For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about mathematical precision.
As counter-intuitive as this sounds, mathematical precision in cases hurts most candidates. Many candidates focus heavily on being mathematically correct because it is far easier to see if your answer of $230MM is the same as the prescribed answer of $250MM. It is human nature to focus on what can be easily measured versus focusing on what should be measured. Candidates tend to confuse mathematical precision with being analytic. They are not the same and candidates should focus on being analytic, as explained in this podcast.
Here are some free gifts for you:
Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach
McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about communication skills. If you read forums worldwide everyone is obsessed with cracking the case. Yet, most people cannot communicate like a consultant. We hope by reading this post, candidates spend an equal, if not more, time focusing on their communication skills as well. If you cannot speak like a consultant, you cannot be a consultant.
Here are some free gifts for you:
Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach
McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about case details. Candidates are typically surprised to hear they have been declined for not providing sufficient details in a case interview. It usually surprises them since they believe they have provided more than enough case information detail. The difference comes down to how consulting firms define "detail". They are looking for facts and the relationships between issues, while candidates tend to speak in broader terms and are not very good at identifying and explaining the linkages between issues.
Here are some free gifts for you:
Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach
McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about the so-what rule for FIT and writing. When thinking through a possible FIT / PEI or cover letter response, most candidates settle on the first idea that comes to mind. Future edits of this idea do not alter the idea, but merely rearrange the wording. That is a bad idea. We use the so-what rule when testing candidates. For their responses we constantly ask "so-what" until the candidate arrives at the core reason for their decision / answer. That core reason is what we want candidates to use.
Here are some free gifts for you:
Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach
McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf
Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo
For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about case solutions. Candidates sometimes prefer to be cautious and offer a solution earlier rather than waiting to fully flesh out the drivers and key issues in a case. The problem with this approach is that if you offer a solution before identifying the problem, it raises concerns to the interviewer about your thinking processes - how can you offer a solution before identifying the problem? This podcast describes this issue in much more detail.
Here are some free gifts for you:
Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach
McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf
Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo
Welcome to an interview with the author of The Datapreneurs: The Promise of AI and the Creators Building Our Future, Bob Muglia. In this book, Bob helps us understand how innovation in data and information technology has led us to AI—and how this technology must shape our future.
Bob Muglia is a data technology investor and business executive, former CEO of Snowflake, and past president of Microsoft's Server and Tools Division. As a leader, Bob focuses on how innovation and ethical values can merge to shape the data economy's future in the era of AI. He serves as a board director for emerging companies which seek to maximize the power of data to help solve some of the world's most challenging problems.
The Datapreneurs: The Promise of AI and the Creators Building Our Future. Bob Muglia and Steve Hamm. https://www.amazon.com/Datapreneurs-Promise-Creators-Building-Future/dp/1510778411
Connect with Bob Muglia:
Website: https://www.thedatapreneurs.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bob_muglia?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-muglia-714ba592/
Here are some free gifts for you:
Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach
McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf
Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo
Welcome to an interview with the author of Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power. Bold Move is Dr. Luana Marques’ unique, tried and tested method to get you out of your rut and give you the courage to create a more confident and meaningful life. Dr. Luana pinpoints the anxiety at the root of avoidance and shows you how to overcome it and achieve your goals.
Dr. Luana Marques is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Director of Community Psychiatry Program for Research in Implementation & Dissemination of Evidence-Based Treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Marques is a national and international expert in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBTs) and a leader in increasing access to scientifically rigorous mental health practices. Her decades of clinical and research experience implementing evidence-based practices encompass all types of roles and settings, from front-line staff to CEOs, diverse communities to organizations, both in the US and globally. Dr. Marques is the Former President of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).
Connect with her online at drluana.com or follow her on Twitter at @DrLuanaMarques
Get Luana’s book here:
Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power. Dr. Luana Marques:
https://www.amazon.com/Bold-Move-3-Step-Transform-Anxiety-ebook/dp/B0BFX423SN?ref_=ast_author_dp
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Welcome to an interview with the Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, BCG’s think tank for new ideas in management and strategy. Martin has authored numerous books, including Your Strategy Needs a Strategy and The Imagination Machine, a handbook about how to systematically harness imagination to generate new ideas and transform businesses.
Get Martin's book here:
The Imagination Machine: How to Spark New Ideas and Create Your Company's Future. Martin Reeves and Jack Fuller: https://www.amazon.com/Imagination-Machine-Create-Companys-Future/dp/1647820863
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Welcome to an interview with the author of Inside the Competitor's Mindset, John Horn, where he shares proven techniques to help businesses think like the competition and understand why they act the way they do. Inside the Competitor’s Mindset presents a systematic approach to competitive intelligence that starts with three frameworks to get inside the competitor’s mindset, predict their reactions to your moves, and assess whether the competition is getting ready for a spontaneous move of their own.
John Horn is a professor of practice in economics at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. He teaches MBA students microeconomics, macroeconomics, and global business.
John was a Senior Expert in the Strategy Practice of McKinsey & Company for 9 years, working with clients on competitive strategy, war gaming workshops, and corporate and business unit strategy across a variety of industries and geographies. He helped over 100 clients with war game workshops and developed a set of simulation exercises to help companies understand the challenges of reallocating resources. He continues to consult through his LLC: Gateway Competitive Insights.
John has published nine papers in the McKinsey Quarterly and three in the Harvard Business Review, mostly on the application of behavioral economics and competitive insight to business strategy. John has a PhD in economics from Harvard University, where he also received a Masters degree in economics.
Get John’s book here:
Inside the Competitor's Mindset: How to Predict Their Next Move and Position Yourself for Success. John Horn https://rb.gy/ahn1x
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Welcome to an interview with Ryan McAnnally-Linz, coauthor of Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most. This book provides readers with jumping-off points, road maps, and habits of reflection for figuring out where their lives hold meaning and where things need to change. The book draws from major world religions and from impressively truthful and courageous figures such as Jesus, Muhammad, the Buddha, Aristotle, Socrates, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Confucius, and Nietzsche, to name a few. The authors’ goal is for readers to define and create a flourishing life, and answer one of life’s most pressing questions: how are we to live?
Ryan McAnnally-Linz is the associate director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. He is a coauthor with Volf of The Home of God and Public Faith in Action (Brazos), a 2016 Publishers Weekly Best Book in religion, and has written for The Washington Post’s Acts of Faith, Sojourners, and The Christian Century.
Get Ryan’s book here:
Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most. Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, Ryan McAnnally-Linz. https://www.amazon.com/Life-Worth-Living-Guide-Matters-ebook/dp/B0B5CZ6YM3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1C3TO2I7SIO5M&keywords=life+worth+living&qid=1681712806&s=digital-text&sprefix=life+worth+livin%2Cdigital-text%2C311&sr=1-1
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about how to treat your case partner.
Your case practice partner is the most important ally you have as you prepare. The problem is that most people completely squander this advantage. They tend to be unclear about their level of preparation and commitment they are willing to make. Many arrive late to practice sessions, prepare poorly and fail to keep track of their partners performance. When a practice partners breaks contact, you are left in the position of having to transfer all that important insight about yourself to a new practice partner and that is just inefficient even if it could be done. This podcast discusses ways to manage the problem.
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Welcome to an interview with Sandeep Chennakeshu, the author of Your Company Is Your Castle: Proven Methods for Building a Resilient Business, where he describes how to assess and systematically build a company’s business model, financial health, strategy, culture, products, sales channels, execution, and stakeholder confidence to make the company formidable. Your Company Is Your Castle equips you with critical insights and principles to build strong businesses and in turn build yourself into a strong leader.
Sandeep Chennakeshu is a lifelong student and aspiring teacher whose heart is in technology and mind is in business. He earned a postgraduate diploma in industrial management from the Indian Institute of Science and a PhD in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University. He then entered the electronics industry and led the development and launches of technology that billions use every day via cell phones, laptops, wearables, satellites, medical equipment, and cars. He is a Fellow of IEEE and a named inventor on 180 patents.
After two decades in corporate roles as CTO of Ericsson Mobile Phones and Sony Ericsson, president of Ericsson Mobile Platforms, SVP at Freescale, president of BlackBerry Technology Solutions, and EVP of AMD, Sandeep returned to consulting and the start-up world. He is currently COO at Uhnder Inc., a pioneer in digital-imaging radar, and sits on the advisory boards of exciting tech start-ups.
Managing operations in fourteen different countries over the span of his career gave Sandeep a deep appreciation for global businesses. Along this rich cultural journey, he led the transformation of three underperforming businesses using the principles outlined in his new book.
Sandeep lives and works in Austin, Texas and plans to spend the next chapter of his life sharing his learnings through writing and mentoring.
Get Sandeep’s book here:
Your Company Is Your Castle: Proven Methods for Building a Resilient Business. Sandeep Chennakeshu. https://www.amazon.com/Your-Company-Castle-Building-Resilient/dp/1957616040
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about productivity.
In brainstorming the interviewer is looking for your approach to define an objective function, understand the direct drivers of the function, prioritize the drivers and explain how to manipulate them. There is only one definition for productivity and that is formally used in all studies. Productivity is the total value of outputs over the total cost to deliver those outputs. Other definitions are derivations which assess narrow areas only. A candidate will struggle to understand operations cases unless they understand the concept of productivity.
