A spot poll….In a thread elsewhere I asserted that there is no shortage of boring people in consultancies. Stereotypical it may be, but I reckon the average firm can be described as follows.Graduate entry level – 30% boring geeks and sucker-uppers, 70% normal people. Consultant Level – Still 30% capable of sending you to sleep. Half the decent graduates will have left due to the travel, but fortunately they are replaced at this level by industry hires with some idea of a life outside consultancy.Senior Consultant/Director Level – 70% Boredom Black Belts. The industry people generally fall away (wondering why they ever wanted to get into MC), most of the remainder of the decent grad entry have worked out they can have a life and better money at their clients. The bulk are now wannabee partners who are wedded to the job, expanding waistline, one ludicrously expensive show-off hobby which they never actually have time for, big sports car, huge mortgage, know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Talk loudly about “leverage” and making partner.Partner – 33/33/33 split between Nobel Prize for Dullness/Sociopath/Eccentric Genius.In the best traditions of essay writing…..discuss.

you're being too kind to the grads - have just been to a new joiners networking event. BOOORING! I would say at least 50% geeks and suckups at new grad.Personally I blame you lot scaring away the PPE and media studies grads. No good storytellers left...

Probably not far off.Personally I enjoy the Grads, all that wide eyed wonder; no bitterness and probably more tellingly, haven't 'nearly' won any mega deals yet.My experience of partners is pretty much all egomaniacs, but for me thats a positive! Its the Senior Manager/Managing Consultant level that I find traps most of the bore-boys.So many ne-er-do-wells with so many if-onlys and nearly-was....

Partially agree with your analysis, but for me, the worst are definitely grads. Most of them really are boring geeks, as you said, and those few that are not are extremely annoying with their fake confidence which is based on....hm, well, wait.......I know, well, give me a sec., well, one big nothing I guess. Unless they are totally attractive, but that's very rare these days. Seriously, haven't you noticed that grads are becoming less and less attractive?!?

I downgraded one of my grads at his recent appraisal essentially for being boring - he hadn't once been hungover on client site - in 6 months!Can't give someone like that a top grade

I once told a partner he was being disrespectful of my time by inviting me to a meeting that was scheduled to end at 6.00pm and then still continuing to talk even at 6.30pm. I told him, "I'm happy to sit here talking about anything you want during work hours, but we're on MY time now and I find this very boring on a personal level. If you wish to continue talking like this, we really ought to renegotiate my hours of work as it's unfair to assume that I'm willing to give up my personal time to be here talking about this. After all, you presumably wouldn't like it if I were to turn up to work half an hour late, would you?" Surprisingly, he responded well to this and gave me an A* in my appraisal.Then I work up and realised it was all a dream.

Well, I wouldn't complain at 6:00 p.m., however, I would and I did react at 2:00 a.m. Few days before the deadline for client report submission, partner in charge of approving changes to the report left office at around 9:00 p.m. for a personal dinner and did not return until after midnight. It was around 1:00 a.m. when I put my jacket out and made it clear that I was leaving. She asked me where I was going and I said I had some personal matters to attend to (making it clear that I knew she had three hours long dinner, keeping us waiting), which is crazy in itself because it was 1:00 a.m. She gave me the look and commented that this was a team effort. So it was from 9-midnight when I fully participated but I really have to leave now-I said. Next morning, she wouldn't look at me or talk to me, but she talked really well about me later on and asked for me to work on some other transactions with her. This wasn't in consulting, however, but a law firm.

Are u really serious about what you clain to have said or done? Or are you just making others bold enough to get into trouble?

I am certainly not trying to make anyone bold enough to get into trouble. And yes, I am serious. I tried to sound as less arrogant as I could and I put on a warm smile to try and soften my actual action-leaving the office. I made a judgment about her before, how far I can go with in terms of what I can say or do, and acted accordingly. I think she is the type that never appreciated suck ups. In this particular instance, however, she couldn't hold anything against me. She went to have a private dinner for crying out loud, and I was in real need for some bed time intimacy that night :) so I would have acted irrationally whatever the circumstances :)

I guess this depends somewhat on the firm. The environment at somewhere like Deloitte (up to 600 grads below 25) is surely going to be far more 'collegiate' than the bigger dogs in the game. Some call me crazy, but I'd take that over MBBB any day of the week...

There are a lot of really bad companies out there that get up to this sort of rubbish.You know the thing - they expect you to be there on demand 24/7, whilst the partners go out for leisurely evening meals (and then return to the office 3 hours later, expecting you to still be working though the night) or otherwise make up any old excuse just to make sure they're not around whilst you stay put in the office.I'd suggest getting out of any company that gets up to that sort of stuff as soon as possible. They are sweatshops, with dysfunctional and selfish management.You know the signs when you see them. My advice would be - go with your gut instinct. If you know it's a sh1t place to work, stop making excuses and GET OUT OF THERE!!

The company in question is a major international USA/UK based magic/silver circle law firm. Dare I say most of them expect you to be there on demand 24/7. The rudeness of some of the partners in their behavior isn't symptomatic a certain culture within the firm, but their own egocentric self-centered behavior.

Why keep a dog and bark yourself - after all it is my firm...

A dog might run away, others might follow too...

No they won't. Dogs are ridiculously loyal and the pack mentality dictates that you stick with the leader you know. Just give 'em a little bone every now and then....

I think you are confusing dogs and humans :)

Dogs are very easy to get hold of and are all much alike. I would only make an exception for one with a rare ability such as talking