399: 5 tips to fight fatigue (Strategy Skills classics)

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 493, an interview with the coauthor of the book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, Mark Abraham.    In this episode, we explore the rise of personalization through digital tools and AI, and how companies and organizations are leveraging it to build connections and engage with their customers. We discuss companies that excel in this area, such as Starbucks with its personalization engine, and Spotify with its tailored music recommendations. Personalization is not just about data; it's also about responding effectively to customer insights, enhancing customer experiences, and driving growth.   Mark Abraham is a senior partner at BCG and the founder of the firm's Personalization business, which he has built into a global team of more than 1,000 agile marketers, data scientists, engineers, and martech experts. He and his team have accelerated the personalization efforts of more than a hundred iconic brands (including Starbucks, The Home Depot, and Google) and built some of BCG's largest ventures and AI platforms, including Fabriq by BCG for personalization. Currently, Mark leads BCG's North American Marketing, Sales & Pricing practice and is reenergizing the growth and development of talent in what is one of the firm’s largest regional practices.   Get Mark’s book here: https://shorturl.at/Qj6Ys Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

21 Loka 202458min

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 492, an interview with the co-author of the book Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI, David C. Edelman. This book is a playbook for delivering true personalization at scale that will help executives learn how to put personalization at the center of their strategy and accelerate growth. BCG's Mark Abraham and HBS's David C. Edelman describe five promises of personalization: Empower Me, Know Me, Reach Me, Show Me, Delight Me.   David C. Edelman is a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, an executive adviser and board member to brands and technology providers, and an adviser to BCG. Previously, David was chief marketing officer at Aetna and has worked with dozens of companies on personalization, AI, and agile marketing at BCG and Digitas. Forbes has repeatedly named him one of the Top 20 Most Influential Voices in Marketing, and Ad Age has named him a Top 20 Chief Marketing and Technology Officer.   Get David’s book here: https://shorturl.at/Qj6Ys Personalized: Customer Strategy in the Age of AI   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

16 Loka 202445min

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 491, an interview with the author Directional Living: A Transformational Guide to Fulfillment in Work and Life, Megan Hellerer.    In this episode, Megan shares her experience as an executive at Google and how she realized the misalignment in her career path, which led to physical and mental health issues. She also discusses how she navigated through it by listening to her inner voice and experimenting with new paths. Additionally, Megan explains how she built her coaching practice, how to find clients that are a good fit for you, the common issues clients face, and how to help them solve those issues.   Megan Hellerer is a career coach and the founder of Coaching for Underfulfilled Overachievers. She has led hundreds of women, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to transform their lives by transforming their careers. After checking all the traditional boxes of success—graduating at the top of her class from Stanford University and spending eight years as a Google executive—and still deeply unhappy, she quit her great-on-paper job with no plan. Now her mission is to provide others with the support and guidance that she needed when she herself was struggling. Megan has been featured in New York, Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and The Times. She lives with her husband and daughter in the Hudson Valley, New York.   Get Megan’s book here: https://shorturl.at/Icv8w Directional Living: A Transformational Guide to Fulfillment in Work and Life   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

14 Loka 202455min

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 490, featuring an interview with the author of Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve, Alison Fragale. In her book, Alison addresses the recurring questions from high powered and early career women alike: How do women thread the needle of kindness and competence in the workplace? How can women earn credit for their accomplishments, negotiate better, and navigate complex office politics without losing the goodwill of their peers?   Alison Fragale is the Mary Farley Ames Lee Distinguished Scholar of Organizational Behavior at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School. As a research psychologist, award-winning professor, international keynote speaker, and author, she is on a mission to help others — especially women — use behavioral science to work and live better. Her scholarship has been published in the most prestigious academic journals in her field and featured in prominent media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Boston Globe, and Inc. She lives in Chicago with her husband and three children, who are all named after professional athletes. For more information, visit AlisonFragale.com.   Get Alison’s book here: https://shorturl.at/uPfaJ Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

