Issue with reading in MBB - how to improve?

Hi there,

Thanks for being so honest — this is more common than you think, even at MBB. What you’re dealing with isn’t about intelligence or effort; it’s a habit loop formed from working in high-speed environments where volume often trumps depth. The good news? It can absolutely be fixed. Here’s a structured approach:

1. Shift from Skimming to Active Reading

In consulting, we get used to scanning emails, decks, and transcripts just to keep up. But this often leads to missed logic, misunderstood asks, or surface-level takeaways. Before opening any doc, pause for 3 seconds and think: What am I trying to understand? What’s the key message? Read with your cursor or pen. Slow down your eyes. Summarize key ideas mentally or on paper. The goal isn’t just to finish reading — it’s to fully process and own the content.

2. Build Structured Review Routines

“Double-checking” is too vague. You need a repeatable checklist. For slides, that might include: Are titles aligned with content? Do numbers match the model? Are graphs labeled? Is the story coherent slide to slide? Apply the same logic to emails, models, or interview notes. You’re reducing mental load by systematizing how you check work.

3. Reinforce Focus with Micro-Drills

You don’t need to “focus more” — you need to train your attention. Once a day, take a dense paragraph (e.g., earnings release) and read it aloud slowly, covering each line below with your finger. Ask: What’s the point here? Do I fully understand it? These short drills rebuild deep-focus habits, which improve both comprehension and detail orientation.

4. Manage Manager Trust Proactively

Errors will happen. What matters is showing that you’re taking ownership. You can say something like:

“I realized I was rushing through reading and missing key points. I’m now using a structured review checklist and consciously slowing down to improve quality. I’d appreciate your feedback as I keep improving.”

That kind of maturity and transparency earns more trust than pretending things are fine.

Final Thought

Consulting rewards clarity and precision. You don’t need to be flawless — but you do need to be intentional. You’ve already taken the first step by identifying the issue. Now it’s about building habits that set you up to deliver consistently high-quality work.

You’ve got this.

– David

Hi,

Thanks for your question.

You are right, its just a habit that you would have to break. But good habits are hard to make and easy to break!

I don't have this challenge. On the other hand I like to be detail oriented.

Few suggestions:

1. Mindset - Practice reading with a detail-oriented mindset. You can pratice with business articles but best is to do it with your work content since that is where you are making mistakes.

2. Patient and time commitment: It will take you more time when you are detail oriented but clearly your current style is not good enough to get the job done. So, you will need to build the patience to take more time to read through literature and comprehend it.

3. Processing speed: You have to find the sweet spot where you are pacing yourself so that your brain can process what you are reading. 

Tips: To avoid spending unnecessary time since there is a lot of content to cover, a few pointers that can help.

1. Know what you are looking for when skimming literature. So somewhat similar to answer first approach.

2. Focus on reading the initial few sentences of each paragraph to see if the content is relevant to you are looking for. If not, you can skip to the next paragraph. However, this does not always work, and you still stand the risk of losing important information. You have to balance this out and find your comfort level.

3. Search for keywords. For example, if you are looking for revenue estimate, search for revenue or synonyms like sales.

4. Assess the importance of the information to your project to decide whether you can skim through it or need to go into details.

Hope this helps.

Soh

Hi there, 

I think this happens to all of us and has a lot to do with focus. I would say this: 

1. Focus on the text at hand - If you feel you lost the focus, start again. Force your brain to be attentive. Potentially take small notes while doing it. That helps your brain to stay zoomed in

2. Create a template for error checking - Write down a list of things that you need to check before sending something out (e.g., slide numbers, footnote placement, font sizes, alignment of boxes etc.). Review the doc always focusing on one at a time

Best, 
Sebastian

Hi there,

This is a common issue, especially in high-pressure environments like MBB, where speed is valued but precision is critical. The good news? It’s fixable. Here are some strategies to help:

1. Slow Down Intentionally
    •    Force yourself to read out loud (or in your head) when reviewing critical work.
    •    Use your cursor or a pen to track each word—this helps prevent subconscious skimming.
    •    Before moving on, ask yourself: “Did I fully process what I just read?”

2. Structured Review Process
    •    First pass: Focus on comprehension (What is the key takeaway?)
    •    Second pass: Look for inconsistencies/errors.
    •    Third pass (if time allows): Read backwards (forces attention to details).

3. External Aids
    •    Change formatting (e.g., increase font size, highlight key figures) to force your brain to re-engage.
    •    Print and review if possible—reading on paper slows you down naturally.

