The Strategy Skills Podcast: Management Consulting | Strategy, Operations & Implementation | Critical Thinking

This is the next podcast for the power sector corporate strategy study we will soon release as part of our Executive Program. In this podcast we discuss one of the most prevalent errors made by strategy consultants when they analyze case studies. Consultants are pre-disposed to finding a solution, or best-practice, at a rival/peer and bringing it to the client. This happens because it is far easier to tell a client that a solution exists and it is just a question of adopting it. Imagine telling a client that no solution exists in the market and the consultants need to create an entirely new approach to fix the client’s problem. This latter approach is a tougher sell. This desire to find solutions in the market forces consultants to develop case studies whereby a solution is presented which is not a real solution. In this podcast, we discuss this problem in great detail using examples from both this and the market entry strategy study. The most startling finding of the market entry study was that every single

This is the second podcast for the power sector corporate strategy study we will soon release as part of our Executive Program. This podcast explains a critical challenge in most major transformation type studies: early hypotheses. There are usually 4 to 6 streams of work from business case analyses to business unit strategy. The issue here is that all the other streams are dependent on guidance from the corporate strategy stream, but the corporate strategy stream needs time to arrive at its recommendation. Coming up with that initial set of recommendations is scary and hard to do. We essentially need to be about 80% correct after only being with the client for a few days. How do we do that? In this podcast we explain the technique and logic we use to arrive at the likely recommendation despite being just a few days into the study. This initial recommendation is vital in the first few days of the consulting study to guide the other streams. We also explain how to generally validate the initial hypotheses.  Mi

The power sector corporate strategy study is now underway and is scheduled to be released later this year, as part of our Executive Program. This is the first of many podcasts to discuss the progress in the power sector study, including paramount challenges and choices the client and the team are facing. We decided not to live blog this study. We decided to put out frequent, almost daily, podcasts and a stream of articles explaining the issues. Given the intensity of the study, we hope to keep to this schedule and will do our very best, but forgive us if we are forced to skip many days. In fact, during one podcast recording session, the power went out! In this first podcast, we delve into intricacies of the power sector in North Africa / Southern Europe. We also discuss the incredibly difficult choices countries and companies have to face in this rapidly growing resources strapped part of the world, along with mind-numbing permutations for each option and the huge costs involved. A single power station can co

One of the great privileges of our unique network is that we have access to some of the most eminent former partners like Kevin Coyne and Bill Matassoni. We adopt their insights when designing our case training and strategy training programs. Our goal at Firmsconsulting is to allow our members access to the partners from whom we seek advise.  This is an exclusive interview that Bill Matassoni recently had with Firmsconsulting where he shared some counter-intuitive concepts you will not hear anywhere else. Bill Matassoni was the partner who was involved in developing and implementing the McKinsey philosophy that helped the firm pull ahead of BCG in the 1980s and 1990s. He was thereafter the partner who led BCG's efforts to overtake McKinsey. This insightful, inspiring and counter intuitive podcast explains the steps McKinsey took in the 1980s to reposition the firm. Planning is meaningless unless you know what to plan. You need a point of differentiation and you need to consistently drive that difference. Comp