StrategyU

JANUARY 27, 2021

The alumni of top consulting firms are part of all types of organizations around the world. Consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG can claim world leaders, public company CEOs, heads of non-profits, entrepreneurs and even musicians. Boston Consulting Group. Most Famous & Infamous Alumni. McKinsey & Company.

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StrategyU

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

You just got a meal of useless information. The biggest problem with this is that people know about the feedback sandwich. Do you have a toolkit for business problem solving? The post How To Give Feedback Like A McKinsey Consultant appeared first on StrategyU.

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StrategyU

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

When interviewing for my first job in consulting, I spent a lot of my time practicing applying business frameworks to hypothetical case interview questions. I read Case in Point and Case Interview Secrets and spent a long time trying to find every last business framework via google. Second, I wasn’t thinking long-term.

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StrategyU

AUGUST 19, 2024

But, after nearly a decade of working in consulting and teaching consulting skills, I’ve come to believe that problem-solving is the most important skill. But what is problem-solving? Why is problem-solving at the core of consulting? It’s a fair question.

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StrategyU

AUGUST 22, 2023

To demonstrate this, I asked Bard , googles AI chat tool, the following question: “What are three ways someone might use a tool like Bard that would help them work like a strategy consultant?” This information can then be analyzed to identify trends, patterns, and insights that would be helpful to a strategy consultant.

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StrategyU

MARCH 10, 2024

The mystique of strategy consulting has inspired films such as Office Space and Up In the Air and TV shows like House of Lies. Satire or not, the cliches associated with consulting do have an impact on how consultants are perceived, especially when validated by news reports about rogue consultants and disclosures of consulting debacles.

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StrategyU

NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Think about a problem that you are facing today. “I But if you told a consultant about the problem, they would likely ask you a bunch of questions before saying that. This is a very different problem that needs to be addressed very differently (and reducing your caffeine intake won’t help!).

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StrategyU

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

In consulting, you use frameworks all the time. The reason they are used so widely is that they are a hyper-effective way of sharing information, especially when you are trying to share that information with an audience (typically, the client) that does not have deep familiarity with the data. This can be very simple.

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StrategyU

MAY 29, 2024

I was taking part in the Basic Consulting Readiness training and talking to my new friend Josh. He detailed how he had decided in high school, after getting into Stanford, that he would work in strategy consulting. I downloaded the book in 2006 to prepare for my consulting interviews.

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StrategyU

OCTOBER 6, 2024

But I didn’t appreciate how rare that was until working at consulting firms where I found it incredibly hard to do that same level of work. From working with many different organizations as a consultant, I’ve started to notice that the companies that are able to build a culture of excellence all have a few things in common.

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StrategyU

JUNE 28, 2022

In 1976 the founder of Boston Consulting Group, Bruce Henderson published a strategy memo with a bold claim : “ a stable competitive market never has more than three significant competitors, the largest of which has no more than four times the market share of the smallest.”. Do you have a toolkit for business problem solving?

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StrategyU

OCTOBER 2, 2023

In consulting, I was taught to start with the answer. Part of this comes from insecurity but another part comes from the reality that you went through your own extended learning journey with the information. Don’t say, “Here is the financial information.” Do you have a toolkit for business problem solving?

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StrategyU

APRIL 19, 2022

What’s the difference between an “associate consultant,” “business analyst,” or “associate”? In terms of responsibilities and time in role, the roles at the top three consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, and BCG) are very similar. When Do Most Consultants Leave Consulting?

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StrategyU

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

I started StrategyU with the intention of teaching knowledge workers the tools, frameworks, mindsets, and approaches that I learned in strategy consulting. While the first two are riding the wave of the digital economy, the latter is a sector that’s always had lots of consultants involved in its work, something I expect to continue. #2

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StrategyU

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

In 2012, I was first exposed to the world of freelance strategy consultants while working for a-connect. For example, early in my career, I would tell people “I am trying to break into consulting.” Test out “I’m making the leap to become a freelance consultant.” If it doesn’t feel right, you may want to re-think your move.

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StrategyU

OCTOBER 2, 2023

” The job of a great consultant is not just to repackage information. It is to put that information into the client’s context and then give them actionable information about what they should do next. The best “think like a consultant” thinkers are ready for this though.

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StrategyU

JULY 7, 2021

Issue trees are a useful approach to breaking down a problem statement into component parts that can more easily be acted upon. In consulting teams, it’s often done in the first couple of weeks of a project. The first test of the issue tree is when you are doing the initial research and analysis after you structure the problem.

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StrategyU

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

That’s exactly what Lilli is, According to them, “Employees can prompt Lilli with a question, and the tool will scan the knowledge base, locate five to seven relevant pieces of information, summarize key points, include links, and identify experts in the field.” They were experts in helping people find information.

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StrategyU

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

You’ve set your sights on joining one of the world’s most prestigious consulting firms, where every move you make in the application process counts. It’s not just any test; it’s a game designed to challenge your thinking, and your problem-solving abilities, right from the start—every click you make counts on how you will be perceived.

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StrategyU

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

In consulting, I worked with many companies helping them to develop strategies. Although these were often focused on different levels of the business and different topics, all of the “strategies” were similar. I would create a PowerPoint, Word, or notes document to capture ideas and interesting information you stumble upon.

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StrategyU

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

And does it even matter outside of consulting?” But even if I hadn’t gone on to work in consulting, I now know that MECE is a valuable tool for anyone who wants to think more clearly and solve problems more effectively. Check out this video for a deeper dive into MECE and other strategy consulting skills.

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StrategyU

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Barbara Minto’s The Pyramid Principle has been one of the most influential books for business writing. It has sold millions of copies and shaped the nature of work done at the top consulting firms, especially McKinsey & Company, where she first popularized her ideas. Overall I find both Minto and her ideas compelling.

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StrategyU

JANUARY 20, 2025

One of the most important ideas in consulting problem solving is MECE. If you’ve been around current or former strategy consultants, you probably heard someone say this. Part 2: Collectively Exhaustive In order to be collectively exhaustive your set of information needs to cover all possible options.

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StrategyU

JULY 23, 2021

Having made this transition after working in the consulting industry was easier than it would have been if I had made the leap from industry but there was still a lot I had to figure out along the way. Consulting under your personal name is becoming a lot more normal in the age of social media and personal branding.

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StrategyU

JULY 5, 2020

The history of strategy consulting starts with Frederick Taylor and the Scientific Management movement but took many twists and turns as it evolved into its current state, an industry looking inward and pondering where it fits in the new technology-powered business world. Chapter 1: Frederick Taylor: “The System Must Be First”.

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StrategyU

NOVEMBER 28, 2020

In my several years in strategy consulting, I learned about the many ways data, information and charts could be used to fit with an existing storyline. This builds on the last charge and adds the “missing” information of the percentage of men who are Fortune 500 CEOs. Beware of misinformation.

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StrategyU

JUNE 12, 2021

Critical thinking is only possible when you are able to recognize that your default impulses may not be correct and the possibility that there are many different approaches to analyzing a problem. This essay explores critical thinking, how it is applied, identifies limitations, and a vital role in the consulting process.

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StrategyU

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

This book is one of the seminal texts in the consulting world and is increasingly popular in the broader business world. If you’d like to go to the previous section you can find the following links to each: Logic In Writing Logic In Thinking Logic in Problem-Solving Logic In Presentation.

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StrategyU

OCTOBER 29, 2024

The most valuable professionals and leaders aren’t just smart – they consistently demonstrate an ability to solve complex problems. There is a reason that all consulting firms focus on analytical thinking in their recruiting process. Resilience and Adaptability Problem-solving is rarely a linear process.

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StrategyU

OCTOBER 31, 2024

“Consulting” is a broad term in today’s world. When people think about consulting, they often think about the most famous firms: McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. The most famous kinds of consulting The three biggest areas of consulting are strategy and operations, technology, and financial and transaction advisory.

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