By Guest Blogger Catherine Morgan
Some people actively court change. They seek it out and embrace it. I’m not one of those people. Circumstances had to slap me upside the head a few times before I could take the leap and make a major career transition.
I started my career on the trading floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange. It was the mid 80’s. Times were good. The work hard/play hard lifestyle worked well for me. Heck, I was in my 20’s! What better time than your 20′s to work and play hard? The job was a perfect transition from college into the workforce.
My career path took me through the trading technology and market data side of the financial service industry. Then I read a book titled The Mind of the Strategist. The author had worked for McKinsey and the braininess of consulting was all of a sudden hugely appealing to me. I was told that I would have to get a MBA if I wanted to work for a company like that. That was *not* appealing – but somehow a few years later I ended up being brought into a major consulting organization by a former client. Perfect! I loved working with incredibly smart people and moved through a few of the global consulting organizations.
