by Consultant's Mind | Fun
If you are a consulting geek, or like to read business history, The Lords of Strategy (affiliate link) is a fascinating and easy read. Helps you understand the economic, regulatory, and business trends that gave rise to the Big 3 consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Teaching consulting Teaching management consulting this semester to a select group of 40 students. I imagine 1/2 of them will have consulting internship or full-time offers already. This is an elective, and they are elite. That said, I wanted to describe management...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Platform for consulting? A few ex-consultant friends and I mused over this concept several times in Marriott hotel bars across the country. “Why not set up a two-sided platform (think: VRBO, UBER) where companies can hire consultants for 1/3 of the price? Cut...
by Consultant's Mind | Real Estate
Note, this was originally written in 2018 (fed funds at 1.5-2.25%) vs. this update in blue color in 2023 (fed funds at 5.30%). That is a massive increase in marginal interest rates, so the math is a LOT different in 2023 in blue. What is the economies of rental...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
This is shocking because it shows the extent to which outsourcing is no longer a trend, but just a simple, fat reality. Fact. The days of Hershey, PA life-time employment are long-dead. Labor has become so specialized (read: Adam Smith talk) that there is a company...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Managers assume too much We get busy and think to ourselves, “I have seen this problem before, I know what to do, why don’t you get it?” We (falsely) assume junior consultants should know what we know. Silly bias. As result, expectations can be...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
In the WSJ today, learned that UPS encourages / asks its office workers to help sort and deliver packages during the holiday delivery rush here. Quotes from WSJ article in blue italics. UPS normally has “ready teams,” or office workers that help to sort, load or...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Management Consulting. It’s a lot of things. It is an industry; we all know McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PWC, and others. It is a profession built on asking good questions. It is a team sport. It is a bit of an attitude. It is a tribe that is difficult to get...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Started reading The Inevitable: 12 Technological Forces that Will Shape Our Future (affiliate link). I am only on page 83, and I have already bought 9 copies for friends. It’s written by Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired magazine, and does an amazing job of...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Why is consulting tribal? It’s easier to work with people you have history with. You can jumpstart and go directly to performing. Forming, storming, norming, performing This is a classic framework that Professor Bruce Tuckman developed in the 1960s that...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Huge fan of quotes. Whenever I have something to say, I remind myself that someone has probably said it better, in fewer words. For leadership, a few that made me really reflect. Get results Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
What does good look like? All thoughtful business people are curious what good presentations look like. Here are a dozen+ presentations (freely and publicly available online) from Boston Consulting Group. These BCG decks may not be in your industry, or your function,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Consultants are very visual people, because our clients are. Executives like to see complex ideas and data simplified, so it is easy to understand and act upon. Clients pay to see simplicity. Simplicity is difficult to do well. Infographics are fun. Honestly, this is...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Case competitions are great fun I did 9 of them during my MBA days. It’s a chance for you to compete with students and see how good you are at ‘cracking the case’. The format differs considerably: Some competitions last 3-4 hours, while others can...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I wrote this blog post in 2017, new comments in 2023 (6 years later) written in red font. In 2017, US stocks doubled in last 5 years The S&P index is up 16%+ year-to-date. A good thing right? One fund manager recently commented that investors have never been so...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I wrote this blog post in 2017, after the Sandy Hook mass shooting of school children. Remember that? Horror. Additional comments in red color, but the sad fact remains that America has the same senseless gun violence as it had then. Just in the last month, shooting...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
This 21 letter hyphenated-phrase generates $billions of management consulting work. With M&A booming the last few years, it’s no surprise that companies need lots of post-deal support. Whether a company hire outsiders to help or not, post-merger integration...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Thought-provoking I first read about the “elephant chart” in Edward Luce’s The Retreat of Western Liberalism (affiliate link), where the author explained how income inequality was a key factor in the global rise of protectionism and angry populism....