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about BCG and McKinsey approaches.
Merging the BCG and McKinsey approach, elegantly. This is a simple discussion on how to merge both approaches so you do not need to worry about learning different techniques. One caveat, as explained in latter podcasts is to assume there is just a simple BCG and simple McKinsey style. It is dangerous to make this assumption. About 50% to 60% of McKinsey cases cannot be solved with any framework at all. Most McKinsey cases require an hypotheses upfront, but not all, and they almost all interviewer led. It is crucial to understand the different ways a case can be done and listen carefully to the interviewer to figure out which is best for you.
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about career rotation vs. progression.
Candidates always want to show improvement on their resumes in the months leading up to their applications. For those working in industry or rival consulting firms, showing leadership and career development is crucial. This podcast explains that career rotation, a lateral move at the same pay grade, is rarely a good idea unless it takes you to a part of the business where you can show leadership in solving a major problem. Career progression, a promotion to a new pay grade, always looks good on a resume because it demonstrates you are mastering your functional domain. It is better to stay in a role and achieve results than rotating for a better title.
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about the three core technical concepts around cases.
We always teach clients estimation technique first, followed by brainstorming technique and finally full case technique. There is a simple reason for this, which is explained in this podcast. Estimations tend to be, but not always, a brainstorm with very few or just one branch. A brainstorm is therefore an estimation equation with multiple branches. A full case structure is a very large brainstorm with mini-brainstorms at each new branch. We want candidates to see this evolution so they can understand how crucial brainstorming is to the entire case interview approach.
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about leadership versus teamwork answers.
If you are thinking through responses to leadership and teamwork questions, the starting point should be knowing the differences between both. At its core, to McKinsey especially, leadership is about influencing a group people to undertake and complete an initiative of importance. Yet, a better definition is that as the leader you tend to be the primary beneficiary of what is happening since you get the credit. As a great team member, you do much of the work but you do not get the great. Ensure your teamwork and leadership stories cover this crucial distinction.
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Welcome to an interview with Rishi Dave, a partner in Bain’s Commercial Excellence practice with deep expertise in B2B marketing and digital marketing.
In this episode, Rishi explains the concept of a “Day 1 List” in B2B sales and marketing and the three things that will get a supplier or seller on the list. Rishi also discussed what a “sales play” is, how to build it, institutionalize the knowledge within the company, and get the sales team to adopt the sales play to fulfill their potential and increase their productivity and sales.
Rishi Dave partners with CMOs and management teams to drive marketing transformations and build modern marketing capabilities. He serves as an expert on the implementation of Bain’s B2B Marketing Diagnostic and Sales Play System.
Rishi has held global CMO roles at public technology and cloud companies, including Dun & Bradstreet, Vonage, and MongoDB. Prior to these roles, he served as the global head of digital marketing for Dell’s B2B businesses. Rishi started his career at Bain & Company.
As a marketing executive, Rishi has built world-class marketing organizations and capabilities that have driven top-line growth leveraging the right marketing technology, data, analytics and content strategy. Rishi has driven major brand and messaging transformations, reimagined digital customer experiences, and built and scaled go-to market models.
Rishi earned an MBA in Marketing from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as well as a BS in Chemical Engineering and an AB in Economics with Honors from Stanford University.
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Welcome to an interview with Gaia Bernstein, a Law Professor, Director of the Institute for Privacy Protection and Co-Director of the Gibbons Institute for Law Science and Technology at the Seton Hall University School of Law. She writes, teaches and lectures in the intersection of law, technology, health and privacy. Gaia is also the mother of three children who grew up in a world of smartphones, iPads and social networks.
Her forthcoming book: Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies shatters the illusion that we can control how much time we spend on our screens by resorting to self-help measures. Unwired shifts the responsibility for a solution from users to the technology industry, which designs its products to addict. The book draws out the legal action that can pressure the technology industry to re-design its products to reduce technology overuse.
Gaia has academic degrees in both law and psychology. Her research combines findings from psychology, sociology, science and technology studies with law and policy. Gaia’s research has been featured extensively by the media including the New York Times, Forbes, ABC News and Psychology Today.
Gaia has spearheaded the development of the Seton Hall University School of Law Institute for Privacy Protection’s Student-Parent Outreach Program. The nationally acclaimed Outreach Program addresses over-use of screens by focusing on developing a healthy online-offline balance and the impact on privacy and online reputation. It was featured by the Washington Post, CBS Morning News and Common-Sense Media.
