by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Stanford d.school is the gold standard for all things experience, design, and honestly, cool. What do you expect when you combine smarts, engineering, meritocratic Groove-style culture, VC money, and graphics. So, it I was fairly delighted to find this 90 pg+ free pdf...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Successful client service means doing great work AND exceeding the client’s expectations. If the client worries unnecessarily, gets surprised, or is somehow unaware of the scope of work, the consultant has done a poor job of communicating. For experienced principals,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Huge fan of Berkshire Hathaway. What investor would not appreciate a 50 year run with a 20% CAGR? The fact that the #3 richest man in the world is humble beyond comparison, eats McDonald’s, and drinks Coke only cements the allure. Full letter dated Feb 23, 2019...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
When is the last time you heard the word “strategy” or “strategic?” They are common words and largely misunderstood. While strategy is certainly important, it’s means more than just “long-term” or “impactful.” I...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants, by the nature of their project-based work, are process oriented. Projects have a start-middle-end. That’s part of the luxury, tempo, and fun of the work. At the beginning, proposals are signed and kick-off meetings held. At the end,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
It’s the beginning of the year and firms are lining up their projects and consultants. Proposals and statements of work are getting written and signed. My students (management consulting class M 10-1pm) have a proposal-writing assignment due, here’s what I...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Had statements of work (SoW) on my mind a lot. Writing some, fulfilling others. What you put in a SOW will affect the quality of your life. Do it well. For the consulting finders, proposals and SOW are the lifeblood of business development. If a fisher, these are...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
So I am very Amazon. My first order from the website was in 1998 – yes, it was this book (affiliate link) Have 2 Echos, 1 Echo dot. Yes, I own AMZN shares. So yesterday, as I was working from home, heard the doorbell / thud outside the door, saw the Echo light...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Charles Aris is an executive recruiter out of North Carolina that all consultants are Linkedin. They have a great track record of placing ex-consultants in great roles. Here is their annual compensation survey here. This came from 500+ consultants at the big 10...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Every semester, ask my students what they’d like to listen to as we prep for class. Here’s the play list for Spring. ← Consultant's Advice: Use numbers Charles Aris: 2019 compensation survey...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Numbers are compelling. They are easy to see and remember. They serve as proof. No wonder your resume bullets should have them. The Economist uses numbers to great effect. In fact, they love fractions. Copy/pasted quotes from last two issues of the Economist. All...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Reached out to readers of the ConsultantsMind blog and asked what they recommend for students on winter break. Here’s a list of books and podcasts. Using first name initial, title, and any other words they might have shared. Caveat: affiliate links. E,...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
On the last day of class, I have career day. Double meaning – students do their course evaluations (impacting my career), and I dole out what career advice I have from the last 25 years. Caveat: 90% are blog posts that I have written since 2013. As a summary of...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Pre-internet I am Generation X. This means lots of things – but for me, it means that I remember life pre-internet. Yes, 1994 was a pivotal year. Crappy job, serious career angst; but the dawn of unlimited information thanks for the Mosaic Netscape browser. Yes,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
I work at a business school. So we teach (yes), stay curious about business (yes), and also cheer students on to get great jobs (definitely yes). Set them on the way to career satisfaction and success. Many business students (undergraduate and 2 year MBA) are aiming...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Read the Economist. Full stop. It’s well-written, free-market, slow-news, and entirely useful. If you pick up a copy from 6 months ago, it’s still relevant because they talk about trends, and key drivers. Not the day-to-day gyrations of public opinion,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
M&A continues to boom; 36,000 deals announced in 2017 BCG published a report on 2017 M&A called M&A: Synergies Take Center Stage (Sept 2018) here. (2.7Mb pdf). It’s 33 pages, and gives a run down of all the major deals and trends. Here’s my...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
It’s Halloween in the United States on October 31. Kids (and their parents) dress up in costumes head-to-toe and go from house-to-house in search of candy and chocolate. It’s great fun, and nothing is cuter than kids in their outfits. Costumes are hot and...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has a series of HOW I WORK video interviews (2-3min) with CEOS. Microsoft, Infor, Reddit, Anthem. Very short and snappy questions like “what is the best advice you have ever been given?” You’ll find that these 20+ CEOs...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Most everyone will agree that storytelling is important for professional success. When I recently surveyed some working professionals MBAs (read: folks with jobs), they rated it a 6.3 (out of a 7 point scale) with a stdev: 0.7, n=62. No pushback here. Storytelling...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
It is interview season for consulting firms. People are writing up cover letters, fine-tuning their resumes, and practicing their cases. This is what I said to a packed room of students. Before the interview It’s all about curiosity. Great problem solvers...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
This week is the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the global financial crisis of 2008, and the end of Lehman Brothers, one of the most storied Wall Street firms. A new play opened in London called the “Lehman Trilogy”, and there’s a great...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
For weathered consultants, Excel is not new. In fact, we teethed our brain on it many years ago as analysts, consultants, senior consultants. In fact, it’s possible – just possible – that we have gotten pretty slow at it in our, uh um, old age....
