by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Birthday coming up again and honestly, my 50s > my 40s > my 30s > my 20s. When people say, “Aw, I wish I were ____ years old again”, I honestly, don’t get that. Enjoying the journey too much for that kind of romanticism. That said, I do...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Recently co-facilitated workshops for 2 days Lots of coffee, sticky notes, talking, listening, and filtering of ideas. We walked away with a list of prioritized recommendations and lots of action items – so I give it two thumbs up as an effective workshop. They...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
This is my least favorite expression in all of consulting. “Are you sure?” Built into the question is a lack of trust, glibness, superficial concern with accuracy over meaning, and honestly, a bit of disdain. It’s a superficial question It’s...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Surprisingly, people use email poorly They write long-winded email essays that are ambiguous, and often copy too many people. These sloppy people create more confusion, frustration and rework. In this case, more communication is actually worse. Take 15 seconds to...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Lean. Toyota Production System These are words and concepts that any business person should readily know and understand – even if you are not an operations consultant. Process improvement initiatives built on these concepts take out billions of dollars of waste...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Yes, this morning I did 4 hours of data entry Yes, data entry. Our project was in a time crunch and we had major issues getting good operational data, so we begrudgingly took some print outs and manually typed them into excel. Yikes. Yes, we did look at other OCR...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
What’s going on in Brazil in 2016? Yes, the Olympics. But also an economic recession/depression. According to the Economist, this is the biggest economic slump since the 1930s here. This is a problem. GDP falling Look at the GDP growth rate over the last few...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
The Effective Executive The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker is a a classic. Written 40+ years ago, and still enormously relevant. You can find pdf online for free or buy it used at Amazon for $2 (affiliate link). A steal. Great quotes from Drucker (shown in...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Deloitte 2016 Global Human Capital Trends was released here (5.6Mb). It is a 124 page manifesto of well-organized thinking on how the workplace is changing, what employees want, and how the old way of thinking about human resource (read: people) just does not work. In...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
The title of the BCG report sounds serious, but its a bit of a gem – easy to read and understand – here. Boils down to three points: Successful CEOs need to plan the transformation before they start work Transformation is expensive, need to fund the...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants should use surveys more often They are cost-effective, seemingly impartial, easy to use, and provide data in the “touchy and feel-y” areas where data might be hard to find, collect, or quantify. Bain, PWC, BCG, Deloitte all use surveys; see the...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Takes more than 10,000 hours. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that people have to practice for 10,000+ hours before becoming experts. At the time, this dispelled the idea that it is just raw talent or genius at work. No, he concluded, it takes lots and lots of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
What do McKinsey presentations looks like? Please find links to 20+ McKinsey presentations which are publicly available online. Many of these are from conferences, or governmental / non-profit organizations clients who have chosen to make them available online. Yes,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
April 15 is tax day This is the day for individuals to file taxes. There are other tax days (e.g., March 15 for corporations), but yesterday was the day most people know – and loathe. People take off work, look for receipts, download bank statements, and answer...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
My of my friends have school-age children and they worry about their kid’s education. Sadly, they have a lot of reasons to be worried. For all the recent innovation, changing business models, and dedication of some teachers. . US public education is a mess Every...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
One brutal week Was glad to just make it through the days without disappointing people or making too many mistakes. I had 32 different conference calls, a boat-load of work, a dentist appointment and planning for my mom’s 70th birthday. Apparently, the military...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
am moving My wife and I lived in the current house for 11 years, and we are moving closer to her work. The new house will be 30% larger, and a whole lot nicer. The big difference is that we are building it from the ground up. So we choose the floor plan, exterior...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Written 07/08/2016 Looks like 8 airlines were given clearance to fly to Cuba here. Cuba Glasnost This is HUGE news for the US, Cuba, and the world. The United States severed diplomatic ties with Cuba and had a trade embargo for 50+ years. While only symbolic,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Stay curious, hunt for the answer yourself Over the last two weeks, this scenario has repeated itself a few times. A junior consultant I am working with hits a simple roadblock and instead of reflecting on the problem and hunting out an answer, they pull the brakes...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
This blog post is from 2016. You can tell, because I don’t listen to Pandora anymore. I listen to Spotify. How times can change. Capitalism is real. Competition is real. I listen to Pandora every day. On my computer, on my Roku, on my Amazon Echo, in my car,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
McKinsey & Company do great work. On this blog, I have written about McKinsey’s leader, culture, high-visibility assignments at the CIA, and Department of Corrections. Overall, have enormous respect for the work they do, and the way they have built their...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
I travel a lot Like most management consultants, I am a road warrior. According to Marriott.com, I have stayed 152 nights last year. Perhaps 10% of that is from my wife who also uses my rewards number, but needless to say, lots of hotel, plane, car. Funny sidebar...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
McKinsey 120 page report on the digitization of America Some critics might argue the two main arguments are a bit obvious: 1) digitization drives productivity and 2) those gains are shared uneven across industries, companies, and people. It is a story of the digital...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Dave Ramsey This is a famous radio host from the United States who I listen to regularly. He only talks about financial planning and money management – but he can be just a polarizing and crazy as the other “shock-jock” radio personalities. He has...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
In 2016, Deloitte surveyed of 7,700 millennials globally The respondents were folks born after 1982 with college degrees, working in large organizations (100+) across 29 different countries. You work with millennials everyday – anyone under 33 years. As I have...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
This is a quote first attributed to Dan Montano in the Economist, but was popularized by Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat. Here is the full quotation here: Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
McKinsey & Company is a premiere management consulting firm with a long legacy of influential alumni, thought-provoking research, top-shelf billing rates, and legions of ivy-league smarties. They get called in to solve difficult problems – everything from...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
From 2016, as a FYI, US tax laws keep changing. . . In my mind, depreciation has two meanings – the common sense definition most people know intuitively, and the financial accounting definition which dictates how costs of fixed assets are spread out over many...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Wrote this in 2016, so it’s fun to look back and reflect on this attitude, my investments, and my time. I look forward to retirement Who doesn’t? I recently went on a road trip to Key West and Sarasota Florida. Seriously, 80 degrees in December with a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
For those who know me, I am a huge fan of podcasts. Great story-telling and content, delivered for free, wonderful use of your time. If you intellectually curious, travel a lot, and don’t listen to podcasts or audiobooks, uh, I don’t understand you. Made a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Written in 2016 I am a huge fan of Waze For those who have not used it, it’s a basic map app which tells you the most efficient route to your destination, which factors in traffic and construction. This simple 45 second video will give you a good taste for it...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Boarding a plan at midnight. . . This image tells a story. Red eye. Business class. The good with the bad. Welcome to consulting. Strange life. UBER driver #1 On the ride to the airport, I struck up a conversation with my UBER driver, who works at a local casino....
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I read Fast Company It is a iconoclastic magazine which is easy to read, fun, and honestly, pretty cheap at $1 per month per magazine at discount mags. It is their 20th anniversary, this editorial here talks about their predictions for the next 20 years. Lots of to...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
“Do you like the work you did?” When I run consulting projects, this is my go-to question. When a junior consultant presents an analysis, work product, presentation, or most anything, I ask, “What do you think?” “How do you like...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Use PowerPoint daily Is that possible? Yes. Over the last 20 years, there are very few days when I have not worked in PowerPoint. Sad, but true. Even when I am not creating one, I am often reading investor relations presentations or analyst reports. Pay attention to...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Blog post from 2015 Uber the taxi-technology company started in 2009 as a novelty for its co-founders and friends. Now it has a market valuation of $51 billion, has 1M active drivers, and operates in 330 cities. Read a Fast Company article here which is focused on the...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Been blogging for 3 years and 6 months. Super enjoyed it. As I look back, over 270 blog posts, it’s interesting to see how things turned out. . . Candy Crush – Blogged about the addictive game and its profitable parent company – King Entertainment...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Routine work is going away It always has been. Technology as old as the wheel, letter typeset, and the cotton gin have freed people from mundane and repetitive tasks. The market has a wonderful way of arbitraging work (thank you Adam Smith) to the least expensive...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Data is often imperfect As consultants we know that perfect data is a myth. No matter the organization or website, data is gunky, irregular, and often broken. Was at Starbucks this morning doing my travel and expenses. Went to the American Express website and...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
It’s all about trust I am in the people business. I teach, train, write, read, talk, record, coach, listen, and persuade . . . people. Recent interactions, good and bad For the last 6 months, when I look back on my emails and text messages with the 100+ people...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
I am a terrible stock-picker Trust me, my portfolio returns lag the general market. If you read about a stock on this consulting blog – just look the other way. I am writing about it because management consultants need to understand how the capital markets,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Most management consulting firms are privately held. They start off as partnerships and remain that way: McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG, PWC, AT Kearney, PA Consulting, and LEK etc. PRTM, Monitor and others were bought out. It takes a lot of patience,...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Consultants eat well No question about it. Consultants are foodies. We treat good restaurants like wild game. Find them. Eat there. Of course we cannot, do not go to $$$$ restaurants on our client’s dime, but we do eat at $$ restaurants and expense it. Rarely do...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Worked like a dog this week. Got a $284 speeding ticket. Need some changes in the working team. However, life is still good. Check out these leaves from New York, where the client site is. Enjoy. ...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Every senior manager has a different style This is one of the hardest parts of being a consultant who rotates on projects. Have to cater to the preferences (some say whims) of managers. That said, some of it is common sense too. I reviewed a presentation today, and...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Who does not love using the whiteboard? It makes the experience creative, tactile, interactive, and open-ended. It’s a running joke with my teams that I will take any opportunity to pickup a dry-erase pen and head towards the whiteboard – like a moth to a...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Consulting is tribal Each of the partners (chieftains) typically have a group of “go-to” principals, senior managers, and network of consultants (tribe) who work on their projects. For even the unobservant person, these tribes become clear: He is one of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Who said consulting was boring? Boston Consulting Group does a wonderful job of illustrating some of the extremes you find in broken thinking. They use history, anecdotes, and storytelling to show us some of the extremes. These are stories of explorers and pioneers...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Mechanics’ Motto Saw this sign at the car mechanic shop where I change my oil. It covered an entire wall. It was about 10 feet tall. Big talk on a big wall. If this is the standard that the mechanic holds for themselves, shouldn’t it be the minimum...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Photos capture a lot Busy week shown in photos. Two projects and alternate travel today to the west coast. Good times. The collage app is called Photogrid. Guns and Roses and Queen on Pandora while waiting for security. Super long lines, but bearable with music and a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
For anyone who knows me, I am an avid podcast listener. It is something I will promote to literally everyone I know. The benefits are enormous: Free entertainment Easier than reading Great learning of a variety of topics Exercises your imagination and listening...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Today was a travel day – like most Mondays. There were two odd things about today. Good thing – no one next to me on the plane There was no one sitting next to me on the plane today. I completely spread out, and put my stuff in the seat next to me. It...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Reading PowerPoint = Painful to watch Last week I was a in a painful 1 hour meeting where the presenter kept reading his slides. Ouch. Each page was like a kick to my shins. Imagine, this is what clients see and feel when you read your PowerPoints. PowerPoint is the...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
For those interested in management consulting – Dominic Barton is a name you will recognize – the managing partner at McKinsey & Company. Basically the chief of the chief consulting firm. This interview with him is a 1,500 word read, but worth it...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
When you’re sorry, just say the words I said this to five different people on Friday. “I am sorry”. An overly curt email. Late for a meeting. Over-stepping bounds, a little disrespectful of the staffing process. Not bringing an extra copy of a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
I really enjoy my consulting work . . .and yet, my friends and I spend time in our rental car rides, and dinners talking about business ideas. Some of my recent ideas: Customized ironing boards. Women’s clothing is notoriously difficult to iron, and expensive...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Accounts receivable (AR) is what people owe you For anyone who has written an invoice or had difficulty getting a client to pay you for your work, you know how awkward and stressful it is wait for the money. Checking your email, mailbox and bank account to see in...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Traveling is exhausting How strange is it to commute by plane. We are whistled in by clients, ready road-warriors, bringing news from far away. Our time is “valuable”, marked by our bill rates and our inaccessible during travel times and Fridays. Travel...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Consultants ask great questions Peter Drucker famously said, that “My greatest strength as a consultant is to be ignorant and ask a few questions.” BOOM. Today I was in a big corporate meeting of 60+ people. Big titles, regional heads, leaders...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Thanks for reading this blog (written in 2015) I have enjoyed your company and comments. Hope you find this stuff – not so boring – and potentially helpful. Some survey results which hint at www.consultantsmind.com readers. As my wife flattered me and also...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
I have been reading the Economist since 1991. So many reasons I like the magazine: Clear thinking, clear writing International in scope; not America-centric Libertarian thinking, but not “gold standard” fundamentalist Opinionated; strong point of view...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
ROE (return on equity) Yes, this is one of the key formulas that most MBAs (yes, including Marketers) remember learning on their path to financial literacy. It is often the best FIRST place to start for financial statement analysis. In simplest terms, it tells...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
“You have a typo on the 1st page” This was the low-light of my Friday. A partner was reviewing a proposal we had already printed out for the client. One typo was a missing helping verb “be” and the other typo was a verb in the wrong tense. It...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
“It’s 1am and I am working on a proposal due this Friday from the hotel lobby. It has to go through multiple reviews, so I would be wise to get it 80% finished tonight. Oy Vey. Walking around the hotel – to wake myself up – this is what I see....
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
If there is any question that management consultants are hired to do difficult projects, look at this – McKinsey & Company will help the CIA reorganize and restructure here. Apparently, the plan is for the CIA to go from a functional structure (with separate...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Candy Crush So last night, my wife and I were playing Candy Crush on 3 different devices. Yes, it is a big part of our recreation life. Sad and funny. So which wretched company created this time-sucking game? King Entertainment Publicly traded under the ticker symbol...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Financial accounting is the language of business No question. It’s how investors, managers, creditors, suppliers, and regulators keep track of the “score”. Without it, even the most basic questions like “how much profit did you make”...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Organizations have trouble talking to themselves Ask any consultant and she will tell you that a good portion of her job is helping one part of their client organization talk to the other part. Odd, I know. For those not working with Fortune 500-size companies, you...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
WHO, What, Why, When, Where? These are five questions kids learn in grade school or when first learning a language. It covers the basics and helps you understand the situation and context. My high school friends can attest to my poor memory, but even I can remember...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Had dinner with a good friend last night, and we talked about the two kinds of people you meet online: creators and critics. Think about all the titans of podcasting. 1. Creators There are people who give generously and want others to win. You can call them givers....
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
So I am a procrastinator. I will just admit it. Don’t make me give you examples. . . This is the right Bain & Company blog post for me here. Basically, here are Bain’s 7 ways to stop wasting valuable time. Get the most out of your executives. . . Bain...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
I am Generation X and I am getting tired. Getting tired of asking for permission to ask junior consultants to do work. Tired of the fear of offending their sensibilities. Tired of doing the thinking. Tired of trying to “charge them up, get them excited”...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
In 2014, I interviewed about 50 people for positions in our consulting group. Most of the time, I am giving case interviews to test people’s logical structuring, and analytic skills. Sometimes, I have a chance to speak more openly – both the good reasons...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Metrics are everywhere As a consultant, we are in the business of quickly understanding business problems, proposing solutions, and measuring results. Metrics are a necessary evil of any project. The classic continuous improvement methodology DMAIC depends on M...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
It’s one person’s opinion, but here are 130 blog posts which I wrote over the last 3 years to describe my world-view of consulting. Hope you find it useful. Consultants are a strange breed We span all industries, but ultimately we are in the business of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants have bad days Yes, a chorus of “amen” just came from the weathered consultants reading this blog. If you want an example of this, take a look at this blog post (in blue color) from 2015. Today was a rough day. Client disengaged. Technology not...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Lots of clients, not all the same Let’s agree that there are a lot of different people on the client side. Some are doing the work, while others are only curious. When you have more than a handful of people involved, it’s very easy to get confused and make...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Design is popular. It’s not surprising that McKinsey & Company bought a design company. Many consulting firms are branching out with acquisitions in areas which were once considered non-core. Deloitte has picked up a few digital agencies. Accenture bought...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Meetings are over-rated Okay, I said it. I have seen too many organizations put together committees to drive “alignment”, when in actuality, they are trying to mollify a miscreant or hedge away the risk by legislating an answer. Too often, it fails to...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
“Idea fight club” I coined this idea in 2015, this was the scenario: The consulting team had an ambiguous client problem (no surprise there) and the team had not set on an approach yet. Differing ideas, pros vs. cons. It was all on the table in a smart...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Increasingly, I have been using this simple, but stark, analogy to talk about team management. Increasingly, seems like there are two ways to get outcomes. Democracy mode (what do you think?) Dictator mode (do what I say) As a manager, I want to get the most our of my...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
For most road-warriors, aisle seats are the way to go. Better in almost every way. They have more leg-room, more freedom of movement, and easier exits. Today I did discover 1 benefit –...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
I have flown Delta for 15 years, but just recently discovered Delta Studio. For those who don’t know, you can watch free movies and TV shows using GoGo Inflight Wi-fi. Phone: Download GoGo app. Connect to wifi, open app. Click of Delta Studio. Laptop: Connect...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
“Let me get lunch. I am the cheapest person here.” As a manager, hearing a junior consultant say this made my day. Not because I avoided the task of going and picking up lunch; I do it all the time Not because I was particularly busy that day, and...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Monday night in the hotel. Lots of work, but not in the mood. Instead, thinking about the cherry blossoms I saw with my wife this weekend. A much better thought. Related posts: Consulting travel The consulting life. Good dinners...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Accenture had a good week Their stock hit a 16 year high, as they boosted their forecast for both revenues and profits. Go A-C-N. While looking for their quarterly investor presentation, I stumbled on something entirely more interesting. Digital Business Era: Stretch...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consulting is a career Consulting is more than just a job. You develop a way of thinking, unique skills, and lots of professional relationships. There is no better general business training than consulting. You work with super smart people, interact with clients...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
From 2015: I have not blogged in a month because of international travel, 3 concurrent projects, and honestly, some of the toughest manager days I have ever had. Got some new folks, a fairly ambiguous project, and a lack of thinking. Sad, but true. A lack of real...
by Consultant's Mind | Strategy
“Just be yourself” – Every Mom Yes, every mom ever said these same words to their pre-teen child, “Just be yourself.” Stop trying to be someone you are not. Stop copying XYZ, that is going to get you in trouble. We are different ...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Yes, I am currently staffed on the East Coast in February. #$^@#$ it’s #$%#$^ cold. A few words of wisdom for the newbie consultants traveling to into the cold: Staying warm (affiliate links) Buy some 180s. They are ear warmers that don’t mess up...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
For 80% of you, this is so basic that you just “rolled your eyes”. Completely understand. If one of my team asked me this, I would not be happy. I would be scared. In a quick survey from my last post, looks like 1/3 of us don’t feel that confident...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Consultants are not accountants Yes, there are a lot of consultants who work at the big 4 (Deloitte, E&Y, KPMG, PWC), but they are not accountants. If you ask them to balance credits and debits on a ledger, they will look at you like a confused dog. Yes, we took...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell popularized this number in his book Outliers (affiliate link). Based on the research of Anders Ericsson, Gladwell notes that you don’t really start to excel at something until you put in the requisite blood, sweat and tears . . ....
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Some people over manage their careers They treat it like a classical piano recital piece where you can’t make a mistake. Massive FOMO. Yes, they think too much about the role they play, how they will position themselves for promotion, and what they deserve to...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
23 consultants were in a restaurant. . . The leadership team of our consulting practice were enjoying wine and canapes. (Yes, consultants eat well). My buddy and I were talking and when we looked out the window into the January Chicago night, someone was staring...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Frankly, good writing is rare All of us have suffered through obtuse, boring business brochure-ware. Lots of jargon that means nothing. Read and write a lot It helps to read a lot. Helps you to pattern-recognize good writing. In particular, the Economist is...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
UVA Darden is a strong business school known for its case study method. Like Harvard, UVA uses this method to teach everything from finance to ethics. Over the course of 2 years, the students have more than 600 cases. Yes, it’s rigorous. Darden is known for...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Ever have writer’s block? Try using this simple process to breakdown your writing into the right process steps. It’s called madman, architect, carpenter, and judge. The idea is simple, but instructive. There are 4 different writing personas tugging at you...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Consulting is an apprenticeship business Yes, this is where the master coaches the apprentice on the skills and methods of the craft. Same is true in law, accounting, other professional services. Yes, I am sure that many consulting skills can be taught in books,...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Fiverr.com I discovered this website just a few months ago. The concept is simple, if not remarkable. It is a market where people offer services starting at $5. It varies from proof-reading your resume, writing a jingle, sketching something on paper, or even...
