by Consultant's Mind | Strategy
This is something I found myself saying a lot recently. No matter if you’re a 20 year-old university student, or a 45 year-old corporate manager, life seems like it is a constant fire. Exams, recruiting, dating, conference calls, student clubs, PTA meetings,...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
At the Goizueta Business School we offer a 3 week business boot camp for non-business majors here. The idea goes that there are a few dozen core business concepts that any graduate should know (e.g., Assets = Liabilities + Equity). In the spirit of putting together a...
by Consultant's Mind | Graphics
What’s a Venn diagram? Yes, you’ve seen these overlapping circles before. It’s a simple and visual way to show different data sets. What is separate and what overlaps? Consultants and executives love diagrams, right? I Used to not like them For the...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Management Consulting. It’s a lot of things. It is an industry; we all know McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PWC, and others. It is a profession built on asking good questions. It is a team sport. It is a bit of an attitude. It is a tribe that is difficult to get...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Wrote this blog post in 2013 (yes, when I was 20% younger). New comments in red color. Key takeaway (TLDR), focus on getting really good at your craft (read: expertise, professionalism) and relationships. Three kinds of power: positional, relational, and expertise...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Death of expertise I saw this book at the library and was intrigued by the cryptic title: Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters (affiliate link), by Tom Nichols. I flipped through the book and landed on this high-powered...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Some people get stuff done You know people like this. Doers. Winners. People who are not just efficient, but they are also effective. When they say they will get it done, #$@!, you might as well consider it done. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Love this expression I first heard this in a Tim Ferris interview of Marc Andreessen here (min 6:10). Andreessen created the Netscape Mosaic browser (making the internet easy to navigate), sold it to AOL for $2B, then spent last 15+ years investing and running a...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Consulting Mailman This is a phrase that I have used many times this week. It has come to be a short-hand way for me to say “overhead.” Like the post I wrote about not supervising others here, if you find yourself sitting in meetings where you are only...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
If you like your boss = winning There is significant evidence that shows that “liking your boss” is a huge source of work satisfaction. Put another way, if you don’t like your boss, you will not be happy. Accenture says 31% of people leave their job...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting
Over the last 15 years, I’ve interviewed lots of candidates. Beyond the resumes and case interviews, it comes down to fit. When I think about the most important characteristics of a consultant – or anyone I plan to work with – it gets narrowed down...
by Consultant's Mind | Learning
It was a tough week For all of my positive energy, pro-client attitude, and traveler’s stoicism, I remember one week that ran me over. Meetings going awry, data being wrong, unmet expectations, miscommunication among the team, cancelled flights, false...
by Consultant's Mind | Fun
Have some gratitude There is a lot of research that shows that when you are grateful, you are happier. I firmly believe this, and it applies to everyone, not just consultants. Small things Current project has a nice conference room. Nice and sunny, private,...
by Consultant's Mind | Consulting, Learning
You cannot know everything As consultants, clients know more about their business than you do. Fact. However, we have the logical structuring, resources, focus, and objectivity to do great work. It’s a life-saving skill to get smart quickly on the topic, client...
