

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving
FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com
CEOs and business leaders, management consulting senior partners, ground-breaking professors, thought-provoking writers and journalists, record-setting athletes and coaches, and award-winning actors and celebrities discuss the key issues facing the business world and broader society.
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Get free access to our newsletter, Monday Morning at 8 am, along with sample episodes from our training programs on www.strategytraining.com. Go to https://www.firmsconsulting.com/promo.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 7, 2023 • 14min
353: Management skills analysis challenges (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from the power sector corporate strategy study. A stream of our consultants is assessing the management skills of senior EI managers and executives to manage the transformation process. This process has not gone well. A senior manager of EI felt the management skills assessment was designed to present him in a poor light. He, therefore, complained to the unions and is considering legal action against EI. This is not good, but fairly common on such studies. So there is no need to overreact, though it must be managed and done very quickly and efficiently. The spillover of this is that the unions are refusing to allow the management skills analyses to take place and many employees are also refusing to participate. In this podcast, I discuss the process we will use to manage this misunderstanding. It is a real concern with the potential to spiral out of control. We have a plan and, to be fair, we could have managed this a little better from our side. The unions are not to blame for this. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Jun 5, 2023 • 15min
352: Corporate strategy analysis process (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from the power sector corporate strategy study. In this critical podcast, we focus on two things. First, we discuss the reason why corporate strategy studies rely so heavily on executive workshops. We explain why simply handing the perfect strategy to the client will never yield results, even if the client accepts it without any challenges. The workshop process plays a crucial role that cannot be easily replicated anywhere else in the study. That is the reason to hold the workshop. Second, we discuss the components of the corporate strategy analyses and how we use each part: 1 - Case studies 2 - Market analyses 3 - Customer value chain analyses 4 - Client value chain analyses Finally, we discuss how all of these come together in the scenario planning. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

May 31, 2023 • 26min
351: Advanced predictive problem solving (Turquoise Eyes: A Novel about Problem Solving & Critical Thinking)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss advanced predictive problem solving. Turquoise Eyes started off the groundbreaking new genre developed by FIRMSconsulting that combines compelling narrative while teaching problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Set after a bank begins implementing a new retail banking strategy, we follow Teresa García Ramírez de Arroyo, a director-general in the Mexican government, who has received some disturbing news. A whistleblower has emailed Teresa with troubling news about a mistake in the loan default calculations and reserve ratios. The numbers do not add up. Get the book here: The Turquoise Eyes: A Novel about Problem Solving & Critical Thinking https://amzn.to/3bzVa6g Watch the video version of this podcast here: https://youtu.be/xQqufjwFm9E Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

May 29, 2023 • 22min
350: Finalize the overall storyboard for the client (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss how to finalize the overall storyboard for the client. Watch the video version of this podcast here: https://youtu.be/7LXOL_KDZYQ 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

May 24, 2023 • 7min
349: Business unit strategy: Core & critical (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss the role of the business unit strategy stream within a corporate strategy study. Watch the video version of this podcast here: https://youtu.be/mSNDAvmXjzA 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

May 22, 2023 • 58min
348: Dr. Luana Marques (Harvard professor), How to transform anxiety into power
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 348, an interview with the author of Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power. Bold Move is Dr. Luana Marques’ unique, tried and tested method to get you out of your rut and give you the courage to create a more confident and meaningful life. Dr. Luana pinpoints the anxiety at the root of avoidance and shows you how to overcome it and achieve your goals. Dr. Luana Marques is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Director of Community Psychiatry Program for Research in Implementation & Dissemination of Evidence-Based Treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Marques is a national and international expert in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBTs) and a leader in increasing access to scientifically rigorous mental health practices. Her decades of clinical and research experience implementing evidence-based practices encompass all types of roles and settings, from front-line staff to CEOs, diverse communities to organizations, both in the US and globally. Dr. Marques is the Former President of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA). Connect with her online at drluana.com or follow her on Twitter at @DrLuanaMarques Get Luana’s book here: Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety into Power. Dr. Luana Marques: https://www.amazon.com/Bold-Move-3-Step-Transform-Anxiety-ebook/dp/B0BFX423SN?ref_=ast_author_dp Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

May 17, 2023 • 6min
347: How to start shifting to the career you've always wanted - Author program Q&A 7 (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from a 10 episode program to help our clients and customers measurably, radically transform their careers through The Author Program. How would your career, reputation, and earnings change as a published author? Imagine your client interactions when potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility? Imagine how many potential clients would find you and reach out to you? Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

May 15, 2023 • 11min
346: How to write a book even if you're "too junior" - Author Program Q&A 6 (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from a 10 episode program to help our clients and customers measurably, radically transform their careers through The Author Program. How would your career, reputation, and earnings change as a published author? Imagine your client interactions when potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility? Imagine how many potential clients would find you and reach out to you? Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

11 snips
May 10, 2023 • 1h 1min
345: Martin Reeves (Boston Consulting Group), The Imagination Machine
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 345, an interview with the Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, BCG’s think tank for new ideas in management and strategy. Martin has authored numerous books, including Your Strategy Needs a Strategy and The Imagination Machine, a handbook about how to systematically harness imagination to generate new ideas and transform businesses. Get Martin's book here: The Imagination Machine: How to Spark New Ideas and Create Your Company's Future. Martin Reeves and Jack Fuller: https://www.amazon.com/Imagination-Machine-Create-Companys-Future/dp/1647820863 Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

May 8, 2023 • 11min
344: Should I wait to publish a solo book? Author Program Q&A 5 (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from a 10 episode program to help our clients and customers measurably, radically transform their careers through The Author Program. How would your career, reputation, and earnings change as a published author? Imagine your client interactions when potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility? Imagine how many potential clients would find you and reach out to you? Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo