Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 289, an episode with Linda Yates, the founder and CEO of Mach49, the leading growth incubator for global businesses with clients including Goodyear, Hitachi, Intel, JetBlue, Nestlé Purina, Prudential and Shell. In Linda’s new book The Unicorn Within , she empowers large companies to beat startups at their own game—to build a pipeline and portfolio of new ventures to drive meaningful growth through teachable, repeatable, scalable method focused 100 percent on ex...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 17 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study, where we explain how benchmarking analysis, or what is also called best practice analysis, should be used for the top-down analysis and why they are so difficult to manage in a real study. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo Subsc...
Oct 24, 2022•16 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss value chain mapping. We have seen many value chain mapping examples. We have seen good value chain mapping, bad value chain mapping, and incomplete value chain mapping. Ultimately, given the nature of how value chain mapping will work, it can and cannot do a few things. So if value chain mapping is presented to do things it cannot do, then it is flawed. When you do value chain analysis, 1.) it is far more useful to see wh...
Oct 19, 2022•9 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 286, an episode with a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, and consultant, Dr. Cindy McGovern. Get Cindy’s book here: https://amzn.to/3Cys1ae Most of us view “sales” as a pushy, manipulative, and one-sided thing. But really, “sales” is understanding what others need and trying to deliver on those needs. Regardless of the nature of work—whether you're selling a product, service, or idea, you are selling yourself first and it is a life skill that everybody ne...
Oct 17, 2022•57 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 285, an episode with Ashish Kothari . In his book “ Hardwi red for Happiness ” Ashish outlines an easy-to-follow recipe that can help anyone increase joy, health, love, and meaning in their lives. His transformational approach is secular, interdisciplinary and integrates learnings and best practices across the fields of science and spirituality. Get Ashish's new book here: https://amzn.to/3yyzfdh Ashish is an executive coach, author and founder of Happiness Squ...
Oct 12, 2022•56 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 284, an episode with CNBC’s Senior Media & Tech Correspondent, Julia Boorstin . Get Julia ’s Book here: https://amzn.to/3ekjT4Y In this episode, Julia speaks about female leaders and their struggles in facing gender bias and “pattern matching” in largely male-dominated industries. She discusses the key commonalities of female leaders who thrived in spite of the challenges that made them uniquely equipped to lead and grow successful businesses. Julia also shared...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 283, an episode with an expert on organizational paradoxes, Wendy Smith. Get Wendy’s Book here: https://amzn.to/3fF1b8C When faced with a tough decision-making situation, it is common for us to assess and select what we believe is the best deal and then move on. We tend to assume that we need to pick one option and eliminate the other. But what if we could actually succeed in pursuing both options? In this episode with Wendy Smith, we discuss how leaders and in...
Oct 05, 2022•55 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 282, an episode with a reporter for The Wall Street Journal , Sean McLain. Get Sean’s book here . This episode with Sean McLain revolves around the story of Carlos Ghosn , one of the world’s most feared and admired business executives who had remarkable success, yet faced a catastrophic fall. He was accused of financial misconduct and arrested for a bevy of alleged crimes—all of which he vehemently denied. Sean is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal based in...
Oct 03, 2022•1 hr 1 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 281, an interview with a leadership coaching legend, David Noble. Most leaders experience a lack of motivation to continue the things they once had a passion for. So, h ow do you rekindle the fire of motivation when it starts to die? The key is to know your “why” and assess if your reason is strong enough to continue the journey. In this episode, David shares the role he plays in reframing things and bringing the best out of leaders, executives, and CEOs. David...
Sep 28, 2022•50 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 280, an episode with a renowned digital entrepreneur and founder of ENTRE institute, Jeff Lerner. Get Jeff's book here . In this episode, Jeff discussed how he was able to build a multi-million dollar company from scratch and the key elements behind his success. At the age of 18, Jeff started his first business after dropping out of high school and becoming a musician. After the first one failed, Jeff continued starting more businesses and failed at them too. D...
Sep 26, 2022•1 hr 12 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 279, an episode with a practicing emergency physician at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Richard Winters. Get Dr. Richard’s book here . As a physician, Dr. Richard shares how he managed, adapted, and remained calm during times of covid. He discussed some of the best practices that can be adapted from the medical field into the space of business. We speak about leadership, administration, and leveraging your expertise to be effective in your career. In this episode, we also di...
Sep 21, 2022•51 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss what a strategy workshop will not give you at the end. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe...
Sep 19, 2022•8 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss one important thing every consulting case study must produce. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe...
Sep 14, 2022•9 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss one important thing you always need to present in all of your management consulting projects, a business case. If you are not presenting a business case to a client, or a benefits case, I prefer the word benefits because it makes it clear you are looking for a benefit for a client, if you are not presenting a benefits case to a client you are making it very difficult for the client to make the decision to implement what y...
