Jonathon Rayappu

Manager, Sydney

Consulting was not in my original life plan, but after a few years in industry and the public service I decided to take advantage of an opportunity to work as a consultant in the PwC Strategy& Canberra business. What stood out for me was the value proposition: the ability to work across different problems and learn from folks with different backgrounds. It was a real skills acceleration period that put my career on the fast track. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I am with Strategy& seven years later as a Manager in the Sydney office.

Morning

I endeavour to start the day right, so that usually means a couple of mornings with the boots laced up and out getting some early morning fresh air. I generally come into the office with coffee in hand (long black with a dash of milk for future reference) and connect with the team. The first thing we do is align with a quick stand-up to answer three simple questions: what problem are we solving? Who do we need to talk to? And what will we have done by close of business? It’s a really handy forum to envision, align and decide on the day’s activities.

Afternoon

If the mornings are usually spent defining and coming up with a problem solving approach, then the afternoon is generally about translating our approach into action – talking to the client, developing a storyboard, and coming up with a few key pages that gets to the heart of the problem we’re trying to solve. The written communications aspect of the job is always the most interesting, as the ability to convert complexity into simple and clear messaging is a constant (but rewarding) challenge.

Also important to life at Strategy& is working on improving the experience for all staff. So some afternoons a portion of time is carved off to connect with the smart junior consultants I mentor, or providing feedback to the folks that I manage, or on a range of firm-building activities (such as community services).