“If you look at it from two perspectives, the individual’s and the company’s, you can start to see what it brings. From the individual’s perspective, it provides an incredible foundation that develops quickly. It’s a mix of generalist consulting skills and rapidly built niche expertise.

Equally important is the personal growth. You see these individuals become confident in highly uncertain situations in a very short time. It’s impressive to see, and something they themselves highlight as a positive. From the company’s, or rather, the alliance’s perspective, it also delivers immense value.

Finding the right people and building the right skills isn’t easy. We probably succeed best when we do it through the Bloom Program. Especially when we get the chance to help shape and build from the beginning.”

“The real question is whether you can get kickbacks, right? When you help someone bring in a new client or a new deal. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the daycare story, about parents picking up their kids late. If you have a problem with people being late, you introduce a fee. Say, if you’re an hour late, it costs 300 kronor.

Suddenly, a lot more people start showing up late. Because now you’ve put a price on it. Before, the social cost, the embarrassment of being late, was much higher than paying 300 kronor. And the problem isn’t just short-term. The problem is that if you try to roll it back, people remember it. So they keep showing up late, because it was “only worth” 300 kronor anyway.

That’s why it’s extremely dangerous to introduce overly explicit incentive models in a complex business like ours.

If you look at it from the client’s perspective, if they know we get a kickback for bringing in one of our colleagues, that creates a very uncomfortable feeling. It feels like we’re pushing something. And that’s exactly what this is not about.

Our profession is not about opening the door for our colleagues. It’s about opening the door for our clients, to give them access to the capability, competence, and knowledge within one of our alliance companies. And that’s something you can’t put a price on.”