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Advice from Students. Shouldn’t we learn from those with more experience and great track records. Stand on the shoulder of giants. Use best practices. Learn the hacks. Work smart. I started asking students who crushed my class last year, what their advice was...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
We play music before class. Here is the crowd-sourced soundtrack. Enjoy. ← List of 800+ Planet Money Podcasts Great Advice from Students...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Love Planet Money podcast. It’s my wife’s favorite podcast, for good reason. Engaging, clever, informative, well-curated, and whimsical. Overall, a great use of your half hour. Here is a list of their episodes from 2009-2018. 170+ page PDF of 800+ Planet...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
The NounProject is a website where you can search, download, and customize millions of icons. Consultants are continuously “bucketing” ideas and concepts, and icons are a classy way to draw the viewers attention to a bucket. This is different from clip art...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Reached out my network, and asked: “What advice do you have for interns?” Here is what 25 senior managers and owners said (slight editing, and my emphasis in blue color) on finishing your internship well. Be proud of your work Summarize the project. Recap...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Huge fan of quotations. Whatever you are thinking, its probably been said by a famous person – more succinctly, more eloquently. Here are some of my favorites. The bucketing is approximate, and definitely not MECE. We are what we repeatedly do All great...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Now that you got your consulting offer, what should you pack in your bag? Here is a list of things I have used and favored when I travel. Some are common sense (shoe polish), while others are personal preference (Tumi vs. Briggs and Riley). Feel free to chime in with...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Wrote this blog post in 2018, it was prescient Reading Pandora Media’s financial statements is like rubbernecking at a car crash on the highway. Completely not necessary, not classy, and perhaps a waste of time. Two years ago I wrote about Pandora’s...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Hope you’re enjoying the summer – full of beaches, lakes, friends, and food. As consultants, it’s often hard to stay “aware” and “fresh”. In reality, the travel and the clients can be a bear. Same hotel concierge lounge, same...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
If you are in private equity, this is a name you already know. Rubenstein is the co-founder, and co-chairman, of the Carlyle Group which invests $200+ billion on behalf of their limited partners. He sits on dozens of boards, and is the chairman of the Kennedy Center...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I wrote this post 5 years ago after the Newton tragedy. After Las Vegas, this is all too common. This how this consultant thinks about the problem. It’s a complex and charged issue that needs real mature discussion. US gun violence is a problem. Approximately...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
These two phrases have become my pedagogical mottos. Learn how to learn. Think about your thinking. If we value a liberal arts education (I do), and believe that the nature of work will be forever changing (I do), then the smartest thing we can do: 1. Learn how to...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Grading papers is work Grading papers is a double-edged sword; it’s insanely time-consuming, and yet enormously valuable. As a ballpark estimate, last semester I reviewed 500+ written pages (MS Word, double-spaced) and countless presentation slides (MS PPT)....
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Three years ago, I wrote about idea fight club – the simple, fun, true idea that consultants should start projects with an open mind, then systematically, democratically beat up on those same ideas, until the best one emerges victorious. Making ideas stronger...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
We ran a business bootcamp for non-business majors in 2018. We had 4 guest speakers. Good questions and good advice. Thanks for all the great advice AN, IM, WM, DB. This is the advice that they gave. Adding some of my comments in blue too. Do the work. Mark...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
(geek alert) The DuPont Method is one of my favorite things from B school. Yes, it’s a way to calculate return-on-equity, but it’s also a great way for a consultant to get smart on a company quickly. It’s a great first step in tearing apart...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Consultants should be a quick study. Imagine that you find out on Friday afternoon that you are going to be staffed on a new project on Monday. You better spend 2-3 hours getting smart on the industry and company. To that effect, wanted to choose a random company and...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
CNBC interview with Jeff Bezos Amazon is an outlier in approach, scope, scale, and profits. So, let’s listen in on an interview with someone who knows a lot about the company. Founder, Jeff Bezos, quotes in blue italics. My big takeaways: Amazon was not a...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Tomorrow is a big day in my journey. Was voted by students as the distinguished educator of the year. Super winning. Speaking at the graduation celebration. This is the venue. Here is the outline of my talk. (My) Past: Did not always know what I wanted to do The job...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
In the corporate world, most presentations are to small groups. In fact, the most common format is actually with 1 person in his/her office. The slides typically have more details (think: 18-22 font arial) and should be completely self-explanatory. They are skimmable...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
This makes sense. . . Have you ever gone to a fancy restaurant and left disappointed? Of course. Expectations were probably TOO HIGH, and the food and service were good, but not THAT GOOD. As consultants, we are in the client satisfaction business. Happy clients =...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Start with positioning Marketing strategy is an enormously vast, fun, and exciting topic. In that forest of thinking, I would argue that positioning is the first-domino idea to consider. It’s a 40 year-old idea that is just as important as it was in 1972, when...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Charles Aris is a recruiter out of North Carolina that places ex-strategy consultants. Yes, you should sign up for their newsletter. They do great work. Some of their post-consulting job postings here. EVP of Strategy & Corporate Development (Boston –...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Hands down, the best part of any day for a manager is working with a junior consultant who “gets it”. In the busy crush of client work, deliverables, over-commitment, and fuss – when you are working with a team that instinctively knows what needs to...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is awesome by most any measure. They tackle global problems as wide ranging as education and clean water. They fill some of the societal gaps that public companies and government are missing – nudging nation states,...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
This is something all consultants should watch, reflect, and incorporate into their client work. How can you make “good for you” fun? People want to be engaged and experience life. How can we tap into that curiosity and shape “good for you”...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Stories matter If you type “storytelling” into Amazon, it spins up no-less-than 20,000 book titles. Yikes. It’s a popular business topic and for good reason, we humans are wired (think lizard brain) to tell and remember stories Business storytelling...