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Wrote this blog post in 2013 (yes, when I was 20% younger). New comments in red color. Key takeaway (TLDR), focus on getting really good at your craft (read: expertise, professionalism) and relationships. Three kinds of power: positional, relational, and expertise...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
The BCG 2017 M&A report has a great subtitle here (3Mb pdf) called the Technology Takeover. BCG notes that 30% of 2016 M&A involved the acquisition of technology companies (no surprise), of which 70% were from outside the technology sector (surprise). In sum,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Death of expertise I saw this book at the library and was intrigued by the cryptic title: Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters (affiliate link), by Tom Nichols. I flipped through the book and landed on this high-powered...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Richard Thaler Yes, professor from University of Chicago, won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Most people know him for writing the 2008 best-seller Nudge (affiliate link) with Cass Sunstein. Super enjoyed the book and was...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
It’s case interview season Seems like students just got to school. Moving in, meeting a few people, and getting into an academic groove. Then, BBAM it’s late September and time for case interviews. There is one huge upside. You may have a job offer before...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
This post is from many years ago, but more relevant than ever. Consultants are likable. If you are not likable, uh, you have a problem. New comments in red color. Eager to hear your comments on this one. Being likable is a characteristic of all successful...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
What business books have you read recently? When I ask this of friends and colleagues, I usually get this guilty look of someone who hasn’t read a book in year. Honestly, who has time to read? After 45 hours of billable work + 15 hours of non-billable work + 15...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Some people get stuff done You know people like this. Doers. Winners. People who are not just efficient, but they are also effective. When they say they will get it done, #$@!, you might as well consider it done. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Love this expression I first heard this in a Tim Ferris interview of Marc Andreessen here (min 6:10). Andreessen created the Netscape Mosaic browser (making the internet easy to navigate), sold it to AOL for $2B, then spent last 15+ years investing and running a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Mondays 440am wake up. My wife and I have a love/hate relationship with Mondays and Wednesdays because they start with a 440am alarm. Massive coffee. 515am we are at the gym with a physical trainer. Planks, V-ups, Goblet squats, push-ups, dead-lifts, lunges, you get...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Career is not a straight line So much is changing. Interest rates, geopolitics, hybrid work, expectations of work/life balance. After so many years of continued specialization (yes, do one thing well), we are finding that we all need generalist skills too. Swing like...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
It’s easy to say YES. Perhaps too easy. When the client asks for something – new research, some ad-hoc analysis, an extra workshop – it usually seems like a reasonable request. After all, they pay the bills and shouldn’t they get the most out...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
In 1983, Amy Trask USC (So Cal) law student makes a cold-call to the LA Raiders looking for an internship. Dialogue goes like this: LA Raiders switchboard operator: “What’s an internship?” Trask quickly replies “I work for you, and you don’t pay me.” The response:...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
I first read this catchy acronym in the Harvard Business Review here. It’s not a subtle metaphor, but very easy to understand. Apt. Vivid. In the United States, we have a huge obesity problem, and frankly, the same thing exists in corporations. This is not...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
The Defiant Ones For those who (like me) signed up for HBO Now for just 2 months to watch Game of Thrones season 7 (affiliate link), please spend the 4 hours to watch The Defiant Ones (affiliate link). Amazing documentary on Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. A short list of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consulting is a big tent Consulting comes in many flavors. Or in other words, it spans all industries + non profit + governmental. Whatever story you read about in the WSJ, there is a consultant and an attorney who can help (or at least say they can help). M&A,...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Swen Nater While reading Coach Wooden and Me (affiliate link), by Kareem Abdul Jabbar, I ran across the story of Swen Nater, who was a first round NBA/ABA draft pick even though he never started, and only play 2 minutes on average per game while at UCLA. Deliberate...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Check the quality of the fruit When you are buying a banana at the grocery store, do you blindly pick up anything? No way. A green banana and yellow banana means something completely different. Depending on your taste preference, when you plan to eat it, and you want...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Good strategy is rare Richard Rumelt, UCLA professor, argues that good strategy is rare. He outlines the 4 common ways that companies often fool themselves into a bad strategy in a McKinsey Quarterly article here. Based on his book Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Projects have ups / downs As someone commented on the last post (hat tip: DS), there are definitely low points on any project. The life of a project is not a straight line. If it involves people and expectations, there will be drama. that’s okay. . . As Seth...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Hypothe – what? Yes, I know it sounds like jargon, but actually it’s part of the secret sauce of management consulting. It’s more than educated guessing; this is how consultants smartly break down complex or ambiguous problems, and quickly start...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” This is a common question in interviews and I don’t like it. Yes, it serves as a proxy to gauge the candidate’s motivation. Yes, it tests to see if the candidate understands the corporate ladder and title...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
It’s a provocative title, but BCG argues the case. Digital is more important than ever; it’s where people spend their attention and advertisers place their dollars. Money is abundant. Attention is in short supply. This digital conversation gives marketers...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
This was a phrase coined in 1969 by Dr. Laurence Peters – an educator who wrote a 100+ page satire called The Peter Principle (affiliate link) replete with fake data and everything. Apparently, it was a NY Times best seller for 1 year, and is still in print...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
It’s Father’s Day in the US. For those who have/had good fathers, let’s be a little thankful. My dad immigrated to the US in 1968 – made a great life for my family, now lives 4-5 miles from me. Lots of love and guidance over the years. Thanks...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
After reading Switch (affiliate link) by the Heath brothers, I am convinced that successful consulting projects must appeal to the head, the heart and the hand. It’s a simple way to think about change management, but it also makes a lot of sense. We all want to...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Great advice from the HBR editors If you have ever thought (or dreamed) of writing for the Harvard Business Review, then you should read the guidelines from HBR here. As an educator, there are so many things to take away from this blurb on their website. Only 900...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Podcasts are a win-win-win. 1) Great use of your time when you are running errands or mindlessly driving to/from work. 2) Free to download. 3) Access to hugely successful people giving you practical, fun, real advice. 4) Share with clients, friends, and family....
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
3 Types of CEO Listened to a podcast interview here of Reid Hoffman sometime ago, but most distinctly remember his comment about the 3 types of CEOs. As the founder of Linkedin, he enjoyed the CEO role at first, but as the company grew, he enjoyed it less and less....
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Jigsaw puzzles are fun, meditative, mindless, and dopamine-filled. It’s a good way to stop scrolling. Listen to some music, have some coffee, and puzzle with your spouse. The good life. I have 10 reasons why this is a useful metaphor for problem solving. Some...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Gap analysis sounds fancy. . . Gap analysis is exactly what is sounds like – figuring out how far you are from a particular goal or target. Consulting firms do this all differently. It takes many forms, but is super common. In fact, I can’t think of any...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Talking with clients A reader asked me for tips on talking to clients. On the surface, this seemed so basic – but for those who aren’t client-facing or doing BD (business development) all day, here are some thoughts. As with anything, take what is useful...
