Without having these two metrics within expected ranges, it's impossible to achieve much, so your prioritisation process needs to be tailored accordingly. It's easy to get sidetracked, pursuing something noble, but it can dramatically derail your corporate progression.
6. Adopting a global way of thinking
Networking and influencing can make or break the entire consulting experience—at least in my eyes. Creating a large web of valuable relationships can add tremendous value to your journey and lead to a truly global experience.
Many people make a mistake, in my humble opinion, when they focus only on their local market without utilising the entire ecosystem that such global companies offer. One of my most valuable learning experiences was the opportunity to work with people from almost any corner of the world, e.g. Japan, Australia, Dubai, Argentina, the US or Switzerland.
It also led to a realisation that even though you are still operating within one company, the differences between business units, markets or regions are dramatic, as they have different priorities, clients, culture and people.
I had to learn the hard way that consistency is the ultimate metric, much more critical than intensity, which was the other way around for me before.
Looking back, this was probably the most exciting part of the job overall. Combining networking with consistency in delivering high-quality work can open doors to possibilities you might never expect.
I had to learn the hard way that consistency is the ultimate metric, much more critical than intensity, which was the other way around for me before. Constantly delivering quality work on promised deadlines is a mark of true professionalism, and even in a company full of superstars, it allows you to stand out.
A global mindset One of my most valuable learning experiences was the opportunity to work with people from almost any corner of the world.
7. Delivering the unexpected
Promising mountains and failing to deliver is probably the most common mistake consultants make. So I have embraced looking at this from the other perspective—promising modestly and then over-delivering on expectations. That way, you increase your chances of making huge waves and great impressions dramatically.
It is a business-driven world, and if you are unable to link the design outcomes to the organisation's larger goal, it might just miss the mark entirely.
From a design perspective, I learned that there is also an additional factor that requires mastery—being an excellent communicator and explaining the impact of the design clearly and straight to the point. It is a business-driven world, and if you are unable to link the design outcomes to the organisation's larger goal, it might just miss the mark entirely.
In retrospect, I must conclude that investing time into productive communication with the broader team and taking them along on the journey is necessary for the design's team success because design methodology is still a big unknown to most people.
Getting buy-in from key individuals is not a given. Instead, people need to feel that they are part of the process to provide you feedback often and help you shape the outcome more effectively, building multi-disciplinary cohesiveness and enabling knowledge-sharing in the process.
One word summary? Gratitude
If you ask me to summarise my consulting experience, I would use the word gratitude. Gratitude, because it allowed me to learn so much in a relatively short time, taught me the value of my authenticity and provided me with an environment to make great connections globally that I would otherwise never have had a chance to make.
Yet, after roughly three years, I feel like it's the perfect time for a new adventure. The hunger for new challenges, the need to be more uncomfortable again, in combination with numerous new opportunities, created a perfect cocktail to decide to continue with the journey towards new learnings and experiences.
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