The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 371, an interview with the author of Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work, Emily Field. In this book, McKinsey thought leaders Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, and Emily Field call for a profound reimagining of managers and their roles. They explain how middle managers are uniquely positioned close to the ground but with a crucial connection to company strategy, enabling them to guide their organizations through periods of rapid and complex change, as well as to help shape the new world of work. Emily Field is a partner in McKinsey's Seattle office. She helps organizations with distributed workforces deliver on their performance goals, with the role of the manager front and center. Emily holds a BA in government from Georgetown University. Get Emily’s book here: https://rb.gy/q4qmv Power to the Middle: Why Managers Hold the Keys to the Future of Work Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo  

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 370, an interview with the author of MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your “Enough”, Manisha Thakor. In this book, Manisha shares her candid journey out of the Cult of Never Enough—a painful mindset that tells you the money you earn, accomplishments you achieve, and praise you receive is always insufficient. Manisha Thakor has worked in financial services for more than thirty years, with an emphasis on women’s economic empowerment and financial wellbeing. A nationally recognized thought-leader in this space, Thakor has been featured in a wide range of publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, NPR, PBS, CNN, Real Simple, and Women’s Health. Prior to writing MoneyZen, Thakor co-authored two personal finance books for women in their twenties and thirties. Today her work focuses on helping people of all ages to balance financial health and emotional wealth. Thakor earned her MBA from Harvard Business School, her BA from Wellesley College and is both a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). She splits her time between Portland, Oregon and rural Maine. Her website is MoneyZen.com. Get Manisha’s Book here: https://rb.gy/od9zz MoneyZen: The Secret to Finding Your “Enough” Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 369, an interview with the author of The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough, Thomas Curran. In his book, Thomas calls for both introspection and broader, societal change. He shows what we can do as individuals to resist the modern-day pressure to be perfect, and in so doing, win for ourselves a more purposeful and contented life. Thomas Curran is a professor of psychology at the London School of Economics and the author of a landmark study that the BBC hailed as “the first to compare perfectionism across generations.” His TED talk on perfectionism has received more than three million views. His research has been featured in media ranging from the Harvard Business Review to New Scientist to CNN and he has appeared on numerous television and radio programs.  Get Thomas’ book here: https://rb.gy/6m35h  The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough, Thomas Curran. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo  

Explore the pros and cons of emailing the full deck to participants before a strategy workshop. Learn about the disadvantages of this approach and the importance of focusing on making decisions rather than discussing ideas.

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills, where we covered a topic about analyses. - Are the analyses always the same for a strategy workshop? In other words, what determines the analyses you should undertake for a strategy workshop? - How does one set objectives for the workshop?  - How many strategy workshops should be completed during an engagement?  - Why are top-down analyses so important?  Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills, where we cover a topic about what to do if the client demands more analyses. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills, where we cover a topic about what happens if the client asks for proof of the strategy. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills, where we cover a topic about understanding the readiness and level of confidence required to go out there and lead. Here are some free gifts for you:Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we discuss the most important concepts you need to understand in order to advance your career. Be reminded about what is Corporate Strategy and how is it different from the other types of strategies. Here are some free gifts for you:Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we explain what it means to be a conceptual thinker and how to demonstrate this skill. If you work at any major consulting firm – and especially if you want to be promoted – you must prove you are a conceptual thinker. The only problem is that it is hard to define the word conceptual. In this podcast, we explain a similar problem experienced by a consultant on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation Study and how I helped them improve. The definition also explains why a conceptual thinker is a functional specialist (in strategy, operations, corporate finance, etc.) and almost never a specialist in sectors. Here are some free gifts for you:Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo