Case Interview Preparation & Management Consulting | Strategy | Critical Thinking

Welcome to an interview with former Indiana University athletic director, Fred Glass. Get Fred's book here: https://amzn.to/3tCY7hj In this episode, Fred discussed how Indianapolis managed to keep the Colts, its strategy to sustain it, and the impact and advantages that the team provides to the city. This podcast will make you think about the economics of business in sports and understand the deep thinking behind the scenes that makes it all possible. Fred served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge S. Hugh Dillin, also an IU alumnus. From 1989 to 1993, he was chief of staff to former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, and, in 2000, helmed the transition team chief for former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. Peterson appointed Fred, then a partner in the law firm of Baker & Daniels (now Faegre Baker Daniels), to the city's Capital Improvement Board, which oversees Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indiana Convention Center, Conseco Fieldhouse, and Victory Field. Fred negotiated a number of sports-related wins for the city, including: adding Indianapolis to the permanent hosting rotation for the NCAA Final Four Tournament; laying the groundwork for the city's successful 2012 Super Bowl bid; and putting together the strategy and plans for development of Lucas Oil Stadium. In 2008, President McRobbie appointed Fred as Indiana University's vice president and director of athletics. Since assuming the role, Fred has worked tirelessly to ensure IU returns to its rightful place as one of the premier athletic departments in the country. His tenure has been marked, in part, by a deep commitment to the wellness, development, and achievement of the students under his charge. His 24 Sports, One Team philosophy has brought together student athletes from all IU sports, encouraging them to attend each other's games, support one another, and function as an extended IU family. Get Fred’s Book here: Making Your Own Luck: From a Skid Row Bar to Rebuilding Indiana University Athletics by Fred Glass: https://amzn.to/3tCY7hj Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to an episode with a well-recognized professor, Ben M. Bensaou. Get Ben's book here: https://amzn.to/3xpI9Zb Many people think that you need a genius leader or need to become a start-up to innovate. But we all have the potential to innovate. In this episode, Ben speaks about everyone's role in innovation and how it can be performed like a habit in our everyday lives. He also discussed the need to develop a deeper understanding of customers and create a culture of collaborating with customers to offer the ideal combination of performance, attributes, price, and other characteristics that customers need and want, or produce a product and service with a powerful market appeal. Ben M. Bensaou is a Professor of Technology Management and Professor of Asian Business and Comparative Management at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France. He served as Dean of Executive Education in 2018–2020. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard Business School in 1998-1999, a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School of Management in 2007-2008, and a Visiting Scholar at the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley in 2013-2015. He received his PhD in Management from MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, US, and his MA in Management Science from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan; his Diplôme d’Ingénieur (MSc) in Civil Engineering and DEA in Mechanical Engineering from respectively the Ecole Nationale des TPE, Lyon and the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, two Grandes Ecoles in France. His research and teaching activities focus on: (1) how to create innovating capabilities and competencies as a way to build an innovating organization and culture; (2) Blue Ocean Strategy and value innovation implementation, and roll out processes across the whole organization; (3) how to build social capital within firms; (4) new forms of organizations, in particular networked corporations, strategic alliances, joint ventures, and value-adding partnerships; and (5) the impact of information technology on innovation. Professor Bensaou addresses these issues from an international comparative perspective, with a special focus on Japanese organizations. Professor Bensaou's research on buyer-supplier relations in the US and Japanese auto industries won him the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award in the field of information systems and a finalist nomination for the Free Press Award for outstanding dissertation research in the field of business policy and strategy. His case studies on innovation won the 2006, 2008 and 2009 ECCH Best Case Awards (with Kim & Mauborgne). His publications include papers in Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Information Systems Research, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, book chapters and conference proceedings. He has been a member of the Editorial Board of Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly and MISQ Executive. He has been listed in the Who’s Who in the World since 1998. He has been consulting for Asian, European and US corporations since 1993. At INSEAD, Professor Bensaou developed two new MBA courses: 'Managing Networked Organisations' and 'Understanding Japanese Business.' He also teaches courses on Competitive Strategy, Innovation, Blue Ocean Strategy and Value Innovation, Information Technology and Comparative Management (in English and French). He was a Visiting Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, where he taught his 'Information Technology and Corporate Transformation' course. He has also been teaching (in Japanese) in Executive Education programs at Keio Business School, Tokyo, Japan. Get Ben's book here: Built to Innovate: Essential Practices to Wire Innovation into Your Company’s DNA. Ben M. Bensaou: https://amzn.to/3xpI9Zb Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to an episode with the CEO of Tournesol, Alicia Hare. In this episode, Alicia spoke about a new and unique approach of leadership calledthe lead brighter approach, which focuses on improving the quality of people's lives through things that really matter and make a difference. A brighter future is about shared prosperity, quality, connection, discovery, and joy. Alicia is the founder and CEO of Tournesol, a leadership consulting firm that partners with CEOs, senior leaders, and their teams in times of significant change. Tournesol's unique lead brighter approach helps leaders harness the full power of their platform to elevate performance and improve the quality of people's lives.  Alicia's clients include CEOs and senior leaders at Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. Among others, she's worked with: the CEO of a multibillion-dollar healthcare company to use his platform to transform health and healthcare in America, improving the health of millions; the CEO of one of the world's largest global hospitality companies to address social isolation, bettering the lives of millions of customers while driving business performance; and the President and COO of a global entertainment company to reset the company's strategy for worldwide growth and impact. Her efforts have resulted in large-scale organizational transformation, sustainable business results, and meaningful social change. Before founding Tournesol, Alicia was a president at SYPartners; strategy executive at Target; head of business transformation for Sensis, an Australian media company; and principal at Destra Consulting Group, an organizational effectiveness consulting firm. She earned her B.A. from Rice, M.Ed. from Harvard, MBA from The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Alicia is the author of The Unfolding Path: A Way to Live and Lead in Our Times, which inspires and guides leaders to do the deep inner work required to step up and lead others to a brighter future. Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to an interview with expert M&A advisor and best-selling author, Mark Sirower. Get Mark's book here: https://amzn.to/39nd0O8 In this episode, Mark elaborated on the meaning of synergy and how it impacts businesses. He also spoke about strategies to maximize the chances of success in M&A and how to deal with its common challenges. Mark Sirower is an internationally recognized expert on M&A and the author of the best-selling book, The Synergy Trap: How Companies Lose the Acquisition Game (Simon & Schuster, 1997) and co-author of The Synergy Solution: How Companies Win the Mergers & Acquisitions Game (Harvard Business Review Press, February 2022). He is a U.S. leader in Deloitte's M&A and Restructuring practice, where he joined in 2008 to launch the M&A Strategy practice. Mark has advised senior executive teams on hundreds of transactions over the past 25 years from strategy and diligence through post-merger integration. Previously, he built the Deals Strategy Group at PwC and was the global leader of the M&A practice at the Boston Consulting Group, where he developed innovative approaches to crafting M&A strategies, planning integrations, delivering synergies, and creating shareholder value. Mark has taught M&A at the Wharton School, and has taught at the NYU Stern School Executive MBA program for 30 years.  Get Mark's book here: The Synergy Solution: How Companies Win the Mergers & Acquisitions Game. Mark Sirower: https://amzn.to/39nd0O8 Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to an episode with sought-after keynote speaker and coach, Patricia Stark. Get Patricia's book here: https://amzn.to/3MQIzNR In this episode, Patricia spoke about the importance of building a genuine connection with other people, and thoughts about self-belief. She also discussed the factors that restrict us from communicating effectively and how we can deal with them.  Patricia Stark is a Certified Personal and Executive Coach (CPEC of the CaPP Institute - Coaching and Positive Psychology) and a Certified Body Language Trainer (Body Language Institute, Washington DC) and holds certificates in Eclectic Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Visualization/Guided Imagery (LIU). She heads Patricia Stark Communications and specializes in helping clients build their Calmfidence® in interviews, on-camera, and in daily life with tangible strategies for powerful communication skills, mastering self-talk, and stress and anxiety relievers used by the pros. Patricia has extensive experience as a health and medical news anchor, radio interview host, and appears regularly as a TV guest expert on the topics of communication and confidence. Her new book, Calmfidence: How to Trust Yourself, Tame Your Inner Critic, and Shine in Any Spotlight, was published in September 2021 by Sounds True/Macmillan Publishers. With over 20 years of first-hand experience in front of the camera and on stage, Patricia is one of the few trainers in the country who has worked extensively in front of the camera in both broadcast and corporate media. Patricia has appeared in over 2,000 Fortune 500 corporate media productions in just about every sector of industry as a moderator, trainer, host, and corporate spokesperson, and has anchored national and international news. She is a member of SAG/AFTRA, has appeared in numerous television commercials and programs, and has held a recurring role on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Get Patricia's book here: Calmfidence: How to Trust Yourself, Tame Your Inner Critic, and Shine in Any Spotlight by Patricia Stark: https://amzn.to/3MQIzNR Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to an episode with bestselling author and award-winning consultant Stan Bernard, MD, M.B.A. Get Stan's book here: https://amzn.to/3MRzd4t In this episode, Stan spoke about the transcender system and how it has changed the game for many companies that are globally known today. He discussed how we can use this approach to communicate, inspire, and influence people. We will learn why top executives consider the transcender system the most powerful winning system for companies and their products. Stan Bernard, MD, M.B.A., is an internationally recognized, award-winning global competition consultant, keynote speaker, and bestselling author. He is the president of Bernard Associates, L.L.C. and the creator of the Transcender System™. Dr. Bernard is a former Senior Fellow at the Wharton School of Business, where he taught marketing to M.B.A. students for 14 years. He has been featured on television and in leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Bloomberg Businessweek. For nearly four decades, Dr. Bernard has consulted with over a dozen Fortune 500 firms and 150 other leading companies spanning six continents. He has been involved in more than 300 product launches involving over 60 countries. Over 15,000 professionals have participated in his firm's Competitive Simulations ("business war games"), Transcender System Training Workshops, Transcender System Seminars, and speaking engagements. Dr. Bernard received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. Brands Don't Win: How Transcenders Change the Game. Stan Bernard, MD, M.B.A.: https://amzn.to/3MRzd4t Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics where 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. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics, where we discuss when a consultant must dissent and how it should be done. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics where we shared five tips to fight fatigue. Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to an episode with a sought-after keynote speaker and a National Champion storyteller, Kindra Hall. Get Kindra's book here: https://amzn.to/3sRmOp3   In this episode, Kindra spoke about the importance of understanding the power of stories that an individual tells and believes and how it impacts our daily lives. She discussed how self-stories influence everything you do, everything you say, and everything you are. Kindra Hall is President and Chief Storytelling Officer at Steller Collective, a consulting firm focused on the strategic application of storytelling to today’s communication challenges. Kindra is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers trusted by global brands to deliver presentations and training that inspire teams and individuals to better communicate the value of their company, their products and their individuality through strategic storytelling. What began as a chance encounter at age 13 with a storytelling cassette tape grew into a passion for not only telling stories, but a mastery for teaching others the methods and science of storytelling so they can better tell their own. Kindra was a National Champion storyteller, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Storytelling Network and has her master’s degree in communications where she conducted original research studying the role of storytelling in defining and revealing organizational culture. She is a former Director of Marketing and VP of Sales. Today, Kindra’s work can be seen at Inc.com, Entrepreneur.com and as a contributing editor for SUCCESS Magazine. Kindra’s message spans all industries and her clients include Facebook, Hilton Hotels, Tyson Foods, Target, Berkshire Hathaway and the Harvard Medical School. Her much anticipated book will be released by Harper Leadership in the fall of 2019. Regardless of the industry, Kindra has become a conference favorite for her clients. The blend of inspiration and education in her keynotes mean that audiences leave feeling excited and equipped to finally put their stories to work in a tangible way. Choose Your Story, Change Your Life: Silence Your Inner Critic and Rewrite Your Life from the Inside Out. Kindra Hall: https://amzn.to/3sRmOp3 Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo