We have worked with over 700 case interview coaching clients and that rises to over 800 if you include active clients. We have kept meticulous records on each client. Searching for correlations/patterns/trends within that database has opened up an entirely new way to assess and guide clients. Client behaviour and attributes we had previously considered unimportant takes on a whole new meaning when run through the model. We use this model extensively at Firmsconsulting. In this podcast we discuss...
Feb 02, 2016•14 min
In this podcast, and related article , we discuss a common mistake candidates make. They assume because a consultant has a reputation for being a good consultant they will make a great case interview practice partner or an effective case interview coach. This is very far from the truth. Teaching is a skill. Great expertise at doing x does not at all imply great teaching skills for x. We see this most clearly in sports and even universities. The greatest sports coaches may have been good at the s...
Jan 26, 2016•6 min
This podcast is based on an interaction I had recently, over email, with a student. The student made critical mistakes in handling the interaction. By listening to this podcast you can avoid them and network better with partners. This is a great example of how to not ask a partner for help. The reality is that if he were simply less pushy, more attentive and respectful, I would have certainly have helped him. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE CASE INTERVIEW TRAINING COME HANG OUT...
Jan 19, 2016•7 min
We receive many emails with questions about how to be productive. In this podcast, which builds on other points about this topic we have previously made, we discuss 6 other areas to consider. (1) Time management, (2) Managing obstacles, (3) 90% rule, (4) When to work, (5) Focus and (6) Why to work. Point 6 is particularly important. Many of the things we do at Firmsconsulting are never started with the intention to generate profits, and some never will. We maintain 3 iTunes channels, more than m...
Jan 12, 2016•22 min
When I was an associate and had just joined the firm from a boutique firm, many of my colleagues from the boutique firm were also looking for new roles. Some of them were outstanding and others were terrible. Shortly after I joined the firm it was announced that some of the terrible consultants had been made offers to join the firm. In this podcast I explain why I resigned, how the firm reacted and what both actions tell us about how we should make career choices. It is never ever about the mone...
Dec 15, 2015•13 min
Have you ever applied to a firm that wants you to interview with 7 to 12 people? They will tell you this is because they are careful or because everyone must have a say in the decision. None of that is true. In this podcast we explain why the need for multiple interviews is a symptom of a firm that does not know what it wants and therefore cannot make a decision. Increasing the number of interviewers simply removes the accountability from any one person for making a decision, because, with no cl...
Dec 08, 2015•6 min
When Booz was acquired by PwC, many consultants joined rival firms. BCG Middle East was a major recipient of Booz employees. In this podcast we explain a promotion tenure limit imposed by the BCG Middle East practice, which we believe was driven by the hiring of so many Booz consultants, and, with greatest respect to BCG, hurts the firm and its culture. We discuss the policy, why it defeats the principle of demonstrated competency and why it implies that BCG Middle East values the opinions of an...
Dec 01, 2015•8 min
Too many clients panic when they are managed out of McKinsey, BCG or Bain. They assume the worst and imagine a tattered reputation. This could not be further from the truth. In this podcast we explain why it is in McKinsey’s and BCG’s best interest to never disclose you were managed out. It is part of their business models that the market never knows you may have been the world’s most ridiculous consultant. So, if you are being managed out, relax. You will be ok. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE ...
Nov 24, 2015•6 min
In this podcast we discuss the most recent experiences of Sveta, a scholarship holder in our Emerging Fellows program. Sveta hails from a tiny village in the far north-east of Siberia. We helped her join the #1 school in Moscow, moved her to a Grand Ecole in France and she recently joined MBB. In this podcast we discuss the obligations of the Fellows to spend at least 2 months per annum in their home countries to help with critical development issues. You will find that it takes an enormous amou...
Nov 17, 2015•16 min
This is an exclusive interview that Bill recently had with Firmsconsulting where he shared some counter-intuitive concepts you will not hear anywhere else. Bill was the partner who helped develop and implement the McKinsey philosophy that helped the firm pull ahead of BCG in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He was thereafter the partner who led BCG’s efforts to overtake McKinsey. Why are we releasing this on the first day of the year? We want you to take an aggressive hold of your career this year and beg...
Oct 25, 2015•1 hr 7 min
This podcast introduces the new and comprehensive consulting business case + financial analyses + financial modelling training we are about to release. In particular I discuss my internal consulting training and my very first study leading the business case. Contrary to what you may think, the training at McKinsey and BCG can be weak and contain many flaws. This podcast explains how we built on the training at these firms to develop something far more effective. Related: - Live-blogging a Financ...
Oct 19, 2015•10 min
This podcast introduces the new and comprehensive consulting business case + financial analyses + financial modelling training we are about to release. In particular I discuss my internal consulting training and my very first study leading the business case. Contrary to what you may think, the training at McKinsey and BCG can be weak and contain many flaws. This podcast explains how we built on the training at these firms to develop something far more effective. Related: - Live-blogging a Financ...
Oct 13, 2015•10 min
This podcast explains how teams are assembled and the role given to consulting stars. Many assume being the manage means you are the best performer. That could not be further from the truth. Related: Learn more about consulting from our leadership publication Firmsconsulting Quarterly
Oct 07, 2015•11 min
Consulting financial analyses is not at all the same as financial modeling. This podcast explains how they fit into business cases. Related: - You learn amazing details from our Live-blogging a Financial Service Stratey Study - You also learn financial modeling with videos and ppts from our Strategy Library
Oct 01, 2015•13 min
The CEO of LAB asked us to provide some perspective on three questions. (1) Should LAB, a bank, make coding a mandatory skill-set for new hires? (2) How should LAB position itself against other development finance banks? (3) What is the main benefits case we see in the study? Question 3 was answered in the live blog. Question 2 will be answered in the live-blog soon. This is the answer to question 3. Related: - You learn about LAB study from our Live-blogging a Financial Service Stratey Study - ...
Sep 25, 2015•17 min
This podcast explains the member changes we will soon make to the Firmsconsulting website. We are rolling out a new way to track contributions from members and reward members for their contributions and support.
Sep 19, 2015•9 min
This slightly humorous podcast draws an analogy to Nigerian gangsters (or is it “gangstas”) in a famous sci-fi movie and software counterfeiters to explain the problems tier-2 firms create in their obsession to replicate BCG’s analytics tools, toolkits and templates. Related: You can find previous in-depth discussion and comments on our site .
Sep 13, 2015•8 min
This podcast explains the common mistake all rivals, tier-2 firms, to McKinsey and BCG make: they value the wrong skills BCG has. This podcast explains the 4 capabilities a firm must have and how to use them: (1) Values (2) Strategy approach (3) Analytics (4) Ability to draw insights We can all agree that everyone is obsessed with the analytics at their peril. Tier-2 firms are truly shocked when they apply the same analytics as McKinsey but get a different result and still cannot raise their sta...
Sep 07, 2015•14 min
Many of us rely on titles to determine if we becoming leaders in a consulting firm. This podcast provides a more important of definition of consulting leadership: who does the consulting firm turn to in times of crises and how do they do so? In fact, you will see that a leader in a consulting organization can be as young as an analyst and a partner may not be a leader. In fact the level of candor between you and the existing leadership is the only measure that matters. This podcast explains this...
Sep 01, 2015•13 min
Those of you who follow my podcasts would know that I place an incredible amount of emphasis on not just being good at structuring issues and analyses, but also the way you manage people: consulting EQ. Learn more about the consulting EQ here Related: - Detailed videos about consulting EQ (managing, communication, motivating, coaching and mentoring clients and consultants) can be found in our detailed corporate strategy training library...
Aug 26, 2015•15 min
What happens if you are doing a smaller study, but you identify an opportunity to sell-on a larger, more lucrative and glamorous strategy study? In this podcast I explain how the opportunity for sell-on strategy work is evolving at LAB, the financial services client whose strategy study we are live-blogging , and how an elite firm would handle the situation. It has nothing to do with sales. Related: - Learn more about strategy from our corporate strategy training - strategy library...
Aug 20, 2015•16 min
Readers in other sectors like financial services, energy, retail, automotive etc., make a massive mistake when looking at the technology strategy study training we have up on the site. They assume that the study will not train them about corporate strategy since it is about corporate strategy for technology company. That is major flaw. This podcast elaborates on some of these reasons: 1. Every corporate strategy study must be done for a client in a sector. Therefore it is impossible to find corp...
Aug 14, 2015•4 min
Week 1 of the financial services strategy study to enter the US retail banking sector is about done. You can see the detailed live-blogging of the day-by-day analyses, planning and insights here . This is a real study, done for a real client with a real team of consultants led by Firmsconsulting. Once the study is done, we will post the findings and detailed guide using the map format used for the corporate strategy study training . This podcast is a wrap-up of the week. We remind readers of the...
Aug 08, 2015•28 min
The majority of business gurus, journalists, periodicals, publications, journals, blogs, fashionistas and reality movie stars talk about the arrival of China like it is preordained by the Oracle. It is not. America has been here before. In fact America has been here 4 times in its history and each time the American model of government, system of capital allocation and creativity helped the country reinvent itself. In the next 18 months, Firmsconsulting will be leading 5 sweeping studies, at real...
Aug 02, 2015•15 min
For those of you who want an update on where we are in Week 0 of the US financial services study, this podcast will provide a detailed update of the final preparation as the team goes into their on-boarding with just 5 days before the start date. Expect a few podcasts this week since I am leading the onboarding training and it is much quicker, and less rude, to prepare podcasts versus typing up updates in front of the interns. Next week, I will shift back to more written updates with a few podca...
Jul 27, 2015•14 min
Our managing partner Michael Boricki gave an interview at Accepted, a well known site for MBA admission.
Jul 21, 2015•49 min
This podcast is a response to the email below. The client wanted to know how to change a consulting firm so that her firm could compete against McKinsey.
Jul 15, 2015•17 min
This podcast is a controversial and thoughtful response to a letter from a reader who overheard his career counselor describing him as a "dumb black kid" who "has no future in business."
Jul 09, 2015•25 min
In this podcast we look at the rise of value modelling as a shiny new management technique in 2003 and its implosion in 2009. Value modelling is a lot like other big trends like the balance scorecard, business process re-engineering etc. which went belly-up.
Jul 03, 2015•20 min
Young consultants make some very common mistakes when they start out, and I explain how to use the strategy insight ratio to correct these problems.
Jun 27, 2015•11 min