9 Loka 202449min

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 489, featuring an interview with Mitch Warner, a bestselling author and Arbinger managing partner.    In this episode, we dive deep into the critical topic of self-deception and its profound impact on leadership and personal effectiveness. Mitch shares powerful insights on how self-deception can undermine our relationships and professional success, often without us even realizing it. He explains the concept of self-betrayal and how it leads to a distorted view of ourselves and others, creating unnecessary conflicts and reducing our influence as leaders. Mitch shares a valuable advice on how to rebuild trust in relationships damaged by self-deception and how to not let it happen again.   Mitch is the co-author of Arbinger’s latest bestseller, The Outward Mindset. He writes frequently on the practical effects of mindset at the individual and organizational levels as well as the role of leadership in transforming organizational culture and results. He is an expert on mindset and culture change, leadership, strategy, performance management, organizational turnaround, and conflict resolution.    Mitch is a sought-after speaker to organizations across a range of industries, bringing his practical experience to bear for leaders of corporations, governments, and organizations across the globe. Specific clients include NASA, Citrix, Aflac, the U.S. Army and Air Force, the Treasury Executive Institute, and Intermountain Healthcare. Mitch carries his first-hand perspective as a proven leader into his speeches and facilitation, dynamically bringing Arbinger’s concepts and tools to life through his powerful stories and hands-on experience. His audiences leave inspired to improve and equipped with a practical roadmap to effect immediate change.    In his role as managing partner, Mitch directs the development of Arbinger’s intellectual property, training and consulting programs, and highly customized large-scale organizational change initiatives. He has been instrumental in Arbinger’s rapid growth, including its expanding international presence in nearly 30 countries.    Mitch received his B.A. in philosophy and is a licensed nursing administrator. Trained in fine art at the Art Students League and the National Academy, he spends much of his free time painting. His work hangs in organizations nationwide.   Visit Arbinger Institute here: https://arbinger.com/   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

7 Loka 202456min

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 488, featuring an interview with a seasoned business strategist and operator respected for his pivotal role in Amazon’s early days, John Rossman. In John’s book, Think Like Amazon, he provides 50 ½ answers drawn from his experience as an Amazon executive―and shows today’s business leaders how to think like Amazon, strategize like Bezos, and beat the competition like nobody’s business.   John Rossman is an author, executive advisor and keynote speaker on digital transformation, leadership, and business reinvention. With a career spanning consulting roles at renowned brands like Novartis, Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Walmart, and T-Mobile, he brings extensive expertise in solving complex business challenges and driving customer-centric solutions. As an early Amazon executive, Rossman played a pivotal role in launching the Amazon Marketplace in 2002, shaping its transformative impact.   Rossman is the author of four influential books on leadership and business innovation, including the bestseller “The Amazon Way” and his recent release “Big Bet Leadership.” He served as senior innovation advisor at T-Mobile and senior technology advisor to the Gates Foundation, where he honed his strategic acumen in driving organizational change and creating enduring enterprise value.   Today, Rossman is a sought-after keynote speaker renowned for his insights into leadership for innovation and transformation. His work emphasizes practical applications of Amazon’s Leadership Principles to foster innovation, drive growth, and navigate digital disruption effectively.   Get John’s book, Think Like Amazon: 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader, here: https://shorturl.at/zyUHR   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

2 Loka 202445min

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from a 10 episode program to help our clients and customers measurably, radically transform their careers through The Author Program.   How would your career, reputation, and earnings change as a published author?   Imagine your client interactions when potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility? Imagine how many potential clients would find you and reach out to you?   Learn more and see the application guidelines: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/experts-published-author-program/   Apply: email team@firmsconsulting.com   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

30 Syys 202426min

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from week 4 of the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study.   Promoting women into leadership roles is a hot topic and, sadly, a debate. Why is it a debate? What are the elements that require further analysis? To paraphrase Marvin Bower, one does not ask a client if a woman should take over the relationship, one simply tells a client a woman is taking over. It is not the client’s job to decide what is right.   In this podcast, we explain why we have more female than male partners at FC and how we constantly develop them to serve in more and more senior roles.   Click here to see the full study and here to see the merger study and market entry study.   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

25 Syys 202416min