by Consultant's Mind | Fun
We all complain Anyone used to living the good life – yes, including consultants – can find things to be unhappy about, even in the best of circumstances. It’s human nature. It’s first world problems. We should be grateful It’s my...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Bain & Company is known for big thinking This 44 page report is no exception. Bain reviews eight global trends that will each generate a $ trillion+ of growth. Trillion with a T. Look at the concepts below, and you can see this big-think, Alvin Toffler-type...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Went on a 6 mile run It was cathartic, and just what I needed before my client meeting this morning. The weather was awesome, and my (somewhat) crappy hotel was actually right by a lake with tons of bridges, boats, and bi-planes. See some of the pics below. Power of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Case interview If you are an undergraduate or MBA student who wants to get a consulting offer, you better do well on the case interview. If you ran a regression on consulting offers and good case interviews, the correlation would be 0.7 or higher. In non-geek terms,...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Jeff Bezos is clearly not your typical guy Valedictorian of his high school class, summa cum laude in electrical engineering from Princeton, ex-hedge fund manager. Starts online bookstore, but then grows it into the largest online retailer. Takes Amazon.com public in...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Teams are not always great I recently wrote about how consulting is a team sport, but I also wanted to share some caveats. It’s not always rainbows and cute ponies. #1: Working with new people In consulting, you work with smart and diverse people, but they are...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
14th Annual report Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released their 14th annual report on total shareholder value (TSR). It was worthwhile read, even if you are not in corporate finance. They talk about global trends in economics, capital flows, investor expectations and...
by Consultant's Mind | Team
Consulting is a team sport One of the best things about consulting – and project work more generally – is that it’s a team sport. There is a goal. People have different roles. You don’t have to be good at everything, but you do need the right...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Detroit’s bankruptcy is sad for 2 reasons It shows the decline of one of America’s great manufacturing cities, and also augurs what will likely happen to many more US cities, counties, and states in the future. Governments are bankrupt everywhere. Without...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
GDP = C+I+G+NX Sadly, that is the only formula I remember from my undergraduate macroeconomics class, but thankfully, it is the most important one. The Gross Domestic Product = Consumption + Investment + Government + Net Exports (Export-Imports). It’s worth...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Seems simple enough Consultants are in the business of making other people successful. Yes, consultants make a good salary, and yes, they do have some power on projects. Fundamentally though, it is not about them. It is about the clients. Good consulting habits. This...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
It was a rough week. Started last Saturday with multiple conference calls, and one week later, at 1am the following Sunday (8 days later), still going strong. Sometimes, not glamorous I slept 4 hours a night for the last 8 days. I told my consulting partner that it...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Peter Drucker Peter Drucker is a legend in business and management thinking. He passed away in 2005, after writing almost 40 books, teaching extensively and consulting people like Procter and Gamble’s A.G. Lafley, GE’s Jack Welch, and Intel’s Andy...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Proud to be an American The US is a truly blessed country, and it is no surprise that the waiting list for green card averages six years (depends on the country of origin). Supply and demand. People want to live here. People want to be American. “If you are born...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Consultants are cartographers Maps contain a lot of information in a small amount of space. It shows trends, and is usually a very memorable, visual way to see information. Here are 3 maps of the USA that I saw mashed up. . Companies by state This is by Steve...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Accenture’s (ACN) reported Q3 earnings on Thursday (6/27). Revenues were basically flat at $7.2 billion, and net profits jumped up nicely to $810 million. It wasn’t all good news though. ACN said that bookings were slowing down to 3-4% YoY. No surprise...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
It’s a late night I am working at 2am, which is actually not that unusual with management consulting. Here are some of the many reasons why a consultant might be working this late: Some good reasons: Time zone change. You fly into NYC from the West Coast....
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I first heard the phrase “Culture Trumps Strategy” in 2008. Intuitively this makes sense. Culture lasts. Culture is everywhere. Employees don’t need online training to understand it. It’s who we are. It’s what we stand for. It’s why...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
BAH is a reputable firm Booz Allen Hamilton is a reputable consulting firm, well-known for it’s deep relationship with the US government. As the news reminds us, it has not been a good week for BAH. Edward Snowden One of its employees, Edward Snowden admitted to...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Have you seen a TED video? If not, you should stop reading this blog right now. Instead, go to www.TED.com and watch any of the 1,400+ videos. They are all less than 18 minutes long and completely worth your time. Very thought-provoking. For those who watch TED, we...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Traveling is an ugly part of consulting No pretty way to say this, but traveling can be a bummer. Many consulting firms travel 50-80% of the time Mon-Thu to client sites. Awesome when you are young and mobile. Eager to see the world. A bit crappy if you are married...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Consulting is stressful Traveling in a middle seat. Creating presentations from an empty, white PowerPoint template. Working with a new team. Meeting new clients. Learning on the job. Crunching data in a hotel room. Reworking data that was bad. Yes, consulting is a...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Recently gave a talk on the topic of networking. It’s a vast topic that we universally agree is important, yet few of us really excel at. Books and books have been written on the topic, but here is my take: heart has to be the right place There are lots of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Management consulting Continues to do well. The Economist posted this chart last week which shows that McKinsey, Bain, and BCG all grew by double digits in 2011. The revenue trend is clearly up. Bain grew by 17% YoY. The consulting outlook is good. Companies are...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
We are in the influence business Just like anyone who sells services to clients – markers, bankers, consultants, dentists, plumbers – we influence clients to do things we think is in their best interest. It’s harder than it sounds because: We are...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I read this book in June 2002 by David H. Freedman. It was the year before I went to MBA, and it made an impression on me. I remember telling the HR director about it, and then seeing quotes from the book in one his presentations. Whether you are a hawk or a dove...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants use buckets I know it sounds pedestrian and unsophisticated, but it’s harder than it looks. When you are trying to crack a complex problem, inevitably you will start to group things. Buckets, I tell you. Consultants use buckets. When you have a...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
“It Depends” This is a phrase you hear a lot in both business school and management consulting. As weird as seems, it is often the best short-answer to give a client. A boring half-answer? To some this may come across as timid or mentally lazy. As if...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
“Excellence is a habit” Apparently that is something Aristotle said. If we are what we repeatedly do, then you are not “excellent” once, by chance, but by training, diligence, muscle memory, and habit. Anders Ericsson talked about...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants (Keep) revising their work Yes, the end product tends to be high-quality because a lot of smart people have spent A LOT of time on it. Looking at recent files saved on my laptop, I see some with pretty absurd file titles like: ABC_phase 1_02082013 10pm...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting, Fun
Yes, I was delayed 7 hours before. . . In 2013, I had a flight schedule to leave at 4:45 that left at 12:30am. There were 58 people on the standby list. During this horrific wait at O’Hare, I had the good fortune of traveling with a work colleague. We talked,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I got my MBA many years ago. It was a good use of my time, attention, and money. That said, there are a lot of skeptics out there, and they have good reasons. 3 Cons of the MBA Inflation. Typically the more of something there is – all things being equal –...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Started writing this blog a year ago At the time I had no idea where it would lead, but after 40,000+ words I still enjoy the work. As consultants, we are paid by to think rigorously and creatively through problems – and yet, it’s a shame there is not a...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Not sure how this happens, but the entire developed world is in debt. Europe, the US, and Japan have borrowed so much money that they are headed towards ruin. The Boston Consulting Group even went so far as to call it the biggest Ponzi finance scheme in history. That...
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 | Consulting
Went to an improv theater recently. Had a a great time and laughed a lot. It made me ask: What can consultants learn from Improv? My first reaction to the question was dismissive. After all, improv is about entertaining the audience, making things up, and generally...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Thought a lot about leadership recently and ran across these leadership quotations. . . What is leadership? “Leadership is influence” – John Maxwell “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Recently, I was reminded that there are three types of influence in the workplace. You might not have all three, but you better have some. . . Positional, Relational, Expertise. I first heard this on a manager-tools.com podcast, but please let me know if you heard of...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Messy processes everywhere SIPOC is not a nice sounding acronym, but it’s a useful way to think through problems. Clients often present consultants with complex processes that seemingly don’t have a start or a finish. They go on-and-on. They are...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Two months ago I didn’t know what a M-O-O-C was. Now, I am convinced it will be the juggernaut that disrupts higher education. For the last 20 years, traditional universities have only given lip-service to online education. They may have put out a few extension...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
It tax time and there are usually few things to be happy about. One of the small things is the tax-deduction from charitable gifts. For many of us, we get to enjoy the donations twice – once when we make the gift, and another time when we deduct it from our...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Superbowl Sunday. For many in the US, there are only 2 parts of the day. Getting ready for the Superbowl, then watching it. Interestingly, most people don’t care who wins, and a large number of people are just watching for the ads. (66% female and 47% males say...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Amazon reported 2012 Q4 earnings on Tuesday. Q4 revenues soared to $21 billion, up 22% Y-o-Y. Net income was a dramatically different story at $97 million. Looking at the net margin, it comes out to about 0.5%. It reminds you of the imaginary quote “Don’t...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Client wants more for the same money Not pretty. It’s no surprise that consultants dread it. It usually means late nights, grumpy analysts, dissatisfied clients, and potentially lower project margins. All bad things. In the end, it is a fancy word for...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
In 2013, PricewaterhouseCoppers (PwC) published its 16th annual global CEO survey. It’s a hefty survey with responses from 1,300+ CEOs across 68 countries. To me, this type of survey is very credible. CEOs suffer from the herd mentality like any of us do, but...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I recently read the 2008 best-seller Nudge (affiliate link) and was surprised to discover how many of our so called “decisions” are actually default choices, illusions, and mental rules of thumb. We are educated to believe that individuals are rationale...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Graphics tell a lot story in a little space It’s descriptive without being prescriptive. For some fun examples look at http://thisisindexed.com/. It’s a blog that Jessica Hagy has diligently been posting since 2006. She hand-draws simple graphics that...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Visual.ly is a website that showcases thousands of infographics where data is displayed in unique and fun ways. For consultants who are in the business of telling stories with data, it is worth a few minutes of your time. Consulting presentations are simpler 90%+ of...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Stanford = engineering + venture capital We all know Stanford was the birthplace of HP, Cisco, Google, Yahoo. Did you know that in a 2011 survey, it was determined that 39K+ companies can trace their roots to the school. If those companies formed a country, it would...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
US gun violence is a problem Approximately 12,000 Americans are murdered each year with a firearm. This per capita homicide rate is 4x that of England and 6x that of Germany. In the 14 days after the sad day in Newton, CT, there have been 242 reported fire arm...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Gift cards are everywhere ABC News recently said that gift cards are the #1 requested holiday gift items for 6 years in a row. This year, I gave out 2 gift cards; they are sold in grocery stores, easy to buy, more thoughtful than cash, and definitely useful. No one...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Accenture reported Q1 earnings I knew that ACN was publicly traded, but never bothered to look at the numbers. Here is what I found in their10Q. Q1 Revenues of $7.22 billion, up 2% YoY Q1 Operating income of $1.05 billion, up 7% YoY Q1 Net income of $698 million Cash...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Charts can mislead In most cases, bad charts are accidental. Perhaps someone was over-eager to show good results, or maybe, just did a sloppy job of formatting. Whatever the cause, it’s bad mojo to put together analyses or charts that mislead. Here are some bad...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
anagement consulting video Just watched my first video advertisement for consulting. It was entitled The Science of Management Consulting; it was cool, visually appealing, and a bit inspiring actually. Done by Accenture and on their website. Says some good things All...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics, Learning
What is the fiscal cliff? This term has become a popular way to describe the abrupt changes expected in the beginning of 2013 due to the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts, and the mandatory cut of several areas of government spending. The NY Times does a great job...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Management consultants make good money They should not complain. If you look at the most recent MBA graduation statistics of Kellogg, you will see newly minted MBAs making a median salary of $165K + if they go into consulting. It is no wonder that it is one of the...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (affiliate link) is arguably the most famous book written on negotiations. It was written by Roger Fisher and William Ury in 1981 and has been compulsory reading for negotiations classes at Washington, Columbia,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Yes, consulting = PowerPoint One colleague joked that he gets to the client sites, turns on the computer and just opens up PowerPoint – even before opening email or anything else. Like a baker who turns on the oven as soon as he enters the kitchen. It’s a...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Just watched the Alabama-Georgia game. For international readers, this was the equivalent of the semi-finals for college football between two rival teams who both had a winning season so far (11 wins – 1 loss). It was a very close game which Alabama won...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consultants spend hours making slides It’s a common sight to see consultants pouring over their PowerPoint slides – moving pages around, adjusting the colors on graphs, mulling over wording, checking verb agreement and proof-reading. Presentations are also...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I love good food I was recently in New York City vacationing and enjoying wonderful food at great restaurants. Places where there 1,000+ www.yelp.com reviews. Italian ravioli, Japanese ramen, Korean pork belly buns, tuna tartare, lox and bagels etc. . . While there,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Yes, management consulting firms go bankrupt The Monitor Group filed for bankruptcy and will be acquired by Deloitte Consulting. Monitor was a top-shelf strategy consulting firm often mentioned in the same league as the big 3 (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) and other boutique...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Bain & Co conducts a survey every few years on how executives use management tools. Unsurprisingly, these are the management tool that management consultants often use when coaching, prodding, and helping executive think about their business. If you want to learn...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Recently, I was given an excel model that was the Titanic: large, slow, overly ornate, and structurally unsound. Not only was it frustrating to work with and laborious to fix, it was also a bit laughable. It did not answer even the most basic questions: Who is...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Oye Vey, Presidential Elections Tomorrow is election day in the United States. The two candidates (and their super-PACs) have spent an estimated $6 billion in political ads. What a waste of money. I suppose that these ads can sway some voters, but that is too bad....
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
This week my team interviewed more than 20 people, everyone from VPs down to the analysts and clerks. The interviews were a gold mine of insights – especially since we were still in the early days of the project collecting data. My throat was killing me, but...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting, Learning
Consultants know better than to use the word “average” too loosely. It is certainly useful, but too general and sometimes misleading. It’s a good first step, but it is analogous to a chef using pre-cut vegetables or day-old bread. It’s easy, a...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
US government foreign aid was one of the topics of the recent US Presidential debate. Through all the politics and chatter, it always helps to go back to the facts. The US government publishes something called the Greenbook (245 page pdf) which shows where all the US...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
I ran the Philadelphia Rock and Roll half marathon last month. Felt great to finish, but it was pretty painful at mile 11 and 12. There were a lot of people there, and it made me wonder how popular are half marathons? So here is what I found out at www.runningusa.org:...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Americans are fat Currently 2/3 of the US population is overweight or obese. We generally eat too much, eat the wrong things, and don’t exercise. You know things are bad when the US Coast guard reduced the number of passengers allowed on boats because the...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
too much jargon Yes, let’s all admit it. We probably use jargon more than we should. It’s so ubiquitous that it’s like a second language that you might metaphorically list at the bottom of your resume. Hey, wow, look at me. Yes, it can be useful...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
After reading Switch (affiliate link) by the Heath brothers, I am convinced that successful consulting projects must appeal to the head, the heart and the hand. It is a simple way to think about change and also makes a lot of sense. Head: The logic of the analysis and...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
America has been the predominant military power for the last fifty years. With the break up of the USSR in the late1980s, the US stands alone in its military spending. Americans of my Gen-X generation, are now asking the question, “Should America Serve as the...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Hypothesis-based consulting Yes, this sounds fancy, but some cynics might call it educated guessing. Either way, it is a smart way to break down complex or ambiguous problems, and quickly start driving towards an answer. At its heart is the scientific method –...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
No one likes taxes Taxes are a universal complaint regardless of where you live. It is the stuff of bar conversations, news reports and Presidential debates. It is mentioned in the bible and let’s not forget that one of the twelve disciples was a tax collector...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Raising capital online, grassroots style This blog post is ostensibly about how crowd-funding websites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter are democratizing innovation by creating ways of individuals to support new products, ideas, bands and charities. Raising capital...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
It’s easy to say YES When the client asks for something – new research, some ad-hoc analysis, an extra workshop – it usually seems like a reasonable request. After all, they pay the bills and shouldn’t they get the most out of their...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
In the US, it is a Presidential election year. Which means we will see lots of TV ads and general non-sense in the news until November. In the graph , you can see that political TV spend is about $2 billion a year (even during the 2010 mid-term Congressional...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
Better Olympic metrics please As a consultant, it always seemed odd that news reporters routinely compare the medal count between the USA and China – after all, the USA has 530 athletes compared to China’s 380. Seems like the total number of medals is only...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
The Olympics are a wonder At a macro-level, it is a family get-together of 200+ nations where all the international relations and the geopolitical clatter is replaced with sports. It’s a rare opportunity where xenophobia, racial stereotypes, and hatred are not...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Consultants need to keep up with technology to stay relevant. Once you start to fear technology, you are getting old. So, this is how I finally started using Reddit. Reddit is a funny place. For those who don’t know, it is simply a set of forums where you can...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Stephen Covey passed away recently His most famous book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (affiliate link), sold 15+ million copies and has been on Amazon’s top 100 best seller list for almost 5 years. It is worth buying if you don’t have a copy....
