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

Hi everyone, In this 69th and new episode of the Strategy Skills complimentary podcast, audio version, we discuss whether a strategy (functional) partner can/should lead the workshop over an energy (sector) partner. There is a difference and the answer is not obvious. This podcast is also available on our new Apps in the complimentary section where NO subscription/membership is needed. Download our Apple and Android Apps, click on browse and scroll to the "Complimentary: no subscription needed" section. You will find the podcast under the "Strategy Skills" channel. You can also listen to this podcast on StrategyTraining.com. If you genuinely find our podcasts useful, we would sincerely appreciate you leaving a genuine review for our Apps and/or iTunes channels. Although this may seem like a small step, these reviews help other go-getters like you find this channel. Our goal is to help our clients solve mankind's toughest problems. The simple step of leaving a genuine review will help us greatly in pursu

In this 68th and new episode of the Strategy Skills complimentary podcast, audio version, we introduce you to an amazing neuroscientist, Dr. Wendy Suzuki. Wendy and Michael discuss how much many of us compromise our cognition and what can be done to improve our performance. You may be able to brag about that 1 a.m. email but if you could monitor your level of cognition you would quickly see, "Oh my God! This is not good." What is it doing for your brain? What is it doing for your executive functions in the prefrontal cortex? Leadership is not just about managing a team and setting goals for them. This is such a one-dimensional definition of leadership. Leadership is whether you can be fulfilled by what you are doing, be able to get up in the morning and not kill yourself in the process of meeting a goal that some shareholder wants you to meet. You have to distinguish between health and performance. You can be performing quite high but you can be doing some dangerous things to push those numbers up, or to p

In this 67th and new episode of the complimentary Strategy Skills podcast, audio version, we continue to extract themes and lessons from the critical visioning/strategy workshop. Things you may not have considered that are important. Things that you may realize are important but you may not know how to address. And, of course, everything we discuss is covered in a lot more detail in the videos as part of the actual Corporate Strategy & Transformation study (available exclusively to FC Insiders).  Today's episode is covering a topic which we believe is very important and we think will resonate with everyone. As always, we focus on critical yet overlooked insights.  SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

This 66th and new episode of the Strategy Skills podcast, audio version, is about avoiding the strategy echo chamber. If you genuinely find our podcasts useful, we would greatly appreciate you leaving a review. Although this may seem like a small step, these reviews are very helpful. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

In this 65th and new episode of the Strategy Skills podcast, audio version, we discuss what makes this study a transformation study and how to determine if an organization is going through transformation or something else, such as a restructuring. Also remember to vote on the training programs you would like to see next. We have over 1,000 episodes coming and you can help us determine the release schedule. This podcast is also available on our new Apps in the complimentary section where NO subscription/membership is needed. Download our Apple and Android Apps, click on browse and scroll to the "Complimentary: no subscription needed" section. You will find the podcast under the "Strategy Skills Podcast" channel. If you genuinely find our podcasts useful, we would greatly appreciate you leaving a review for our Apps. Although this may seem like a small step, these reviews are more useful than you can imagine. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitte

In this 64th and new episode of the Strategy Skills podcast, audio version, we discuss corporate strategy. In this episode, we explain why conventional and step-by-step strategy analysis will always yield the incorrect answers in any corporate strategy study. Also remember to vote on the training programs you would like to see next. We have over 1,000 episodes coming and you can help us determine the release schedule. This podcast is also available on our new Apps in the complimentary section where NO subscription/membership is needed. Download our Apple and Android Apps, click on browse and scroll to the "Complimentary: no subscription needed" section. You will find the podcast under the "Strategy Skills Podcast" channel. If you genuinely find our podcasts useful, we would greatly appreciate you leaving a review for our Apps. Although this may seem like a small step, these reviews are more useful than you can imagine. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Face

In this 63rd and new episode of the Strategy Skills podcast, video version, we discuss how to complete logical case studies. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

It is crucial to provide boundaries when discussing sector wide issues or the executives may get lost in the detail and miss the key levers. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

In this episode of the strategy skills podcast we take a brief look at how to conduct a value chain analysis.  Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

In today’s podcast we discuss the role of the business unit strategy stream within a corporate strategy study. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Corporate strategy is very different from other types of strategy. In this video podcast we explain why. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

In this podcast we go back to the visioning workshop part of the study and re-visit some of the most important points you need to keep in mind. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

In this podcast we discuss how your cost of capital changes as you take on more debt and how this change is different between organizations. Its a crucial concept for this utility. We explain how the cost of capital change usually takes place and then we review the drivers at play that are different for this power utility vs. an average company. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Welcome to the 54th podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study. In this podcast we look at the problem of superficial financial analysis. One way to save the client money, before they run out of cash in about 16 months, is to stop all investments which lose money. This, however, is a terrible idea which will cause enormous damage to the client’s core business, consumers and the economy. We discuss how we handle this recommendation and what we proposed on the study to fix the problem. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

When a consultant must dissent and how it should be done. SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

This is the next Strategy Skills podcast. In this episode we discuss 5 tips to fight fatigue.   SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

This is the 50th podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study and we are wrapping up week 4. In this podcast we recap a crucial milestone for power study.     SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING STAY IN TOUCH: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn IF WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Welcome to the 49th podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study. This podcast is for those who have mastered all the basics on slide design and formatting. In this podcast we discuss how to determine if your powerpoint slides are influential on a study. Influential powerpoint slides may not be the most beautiful pieces of work or even the ones with the most effort, though it is usually at least the latter. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. If you enjoyed this conversation we will be so grateful if you jump over to iTunes and share a quick review. It helps more people find us.  Also a huge thank you for making “Strategy Skills” one of the most popular podcasts in the world for careers.    SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES HERE & RECEIVE FREE STRATEGY TRAINING COME HANG OUT WITH US: Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn WANT TO LEARN FROM FORMER STRATEGY PARTNERS? REFER TO THE FIRMSCONSULTING ORIGINAL TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Welcome to the 48th podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study and we remain in week 4. The previous podcasts discussed each of the elements which together comprise the visioning workshop. In this podcast we discuss the workshop structure, how we ran it and the overall outcome.  Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study. TCO IV is underway and turning out to be unusual. 4 participants and all are roughly the same in terms of performance so all have a clear chance. This is unlike TCO I where Felix was clearly stronger all the way from the screening interviews, and TCO II where Alicedominated from start to finish and even TCO III where Jen was the stronger participant from the start.  If you missed our recent announcement, note that The First 90 Days in Consulting training program is now live. Thank you for all the great feedback we are receiving and your requests for continuing with this series are noted. Step 5 Week 3 of the Corporate Strategy

Welcome to the 47th podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study and we remain in week 4. And as I mentioned in previous posts, the reason we spend so much time on visioning workshop is because if you ever take a senior role in strategy in any company, or if you ever serve as a corporate strategy consultant, running a visioning workshop or corporate strategy workshop in general is the skill you must have. And scenario planning is something used extensively in visioning workshops. So in this podcast, and related article, we discuss what is scenario planning and how to run a scenario planning session during a visioning workshop as part of a consulting engagement. There is a also a very elegant way to combine corporate finance and corporate strategy to help companies develop effective strategies under extreme uncertainty. If this interests you, post a comment and we will build out an explanation for this approach. Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry