At dinner tonight with an old high school friend, I brought up the topic of the consulting industry and its appeal to many of our friends. My friend is in charge of the marketing aspect of her clients’ projects, so she’s quite familiar with helping her clients market their products and services. She expressed interest and a desire to eventually be a part of a consulting company herself, and as we discussed I began wondering:
What exactly is the appeal of this particular industry to so many, specifically so many of my generational peers?
During the last semester of college, I, too, was drawn by the challenging work environment that consulting offered (specifically, strategic management consulting). I applied and interviewed with a number of firms and ultimately decided that the world of strategic management consulting wasn’t completely suited for me. I have no regrets in that decision, as I’ve held fast to the rationale I gave at the time: the industry is cutthroat and perhaps a little too fast-paced for me.
After dinner, I really got to thinking about how so many of my friends in my generation have expressed interest in pursuing a career in consulting. I mentioned this to another friend, who responded with, “Maybe no one wants to actually solve their own problems.”
“So, does that mean we, as a generation, have been lulled into a false sense of security and confidence that we can actually solve other people’s problems?” I asked.
His response: “Maybe it’s about finding something meaningful. Maybe the idea of solving other people’s problems is more meaningful to our generation.”
Curiosity got the better of me, and I mulled this quick dialogue that I’d just had.
What values are we instilled with as a generation? The desire to contribute and meaningfully in all we do has popped up in many generational attributes and characteristics lists. We’ve grown up being told we can solve the world’s problems, that it’s our duty – and why shouldn’t we believe it? We’re at the forefront of technological and societal development. We’re at a pivotal juncture in leveraging all of the resources available to us and creating solutions for some of the most pressing issues of our times. Our intrinsic value systems have effectively guaranteed that we feel some sense of responsibility, collectively as a generation, to use our talents, skills, and resources to meaningfully contribute to society.
However, this very notion, I believe, leads us into a second layer of this discussion.
At what expense have we been instilled with these values? This very question lends itself to identifying the factors that have contributed to our upbringings. We’ve been told from day one that we can achieve anything we set our minds to. If we have the talent, we can use any number of resources to achieve our goals and become successful. Our educational system is designed to enable this to prove true: we work hard, focus, and earn grades that reflect our understanding of topics and concepts. Many of our parents rewarded us for attaining our goals, and continually reminded us that we were capable of anything we set our minds to. So, when we received those awards at school, or the allowance or new toy from our parents, we gained a sense of self-confidence that translated to other aspects of our lives. As the list of achievements grew, so did the level of self-confidence…to the point where we now have a sense of self-confidence and assurance that we can combat any challenge that comes our way, solve any problem that we face – so much so that it seems many of our generation are actually interested in making problem solving for others their career.
But, what keeps us from wanting and trying to solve our own problems?
As I’ve talked to many of my friends, I’ve realized how many of us are struggling to make sense of our lives and understand what we want out of it. It’s interesting that although we are given the support and encouragement from a very young age to pursue our ambitions, many of us come face-to-face with the realization that the limitless options available to us perhaps impede the progress we desire to make in “figuring our lives out.” How is it that we find curiosity and interest in helping others’ solve their problems, and yet we (especially those of us who hit this rough patch in our twenties) find it difficult to logically approach our own personal predicaments? Moreover, if we can’t solve our own problems, how can we possibly help others’ solve theirs, regardless of whether they are personal or professional in nature? For that matter, does it make a difference if they are personal or professional in nature – are these mutually exclusive in this discussion? As these questions sprung to mind, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps the positive reinforcement we’ve received at a young age is actually counterproductive in the long run. I couldn’t help but think that perhaps we have inadvertently developed a false sense of self-confidence in our abilities and potential.
So, my question is: what are the implications of this, if it’s true? Is this false sense of confidence actually dangerous? Moreover, what factors have contributed to this in our development – societal, educational, parental?
