by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Photos capture a lot Busy week shown in photos. Two projects and alternate travel today to the west coast. Good times. The collage app is called Photogrid. Guns and Roses and Queen on Pandora while waiting for security. Super long lines, but bearable with music and a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
For anyone who knows me, I am an avid podcast listener. It is something I will promote to literally everyone I know. The benefits are enormous: Free entertainment Easier than reading Great learning of a variety of topics Exercises your imagination and listening...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Today was a travel day – like most Mondays. There were two odd things about today. Good thing – no one next to me on the plane There was no one sitting next to me on the plane today. I completely spread out, and put my stuff in the seat next to me. It...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Reading PowerPoint = Painful to watch Last week I was a in a painful 1 hour meeting where the presenter kept reading his slides. Ouch. Each page was like a kick to my shins. Imagine, this is what clients see and feel when you read your PowerPoints. PowerPoint is the...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
For those interested in management consulting – Dominic Barton is a name you will recognize – the managing partner at McKinsey & Company. Basically the chief of the chief consulting firm. This interview with him is a 1,500 word read, but worth it...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
When you’re sorry, just say the words I said this to five different people on Friday. “I am sorry”. An overly curt email. Late for a meeting. Over-stepping bounds, a little disrespectful of the staffing process. Not bringing an extra copy of a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
I really enjoy my consulting work . . .and yet, my friends and I spend time in our rental car rides, and dinners talking about business ideas. Some of my recent ideas: Customized ironing boards. Women’s clothing is notoriously difficult to iron, and expensive...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Accounts receivable (AR) is what people owe you For anyone who has written an invoice or had difficulty getting a client to pay you for your work, you know how awkward and stressful it is wait for the money. Checking your email, mailbox and bank account to see in...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Traveling is exhausting How strange is it to commute by plane. We are whistled in by clients, ready road-warriors, bringing news from far away. Our time is “valuable”, marked by our bill rates and our inaccessible during travel times and Fridays. Travel...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Consultants ask great questions Peter Drucker famously said, that “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.” BOOM. Today I was in a big corporate meeting of 60+ people. Big titles, regional heads, leaders...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Thanks for reading this blog (written in 2015) I have enjoyed your company and comments. Hope you find this stuff – not so boring – and potentially helpful. Some survey results which hint at www.consultantsmind.com readers. As my wife flattered me and also...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
I have been reading the Economist since 1991. So many reasons I like the magazine: Clear thinking, clear writing International in scope; not America-centric Libertarian thinking, but not “gold standard” fundamentalist Opinionated; strong point of view...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
ROE (return on equity) Yes, this is one of the key formulas that most MBAs (yes, including Marketers) remember learning on their path to financial literacy. It is often the best FIRST place to start for financial statement analysis. In simplest terms, it tells...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
“You have a typo on the 1st page” This was the low-light of my Friday. A partner was reviewing a proposal we had already printed out for the client. One typo was a missing helping verb “be” and the other typo was a verb in the wrong tense. It...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
“It’s 1am and I am working on a proposal due this Friday from the hotel lobby. It has to go through multiple reviews, so I would be wise to get it 80% finished tonight. Oy Vey. Walking around the hotel – to wake myself up – this is what I see....
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
If there is any question that management consultants are hired to do difficult projects, look at this – McKinsey & Company will help the CIA reorganize and restructure here. Apparently, the plan is for the CIA to go from a functional structure (with separate...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Candy Crush So last night, my wife and I were playing Candy Crush on 3 different devices. Yes, it is a big part of our recreation life. Sad and funny. So which wretched company created this time-sucking game? King Entertainment Publicly traded under the ticker symbol...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Financial accounting is the language of business No question. It’s how investors, managers, creditors, suppliers, and regulators keep track of the “score”. Without it, even the most basic questions like “how much profit did you make”...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Organizations have trouble talking to themselves Ask any consultant and she will tell you that a good portion of her job is helping one part of their client organization talk to the other part. Odd, I know. For those not working with Fortune 500-size companies, you...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
WHO, What, Why, When, Where? These are five questions kids learn in grade school or when first learning a language. It covers the basics and helps you understand the situation and context. My high school friends can attest to my poor memory, but even I can remember...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Had dinner with a good friend last night, and we talked about the two kinds of people you meet online: creators and critics. Think about all the titans of podcasting. 1. Creators There are people who give generously and want others to win. You can call them givers....
