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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

Nov 1, 2021 • 18min
185: Why you should read Bill Matassoni's memoir (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we discuss why everyone should read Bill Matassoni's book. Every now and then, someone comes along and makes the subject of management both fun and insightful. That’s what Bill Matassoni has done in his memoir—a combination of compelling stories and contrarian substance—that covers his forty-year career selling what he calls “ephemeral things.” In addition to the memoir, Bill plays host to a series of videos that are entertaining, irreverent, and filled with his conviction that marketing is the primary driver of progress in both commercial and social markets. MARKETING SAVES THE WORLD: Stories Why Capitalism Works. Bill Matassoni Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

24 snips
Oct 27, 2021 • 60min
184: Kent Taylor, The man behind the success of Texas Roadhouse (with Travis Doster)
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 184, an episode with the Vice President for Communications of Texas Roadhouse and Kent Taylor's close friend, Travis Doster. Get Kent's new book here: https://amzn.to/30Q9SW7 Kent Taylor was the Founder and CEO of Texas Roadhouse, one of the most successful restaurant chains in America. It was founded in 1993 and is currently operating 647 restaurants in 49 states and 10 foreign countries. In 2016 and 2018, it was recognized by Forbes as America’s Best Large Employer. On the 18th of March 2021, Kent died at the age of 65; just a few months before his book was finally released in the market. In this episode, Travis Doster talks about the humble beginnings of the iconic Casual Dining food chain. He talked about how Kent made out-of-the-box strategies that contributed to the company's legendary success. He also talked about how Kent handled more than 80 rejections as he pitched the idea for his business. For business owners who are facing difficulties during these trying times, this is for you. MADE FROM SCRATCH: The Legendary Success Story of Texas Roadhouse. Kent Taylor: https://amzn.to/30Q9SW7 Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

Oct 25, 2021 • 6min
183: How to start shifting to the career you've always wanted - Author program Q&A 7
Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com This is a part of a 10-episode program to help our clients and customers measurably and 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? Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Oct 20, 2021 • 13min
182: What is corporate strategy? (Strategy Skills classics)
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. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Oct 18, 2021 • 14min
181: How to handle a "horrible" client (Strategy Skills classics)
For this episode, let's revisit one of the classics by Strategy Skills where we answer a question from our audience. Facing a "horrible" client is a common experience in the business world. You could say that it is part of the journey. It can be hard to know what you should do during this situation. But it is exactly in these types of situations that we learn a lot. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Oct 13, 2021 • 41min
180: Jonathan Brill, Turn uncertainty into opportunity
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 180, an episode with the former Global Futurist at Hewlett Packard, Jonathan Brill. Get Jonathan's new book here: https://amzn.to/3uG0m2F Jonathan Brill is an expert on resilient growth, innovation, and decision-making during uncertainty. He helps organizations by preparing them to profit from radical change. As a former senior leader in HP, he directed the company's long-term strategy programs. He was also a creative director at Frog Design and the managing partner of innovation firms that created over 350 products. He is currently the managing director at Resilient Growth Partners and a board member at Frost & Sullivan, a major market intelligence firm with offices in 46 countries. He also develops products for both fictional heroes and real people as the Futurist-in-Residence at Territory Studio, the creative visionaries behind the sci-fi tech in Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Ghost in the Shell, and Blade Runner 2049. He advises globally on product innovation and resilient growth strategy with clients, including Samsung, Microsoft, Verizon, PepsiCo, the United States government, and the MIT Media Lab. He is an in-demand thought leader, speaker, and contributor to TED, Singularity University, Korn Ferry, JP Morgan, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review. He holds a degree in industrial design from Pratt Institute and has done extensive management training at Stanford University. In this episode, Jonathan talked about how companies could prepare for uncertain times and what they could do to turn these into opportunities for profit and growth. For business owners who want to have a more secure future for their companies, this is for you. ROGUE WAVES: Future-Proof Your Business to Survive and Profit from Radical Change. Jonathan Brill: https://amzn.to/3uG0m2F Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

Oct 11, 2021 • 11min
179: How to write a book even if you're "too junior" - Author Program Q&A 6
Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com This is a part of a 10-episode program to help our clients and customers measurably and 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? Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Oct 10, 2021 • 11min
178: Should I wait to publish a solo book? Author Program Q&A 5
Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/ Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com This is a part of a 10-episode program to help our clients and customers measurably and 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? Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Oct 4, 2021 • 44min
177: Matt Blumberg, How to build a successful startup
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 177, an episode with the CEO and Co-Founder of Bolster, Matt Blumberg together with his Co-Founder Jack Sinclair. Get Matt's book here: https://amzn.to/3oqmBsv Matt Blumberg is a technology entrepreneur. He spent his entire career creating startups, scaling them, and sharing best practices of what works and what doesn't work for other CEOs and team members in the entrepreneurial community. His innovative email marketing company, Return Path, grew to $100mm in revenues and helped it to a successful exit in a strategic sale to Validity in 2019. Blumberg's company Bolster, an on-demand executive talent marketplace, helps accelerate companies' growth by connecting them with experienced, highly-vetted executives for various roles. It recently conducted a study on Independent Board Members and Board Diversity, which revealed that most early-stage startup boards lack racial and gender diversity as much as boards of more established startups. In this episode, Matt and Jack talked about what is really needed to build a successful startup and maintain a good business to prepare it for scaling up. For those who are thinking of venturing into the world of entrepreneurship and planning to start a company/business, this is for you. STARTUP CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company's Critical Functions and Teams. Matt Blumberg: https://amzn.to/3oqmBsv Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).

Sep 29, 2021 • 44min
176: Kayvan Kian, Step back to move forward
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 176, an episode with a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company (Amsterdam), Kayvan Kian. Get Kayvan's book here: https://amzn.to/3kntLLF Kayvan Kian is the founder of the Young Leaders Forum, a program that helps high potential future leaders with the necessary skills, ways of thinking, and insights to become better leaders in a world of constant change. He also has given guest lectures at Harvard Business School, HEC, Sciences Po, and other leading institutions. He believes that we can make this world a better place by sharing hard-fought lessons with each other, that we gained through the most challenging times in our lives. In this episode, Kayvan talked about how to move forward by taking a step back and identifying the things we can control. For those leaders who feel stuck, this is for you. WHAT IS WATER?: How Young Leaders Can Thrive in an Uncertain World. Kayvan Kian: https://amzn.to/3kntLLF Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo We use affiliate links whenever possible (if you purchase items listed above using our affiliate links, we will get a bonus).