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Had a rough Monday. It is 10pm and I still have 2-3 hours of work to do. That said, I ran across these three stories and it really picked up my day. 100 guitar riffs. sheesh. 3 Million Mile Volvo: Read the NPR story about Irv Gordon who has driven his beloved car for...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Recently came across a list called 101 Most Useful Websites curated by Amit Argarwal, a columnist with the Wall Street Journal India. Useful, free and refreshing websites. 1) FaxZero.com: This a free PC-to-Fax machine service No registration and it takes only 60...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Happy Birthday! The United States is celebrating its 236th birthday today. I saw an article from Mental Floss Magazine by Matt Soniak called How All 50 States Got Their Names. It was well-timed for July 4th, but a bit long at 5,000 words. After reading through the...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Management consultants are always looking for ugly problems and broken things to fix. After all, we only get paid when we uncover difficult problems and fix them. Clients do not always know what is wrong What really surprises me is that many clients have trouble...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Consulting travel is brutal, but one of the benefits is loyalty points. We can thank our clients for the silver, gold, diamond, and platinum status we have with airlines and hotels. Good ole’ Marriott loyalty points. Some places my wife and I visited using...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Structure your thinking This is the only way to present your ideas clearly to clients. One excellent tool is the pyramid principle by an ex-McKinsey consultant by the name of Barbara Minto. She authored a book called The Minto Pyramid Principle here (affiliate link)...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Podcasts are a life saver You can listen on the drive to the airport, waiting at the gate, or on the plane. Easy to download them to you smart phone. One of the greatest downsides of management consulting is the incessant travel. The time-suck is enormous with 4-6...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
These graphs from the Economist describe China’s economy, growth and influence. China certainly has issues (e.g., demographic imbalance, rich-poor disparity, censorship) but you have to admit, China has been putting up some incredible economic numbers. Chinese...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Magical phrase, “best practices” Management consultants use the phrase “best practices” often. Perhaps too often. You will see that magical phrase mentioned numerous times in white papers and research on these websites: Boston Consulting Group,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Hubris That could easily be the sub-title of a book by Stanford Professor Bob Sutton called Good Boss, Bad Boss (affiliate link). He gives a talk at Stanford Business School here. Prior to this, this he wrote a best-selling book called: The No Asshole Rule (affiliate...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Did you read the 170 page Facebook prospectus? Me neither. The consultant’s short-cut is to watch the FB IPO video. It was created for retail investors. Unsurprisingly, it is quite bullish and does not really mention risks. You can find those details in the...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Management consultants need to be quick learners. Junior analysts are routinely asked to support proposals and projects across different industries. The good ones are fast, and proficient with Excel and PowerPoint. The great ones get up-to-speed quickly on the...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Take a look at this cartoon about miscommunications. There are 12 unique pictures and each one shows a different interpretation of the same situation. The customer, analyst, consultant all see and hear things differently. Listening If you are married, you don’t...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics, Learning
Consultants always appreciate visuals. Here are some great bar charts from the Economist showing the differences between countries.Note: not all countries are shown. All great bar charts. Meat Consumption by Country by Product Luxembourg, United States, and Australia...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
What’s the so what? You will hear this phrase used on projects a fair amount. It is not the best usage or even politely worded, but it’s critical: Your presentations need to have a point Since consultants are paid for insights, recommendations and...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
DMAIC Ask any consultant, and I mean ANY consultant (strategy, process, IT) and they will know what DMAIC stands for. It is an abbreviation for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. It is a tool often used in process improvement projects. I am not a fan of...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
I am an iPad addict. Crazy convenient, and new apps everyday. Always inspired by the ingenuity of app developers. Useful, fun, powerful. Here is how I find awesome apps AppAdvice.com Excellent reviews of app by category. It is well-curated and gives you a real...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
In 2002, I read a book that compared business with poker. It had a very catchy title: MBA Poker: Winning in Business No Matter What Cards You’re Dealt, with a simple premise that business people could learn a lot from poker. (Affiliate link) poker = Business At...
