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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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, 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
Management consultants love analytical tools and www.FinViz.com is amazing. Take a look. It’s intuitive, fun, and gives you a macro-view of the US-based financial markets. I imagine this set-up would have cost $20,000+, twenty years ago, and now, it’s...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
I read a NY Times story (2012) about a a Boston University professor who asks for student feedback every class. Most professors might be satisfied with a student evaluation once a semester, but not this professor. Dr. Muhammad Zaman gets feedback daily from his...