4. Build Manager Trust
    •    Implement a checklist system—MBB managers love structured approaches.
    •    Ask for feedback on whether accuracy has improved over time.

5. Mental Reframing

You’re not alone—many high-performers struggle with this. MBB consultants aren’t flawless; they’ve just built systems to manage weaknesses. Focus on consistently applying a structured review process, and over time, it’ll become second nature.

Hope this helps!

Best,

Evelina

Hello there,

First of all, don't put yourself down. MBB has this "special aura" and we often think we are the least smart person in the room, but (1) everybody feels the same and (2) every person has both strengths and personal challenges. Yours may be overcome, don't worry! 

It would be good if you could give specific examples, are your errors related to typo? To math? 

I'll share some general tips for you to be more attentive to details:

1) Limit time of social media. It seems unrelated, but different studies show how "dumb scrolling" heavily impacts our ability to focus.

2) Break your tasks in tiny sub-tasks. Instead of having checklist that says "proof read the deck", you'll actually break it down. E.g.:
a) check if titles are correct; 
b) check if numbers in the slide 2 are equal to the numbers in the spreadsheet Z; 
c) check if the legend of slide 5 is paring with the graphs; etc.

3) Have a blank sheet of paper with you if you're reading a long document, to transfer the important things to the paper, and read it after it.

4) After doing a task (slides; math) give yourself a break before checking.

5)Triple check your work. If you need to read three times, do it.

6) Ask for a trustworthy colleague to help you finding errors before submitting your work for your manager's review

Good luck, you got this!

Best,

Mari
 

Hi there, 

2 thoughts to share here. 

(1) Always read with questions in mind, i.e., what questions are you trying to answer, and what info / data might be useful to answer the questions. I found this approach works nicely for me to quickly pick out what is relevant and filter out what is not. 

(2) Use the AI tools to help you. Since you are in MBB, I trust you have access to ChatGPT or similar. If there is a lot of materials to read - try use ChatGPT to help you summarize the key points. You can also ask specific questions and ChatGPT can find you the relevant info / data from the materials you feed in. Just need to make sure you give a proper prompt. 

Best,

Emily

Hi there,

• Slow down with intent: Before starting a task, consciously tell yourself, “I’m reading to understand, not to finish.” Repeating this out loud can help reset your default mode.
• Use finger or cursor tracking: Guiding your eyes with a finger or mouse slows down skimming and reinforces focus word-by-word.
• Build a “read, pause, recap” habit: After each paragraph or slide, pause and mentally summarize - this forces you to engage with the content actively.
• Checklists for rechecking: Use structured checklists when reviewing work. It gives your brain a clear focus and helps avoid missing details during double-checking.
• Time-box deep reading: Block short periods (e.g., 25 mins) just for focused reading, then take a break. Treat it like a sprint - full attention, no distractions. Use noise-cancelling headphones - a team room can be a noisy environment...
• Don’t assume others don’t struggle: Even at MBB, people wrestle with habits like this. Admitting it is a strength - not a weakness. You're already ahead by identifying it and taking action.

All the best,

Florian

Hey there 😊,

First—you’re absolutely not alone. I’ve seen this happen a lot, especially early in MBB careers. The environment is fast, cognitively draining, and full of pressure to be “on” all the time—which makes mental shortcuts like skimming really common.

Here are a few quick tips that helped me and others break the habit:

🧠 Rewire the mindset
This isn’t about being “dumb”—it’s about unlearning a coping mechanism under pressure. Skimming feels efficient, but leads to rework, which creates more stress → and the loop continues.

📌 Create external guardrails
– Use the “read once out loud in your head” method when reviewing emails or slides
– Highlight or underline as you read—even digitally—to force engagement
– Add a checklist: “Did I read this sentence word-for-word before I hit send?”

⏱ Use time-boxed deep reads
Set 10–15 min blocks where you slow down intentionally—your focus is just reading slowly and with care. No multitasking. This trains your brain back into focus mode.

🧩 For quality checks
Try checking one thing per pass:
– 1st pass = content
– 2nd = formatting
– 3rd = consistency
Rather than trying to spot everything at once (which often leads to missing key things).

If you want, I’m happy to work through this with you, especially if you're in a role where perception and polish really matter—I’ve coached several consultants on this exact topic 😊

Best,
Alessa 😇

There's a high chance you spend a lot of time on your phone and that is hurting you, particularly, if you spend that time on social media.

Suggestion? Drop the phone as much as you can. And start reading books. On paper. That will retrain your brain.