The serendipity paradox: how to find order in consulting chaos
Randomness can become a career catalyst
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Joining the consulting world can feel like stepping onto a rollercoaster blindfolded.
One minute you are on a high, the next, you are plunging into the unknown. I know, this sounds too dramatic, but if you’ve been around the block for a few years, you are probably thinking “Yeah, he is right…”
It is pure chaos, but many people ignore that, if you play it well, chaos can become your ally.
It is in the middle of chaos that serendipity presents itself.
First things first, serendipity is not dumb luck. It is about putting yourself where opportunities can find you, a concept Nassim Taleb dubbed “positive exposure to randomness.”
It’s not just about being in the right place at the right time, but more about making sure you are in many “right places”, ready to catch whatever comes your way.
Serendipity is the silent partner in my career’s story.
When I was a fresh Computer Science grad from Italy, I landed a gig at a big consulting firm in Milan. The job was a goldmine of learning, but my heart yearned for more: new landscapes, a foreign language, and exposure to different cultures.
I craved a whole new playground.
Yet, there was a catch. My English was, to put it kindly, a work in progress.
Most would have seen this as a dead end.
But not me.
I figured, what’s the worst that could happen? A few “no thanks” emails? Big deal.
Who gives a flying f-!
I decided to play the odds.
My roommate, also a consultant looking for greener pastures, decided to join me on the adventure.
We set our sights on the UK - then a prominent economy and, conveniently for us, part of the European Union.
We blitzed job applications on LinkedIn, casting a wide net.
Despite my linguistic hurdles, I was very surprised to see interviews slowly rolling in... Sure, the initial calls were comically rough, but persistence did pay off.
I turned to Hollywood for a crash course in English, and started to binge on classics like Top Gun, Rambo and Rocky: I know, sophisticated choices, but it worked!
Then, one day, serendipity struck.
An Icelandic firm, looking to break into the London market, saw potential in an energetic (read: cheap) junior consultant. Communicating with a non-native English speaker was much easier for me. I could understand him, and he could understand me.
Fast forward to a whirlwind trip to London for an in-person interview, my first ever flight, and an unconventional meeting at a Starbucks near Heathrow, I ended up in front of the MD.
Dressed to the nines, I drunk a liquidy cappuccino with him (my first horrible cappuccino of many I would then have in my career), while he was sketching out an entire banking project on a napkin… that was way over my head.
Yet, my eagerness to learn and my solid foundation impressed him enough to take a chance on me.
As soon as we got back to Italy, the guys from Iceland sent a job offer to both me and my friend!
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It was exciting. I remember we were the last two people in the office when we got the email with the offer. I phoned my mother straight away to let her know I would soon be moving out of the country. She was excited for me, but also concerned if I could survive the British weather and well, its notorious lack of sun...
I had proven to myself, against all odds, I had landed a consulting job in England without fluent English.
This twist of fate taught me an invaluable lesson early in my career: serendipity can be powerful.
Consulting throws a wide variety of projects your way, each one a door to new opportunities.
Make calculated bets.
Choose projects with high potential rewards over safe, predictable tasks.
Take, for instance, my leap to work on a high-risk project in Hong Kong that I shared with you before. That was a venture into the unknown: new technology, new continent, new industry.
If things had gone wrong, I would have simply gone back to London, with another project and more experience under my belt… But the potential payoff if things had gone right was immense.
And pay off it did, earning me two promotions.
The key is to embrace “calculated randomness”.
Diversify your experiences, network outside your comfort zone, and stay open to the unexpected.
Serendipity is not about being lucky. It is all about putting yourself out there, ready to take the plunge when opportunity presents itself.
✍ The Management Consultant
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🎯 INTERESTING SH*T
A few things I found on the internet that you may like…
I like to say that you can’t steal from a thief… However, it looks like you can bullshit a bullshitter 🤪
This post from
is quite insightful. If you are thinking of starting your consulting practice this year, read this first (then hit me up 😅)For the ones who don’t know, I am a (retired) drummer. This video is too cool for you to miss it!
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Love the Littrell article link - bullshitting the bullshitter. I think he's done some work with Ian McCarthy at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver - who developed the CRAP framework for calling workplace bullshit. It's great stuff and bang on!
https://www.sfu.ca/research/scholarly-impacts/tall-tales-and-half-truths-dealing-workplace-bullshit