As eager as companies were to use McKinsey’s services, they were less excited to pay for the work. By Indian standards, McKinsey’s fees—though discounted for the Indian market—were astronomical. One week of a McKinsey engagement equaled the salary of some Indian companies’ CEOs. In the early days, Puri used to joke that he was not sure if he was the strategic adviser of the companies McKinsey served or their banker. The reason: he had overdrafts from all of them.
