Create less AI slop and have more fun: 4 McKinsey partners told us what they want from junior consultants

Courtesy of McKinsey & Co; Isabel Fernandez-Pujol/BI

There's no secret recipe to impressing your boss — or is there?In late June, four senior McKinsey & Co partners sat down with Business Insider to discuss what it takes to reach the uppermost ranks of the consulting firm.Three of them had recently been promoted from partner to senior partner, and the fourth had been made a distinguished partner, a new senior leadership role at McKinsey that recognizes deep, specialized expertise.They now sit among the firm's most senior and best-paid leaders, a group that numbers more than 2,500 globally. Between them, they work across life sciences, corporate finance, financial services, and artificial intelligence.When asked what they wished their junior colleagues would stop doing, the group hesitated — then launched into an animated exchange about the pitfalls and missteps they see in the workplace.

Stop creating AI slopThree of the partners' first responses was: Stop producing slop.The AI slop issue is not unique to junior colleagues — many people use the technology poorly, said Alex Deverson, a London-based senior partner who works on life sciences. The result is a "lot of AI slop" — content that looks good on the surface, but doesn't hold up to scrutiny.