Gaia delivers lectures to parents and general audiences about the harms of excessive screen time, the effectiveness of self-help measures, and the options for technology re-design through social and legal action.
Get Gaia’s book here:
Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies. Gaia Bernstein
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Welcome to an interview with the author of How to Listen, Oscar Trimboli.
Effective communication is not all about eloquent speaking. The key sits on the ability to listen and how you react and respond to what you hear. As Oscar said in the episode, “The difference between hearing and listening is action”.
In this episode, we discuss what good listening and communication is. We also highlighted the impact of good listening in your career, organization, and personal life.
Oscar Trimboli is on a quest to create 100 million Deep Listeners in the world. He is an author, host of the Apple Award winning podcast—Deep Listening and a sought-after keynote speaker. He is passionate about using the gift of listening to bring positive change in homes, workplaces and the world.
Through his work with chairs, boards of directors and executive teams in local, regional and global organizations, Oscar has experienced first-hand the transformational impact leaders and organizations can have when they listen beyond the words.
He consults with organisations including Cisco, Google, HSBC, News Corp, PayPal, Qantas, TripAdvisor helping executives and their teams listen to what’s unsaid by the customers and employees.
Oscar lives in Sydney with his wife Jennie, where he helps first-time runners and ocean swimmers conquer their fears and contributes to the cure for cancer as part of Can Too, a cancer research charity.
Get Oscar’s book here:
How to Listen: Discover the Hidden Key to Better Communication. Oscar Trimboli
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we speak about our practice styles.
Over the course of the case interview training program, it becomes very important for us to change our coaching style. First, candidates become used to solving cases in just this one style and we need to ensure they can adapt to any style. Second, candidates become adept at reading the "tell" in the coach/mentor so they know when they, the candidate, is making a mistake etc. By changing our coaching style and introducing mentors, we can easily avoid this problem and ensure candidates are becoming stronger at cases versus merely stronger at doing cases with the one coach. Ensure you are also practicing with partners who have different styles.
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Welcome to an interview with the co-author of The Burnout Challenge, Michael P. Leiter, Ph.D.
Burnout is one of the major contributors driving people to leave their job. It results from unsuccessfully managed workplace stress and is a combination of exhaustion, psychological distancing, and a low sense of accomplishment. So how do we address burnout and who is responsible for managing this issue?
In this episode, we discuss the factors contributing to employee burnout and what leaders and managers can do to understand, protect, and manage their employees to alleviate the distress from the elements that result in burnout.
“Some people are looking for something from that job that it's not providing, that there is a mismatch.” —Michael P. Leiter, Ph.D.
Michael P. Leiter, Ph.D., is an organizational psychologist interested in the relationships of people with their work. He has been a professor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at Deakin University in the Faculty of Health and Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health at Acadia University.
Michael lives in Nova Scotia where he writes and consults with workplaces on preventing burnout while improving respect among people.
Get Michael’s new book here:
The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs. Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter
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Welcome to an episode with Christina Maslach, PhD, a professor of psychology (Emerita) and a researcher at the Healthy Workplaces Center at the University of California, Berkeley.
In this episode, we discuss the causes of burnout and the factors contributing to it, and how leaders and organizations can address this issue to provide a sustainable and healthy working environment for their employees.
Christina Maslach, PhD, received her BA from Harvard and her PhD from Stanford. She is best known as the pioneering researcher on job burnout, producing the standard assessment tool (the Maslach Burnout Inventory, MBI), books, and journal articles. She has received numerous awards for her work, including both academic (the 2020 award for scientific writing from the National Academy of Sciences) and public (named in 2021 as one of the top 100 people transforming business, by Business Insider).
In addition, she is an award-winning teacher and was Professor of the Year in 1997. As an administrator, she was Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Instructional Technology, and the Chair of the faculty Academic Senate (twice) at UC-Berkeley. She was the president of the Western Psychological Association when it celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020. She is now interviewing women faculty who arrived at Berkeley in the 1970s, after the historic low point for women in the 1960s.
Get Christina’s new book here:
The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs. Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we discuss why candidates fail profit cases.
Most candidates would tackle a McKinsey profitability case by presenting a revenue-cost framework and offer options to lower costs and increase revenue. The reality is that such a framework and explanation shows a deep misunderstanding of business and business strategy. In this podcast, we present the correct way to understand profitability cases which require candidates to understand the growth and cost of growth needs of shareholders. This logic never fails to impress interviewers.
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For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we provide a simple set of priority areas that a novice aspiring consultant should focus upon in the building up to the MBA full-time September interviews. It ties together themes from existing podcasts but presents them in the format of a case interview preparation roadmap.
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