Sep 12, 2022•10 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 275, an episode with Cassie Holmes, a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and an award-winning teacher and researcher of time and happiness. In society today, we generally equate productivity with the number of activities we do, regardless of the value it brings us and how it contributes to our well-being and happiness. We often feel “time-poor” for having too much to do and not having enough time to do it. As a result, we feel less happy and less...
Sep 07, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 274, an episode with Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic and currently a professor at Harvard Business School. He has written two of the most enduring leadership classics of all time: Authentic Leadership and True North. Now, Bill has written a new book aimed at the next generation of leaders, the Emerging Leaders Edition of True North , coauthored with millennial entrepreneur Zach Clayton. Get Bill’s new book here . This book is a clarion call to...
Sep 05, 2022•58 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss consulting workshop best practices. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe
Aug 31, 2022•10 min
How can you resign from your job with dignity, compassion, and grace, without burning any bridges with your employer? For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we share simple principles to help you leave your role in a way that leaves a positive impression on your superiors, colleagues, and organization. Do you have a story about resigning? Tell us more with a comment below. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com...
Aug 29, 2022•18 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss the overall goal of every consulting interaction. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo
Aug 24, 2022•8 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss ten warning signs for a consulting workshop. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo
Aug 22, 2022•11 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 269, an episode with Gaurav Gupta, the Director at change management and strategy execution firm Kotter . Get Gaurav’s book here: https://amzn.to/3ApxT5J The level of complexity and the pace at which things are changing in modern society requires leaders and organizations to be more reactive to change. Companies can no longer depend on a linear, methodical, deliberate approach to change. Instead, the key is to rely on a more agile, organic approach where employ...
Aug 17, 2022•52 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 268, an episode with an attorney and the host of the No Straight Path Podcast, Ashley Menzies Babatunde. The pressure of keeping up with today’s competitive world is undeniably haunting. Most people spend a considerable amount of time at work and struggle to maintain their wellness and wellbeing. Many people are unhappy because they try to achieve too many things in life and lose track of the simple things that truly matter. In this episode, we speak about the ...
Aug 15, 2022•49 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 267, an episode with an award-winning advisor, speaker, and author, Christie Hunter Arscott. Get Christie’s book here: https://amzn.to/3Qia05S Most of the time, the word risk is associated with fear and uncertainty. We tend to struggle with harnessing the power of risk-taking. But the first bold step sheds light on that. As Christie mentioned in this episode, “An intentional and strategic risk, even when the output is not what you desired, still can propel you ...
Aug 10, 2022•53 min
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss the importance of corporate strategy. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo
Aug 08, 2022•9 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 265, an episode with a veteran Silicon Valley dealmaker, Touraj Parang. Get Touraj’s book here: https://amzn.to/3bmsDGj In this episode, Touraj takes us through his unique, decades-long experiences as an entrepreneur and investor. He shares the lesso ns he learned when he sold his first startup – with no exit plan – for pennies on the dollar. It was then followed by great success with his next startup as he applied his learnings and prioritized executing an exi...
Aug 03, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 264, an episode with startup entrepreneurs Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba. Get Ash and Hasan’s book here: https://amzn.to/3Q8ctPD In this episode, we speak about the concept of unfair advantage and the process of identifying and managing it so it’s your edge over any competition. Many people have the limiting belief that they don’t have something authentic to offer, but what they don’t realize is that we all have unique skill sets and talents. It only takes self-aware...
Aug 01, 2022•51 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 263, an episode with an artist, researcher, author, and educator at Northwestern University, Julio Mario Ottino. Get Julio’s book here: https://amzn.to/3b4390g Individuals and organizations face complex problems and challenges today that demand a new way of thinking to grasp underlying solutions and opportunities. In this episode, Julio shares the beauty of the coexistence of art, science, and technology – rather than being separate disciplines – to navigate th...
Jul 27, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 262, an episode with a professor at Queensland University of Technology, Amanda Lotz. In this episode, Amanda shares her insights as a media expert about Netflix’s recent announcement that they are introducing an ad-supported version of their streaming service. She spoke about the challenges that Netflix may face as it goes down the advertising route. Amanda discussed the pros and cons of a subscription-based model versus an advertisement-based model and what i...
Jul 25, 2022•51 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 261, an episode with the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment at the University of Delaware, Saleem Ali. Get Ali’s book here: https://amzn.to/3aOWwie In this conversation, we discussed numerous examples of major problems around the world, from the resources industry, environmental conflicts, culture, and the system of order and control of many organizations, and how these issues come down to the need for literacy and proper educat...
Jul 20, 2022•52 min
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 260, an episode with bestselling author, keynote speaker, workplace expert, and resilience researcher, Adam Markel. Get Adam's Book here: https://amzn.to/3PwE6l6 In this episode, Adam speaks about how he reinvented his career path through valuable lessons and eye-opening life events. He shares his experience as a Jones Beach lifeguard in New York. As a first responder in a life-and-death environment, he learned the importance of cultivating a high-performance c...
Jul 18, 2022•1 hr 10 min
