Before I Was CEO

Chapter 1Finding True NorthThe Stories of David Kenny and Orit Gadiesh

BOSTON, 1990

“I got an outside offer,” the man said as he walked into the office of Orit Gadiesh, a 37-year-old partner at Bain's Boston headquarters. “Should I take it?”

For the past several months, managers and partners had been leaving the firm in droves. The up-and-coming consulting firm had gotten in trouble through a dangerous cocktail of poorly managed debt, an opaque governance structure, and a reputation for being “too hot to handle” that had gone sour. Now, as Orit was working alongside other partners to ensure the survival of the company, the man in front of her was likely to be the next in line to get out—and she couldn't blame him. Like him, she was talking to headhunters about options outside the firm.

“Orit, I don't want to be the last one left on the sinking ship,” the man said, “I know everyone is to talking to them.”

A few offices further down the hall, a young consultant was having similar concerns over his future. Having switched just six months earlier from GM's “young potentials” program to Bain, the Michigan-born David Kenny had hoped the consulting firm would give him a chance to learn about more industries and see more of the world. For now, however, it looked like the only thing he was going to learn more about than at GM was bankruptcy.

“Don't pay attention to the restructuring,” ...