by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Consultants use PowerPoint almost to the point of parody. Yes, some of us turn it on first thing in the morning (hat tip: FL). Kinda makes sense. We are in the business of turning the complex into the simple. We put things into buckets – and the individual...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
A student recently asked me for clarity on prioritization slides. Yes, we’ve all seen these before. They usually come at the end of a performance improvement presentation with the intent of narrowing down the choices. Super useful, almost simplistic....
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
I made 1,000+ presentations in my life That’s completely possible. 20 years + PPT application is open on my computer every day. Executive summaries, teaching lessons, or sometimes even 1 pagers. Some were financial and operational reviews. Some were full-scale...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
What consultants talk about Was at a table tonight with 5 ex-management consultants from the Big 4. When discussing some slides we had seen from recent MBAs, one person smartly commented on his PowerPoint sniff test: Every page should be judged to see if it passes. ....
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Use PowerPoint daily Is that possible? Yes. Over the last 20 years, there are very few days when I have not worked in PowerPoint. Sad, but true. Even when I am not creating one, I am often reading investor relations presentations or analyst reports. Pay attention to...
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 | Graphics
Never My colleagues and I disagree about this. Some use clipart or photos to demonstrate the emotion or “mood” of a PowerPoint. Not me. Call me a puritan. I tell my team to not include clip art or superfluous photos. It shows a lack of substance. If you...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
“Excellence is a habit” Apparently that is something Aristotle said. If we are what we repeatedly do, then you are not “excellent” once, by chance, but by training, diligence, muscle memory, and habit. Anders Ericsson talked about...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Yes, consulting = PowerPoint One colleague joked that he gets to the client sites, turns on the computer and just opens up PowerPoint – even before opening email or anything else. Like a baker who turns on the oven as soon as he enters the kitchen. It’s a...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants spend hours making slides It’s a common sight to see consultants pouring over their PowerPoint slides – moving pages around, adjusting the colors on graphs, mulling over wording, checking verb agreement and proof-reading. Presentations are also...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Structure your thinking This is the only way to present your ideas clearly to clients. One excellent tool is the pyramid principle by an ex-McKinsey consultant by the name of Barbara Minto. She authored a book called The Minto Pyramid Principle here (affiliate link)...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
What’s the so what? You will hear this phrase used on projects a fair amount. It is not the best usage or even politely worded, but it’s critical: Your presentations need to have a point Since consultants are paid for insights, recommendations and...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Death by PowerPoint Presentations can be boring. We have all sat in large conference rooms held captive by a speaker wielding a poorly thought-out PowerPoint. To misquote a bumper sticker, “PowerPoints don’t kill, people do.” Don’t put lipstick on a pig Some people...
