McKinsey alumni are the first to admit that the firm is a bit of a cult. One compared it with the Freemasons, another to the Scientologists. New recruits are given Perspective on McKinsey, written by Marvin Bower, the successor to founder James O McKinsey and the man who made consulting respectable. You cannot buy the book — you have to be in the firm.

Notable Alumni:

• Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, of the Alphabet Group
• James Gorman, the CEO of Morgan Stanley
• Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook

Related News:

A bit of a cult, but dissent is encouraged