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
So I am a procrastinator. I will just admit it. Don’t make me give you examples. . . This is the right Bain & Company blog post for me here. Basically, here are Bain’s 7 ways to stop wasting valuable time. Get the most out of your executives. . . Bain...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
I am Generation X and I am getting tired. Getting tired of asking for permission to ask junior consultants to do work. Tired of the fear of offending their sensibilities. Tired of doing the thinking. Tired of trying to “charge them up, get them excited”...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
In 2014, I interviewed about 50 people for positions in our consulting group. Most of the time, I am giving case interviews to test people’s logical structuring, and analytic skills. Sometimes, I have a chance to speak more openly – both the good reasons...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Metrics are everywhere As a consultant, we are in the business of quickly understanding business problems, proposing solutions, and measuring results. Metrics are a necessary evil of any project. The classic continuous improvement methodology DMAIC depends on M...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
It’s one person’s opinion, but here are 130 blog posts which I wrote over the last 3 years to describe my world-view of consulting. Hope you find it useful. Consultants are a strange breed We span all industries, but ultimately we are in the business of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants have bad days Yes, a chorus of “amen” just came from the weathered consultants reading this blog. If you want an example of this, take a look at this blog post (in blue color) from 2015. Today was a rough day. Client disengaged. Technology not...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Lots of clients, not all the same Let’s agree that there are a lot of different people on the client side. Some are doing the work, while others are only curious. When you have more than a handful of people involved, it’s very easy to get confused and make...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Design is popular. It’s not surprising that McKinsey & Company bought a design company. Many consulting firms are branching out with acquisitions in areas which were once considered non-core. Deloitte has picked up a few digital agencies. Accenture bought...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Meetings are over-rated Okay, I said it. I have seen too many organizations put together committees to drive “alignment”, when in actuality, they are trying to mollify a miscreant or hedge away the risk by legislating an answer. Too often, it fails to...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
“Idea fight club” I coined this idea in 2015, this was the scenario: The consulting team had an ambiguous client problem (no surprise there) and the team had not set on an approach yet. Differing ideas, pros vs. cons. It was all on the table in a smart...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Increasingly, I have been using this simple, but stark, analogy to talk about team management. Increasingly, seems like there are two ways to get outcomes. Democracy mode (what do you think?) Dictator mode (do what I say) As a manager, I want to get the most our of my...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
For most road-warriors, aisle seats are the way to go. Better in almost every way. They have more leg-room, more freedom of movement, and easier exits. Today I did discover 1 benefit –...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
I have flown Delta for 15 years, but just recently discovered Delta Studio. For those who don’t know, you can watch free movies and TV shows using GoGo Inflight Wi-fi. Phone: Download GoGo app. Connect to wifi, open app. Click of Delta Studio. Laptop: Connect...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
“Let me get lunch. I am the cheapest person here.” As a manager, hearing a junior consultant say this made my day. Not because I avoided the task of going and picking up lunch; I do it all the time Not because I was particularly busy that day, and...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Monday night in the hotel. Lots of work, but not in the mood. Instead, thinking about the cherry blossoms I saw with my wife this weekend. A much better thought. Related posts: Consulting travel The consulting life. Good dinners...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Accenture had a good week Their stock hit a 16 year high, as they boosted their forecast for both revenues and profits. Go A-C-N. While looking for their quarterly investor presentation, I stumbled on something entirely more interesting. Digital Business Era: Stretch...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consulting is a career Consulting is more than just a job. You develop a way of thinking, unique skills, and lots of professional relationships. There is no better general business training than consulting. You work with super smart people, interact with clients...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
From 2015: I have not blogged in a month because of international travel, 3 concurrent projects, and honestly, some of the toughest manager days I have ever had. Got some new folks, a fairly ambiguous project, and a lack of thinking. Sad, but true. A lack of real...
by Consultant's Mind | Strategy
“Just be yourself” – Every Mom Yes, every mom ever said these same words to their pre-teen child, “Just be yourself.” Stop trying to be someone you are not. Stop copying XYZ, that is going to get you in trouble. We are different ...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Yes, I am currently staffed on the East Coast in February. #$^@#$ it’s #$%#$^ cold. A few words of wisdom for the newbie consultants traveling to into the cold: Staying warm (affiliate links) Buy some 180s. They are ear warmers that don’t mess up...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
For 80% of you, this is so basic that you just “rolled your eyes”. Completely understand. If one of my team asked me this, I would not be happy. I would be scared. In a quick survey from my last post, looks like 1/3 of us don’t feel that confident...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Consultants are not accountants Yes, there are a lot of consultants who work at the big 4 (Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG, PWC), but they are not accountants. If you ask them to balance credits and debits on a ledger, they will look at you like a confused dog. Yes, we took...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell popularized this number in his book Outliers (affiliate link). Based on the research of Anders Ericsson, Gladwell notes that you don’t really start to excel at something until you put in the requisite blood, sweat and tears . . ....
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Some people over manage their careers They treat it like a classical piano recital piece where you can’t make a mistake. Massive FOMO. Yes, they think too much about the role they play, how they will position themselves for promotion, and what they deserve to...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
23 consultants were in a restaurant. . . The leadership team of our consulting practice were enjoying wine and canapes. (Yes, consultants eat well). My buddy and I were talking and when we looked out the window into the January Chicago night, someone was staring...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Frankly, good writing is rare All of us have suffered through obtuse, boring business brochure-ware. Lots of jargon that means nothing. Read and write a lot It helps to read a lot. Helps you to pattern-recognize good writing. In particular, the Economist is...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
UVA Darden is a strong business school known for its case study method. Like Harvard, UVA uses this method to teach everything from finance to ethics. Over the course of 2 years, the students have more than 600 cases. Yes, it’s rigorous. Darden is known for...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Ever have writer’s block? Try using this simple process to breakdown your writing into the right process steps. It’s called madman, architect, carpenter, and judge. The idea is simple, but instructive. There are 4 different writing personas tugging at you...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Consulting is an apprenticeship business Yes, this is where the master coaches the apprentice on the skills and methods of the craft. Same is true in law, accounting, other professional services. Yes, I am sure that many consulting skills can be taught in books,...
