72: Consulting Lifestyle Challenges
This podcast unpacks the typical lifestyle of a consultant. It touches on some elements for associates and business analysts, though delves more on the issues and challenges addressed by partners at BCG and McKinsey. Nonetheless, it is a good idea to understand how consulting lifestyle trends change one progresses further and further up the organization. This at the very least will help you decide if you want to stay all the way to partnership. This podcast is largely based on my own experiences as a partner.
17 Maj 201219min
71: Advice for Aspiring Female Consultants
It is a ridiculous myth to assume the world is fair and females have an even playing field with males. Females, especially in emerging markets, face unique and trying obstacles during the case interview process. Firmsconsulting has always been fairly direct in telling the truth as we see it to ensure female clients have the correct expectations, understand the hurdles they will face, and are armed with the correct training to handle their interviewers. This podcast explores this topic further.
11 Maj 201227min
70: Managing your Case Interview Image
Image management is crucial. A significant part of our approach is around teaching clients to manage, control really, the image they portray. This involves a wide area like dressing, networking, emailing, speaking, hand movements, body language etc. This podcast touches on these elements of image while exploring several in depth. This is one of several detailed podcasts exploring different areas of image management.
5 Maj 201220min
69: Important Case Guidance
In our ongoing series of podcasts, we again introduce new advice about case interviews or sometimes view an old topic in a different manner. The objective of these podcasts is to explain concepts like MECE, 80/20, brainstorming, hypotheses etc in different ways so that as many listeners as possible will understand these concepts. We have seen some listeners obtain McKinsey offers merely by using the podcasts to prepare and we therefore want to increase the amount of material we generate - in the hope of helping more listeners.
29 Apr 201211min
68: Analyst to Partner
In this podcast I examine my rapid progression up the ranks of the elite firms all the way from analyst to principal and then director. I offer anecdotes or my own experience and especially the mistakes I made, strategies I followed and the lessons I learned along the way. What you find is that analytic skill is very important early on, but being brilliant at analyses only gets you so far - and not very far at that. To push into the partnership ranks you need to have much more skills, especially the ability to influence others, take risks and build your peoples capabilities.
23 Apr 20121h 9min
67: What is business judgement
You cannot and will not improve your case skills from practicing case alone. "Case skills" refers to a variety of skills including body language, communication and especially business judgement. Business judgement effectively means your ability to make reasonable guesses/inferences in business situations. That largely comes from being well read. This podcast breaks down business judgement further and offers advice to improve this skill.ies.
17 Apr 201210min
66: Follow an R&D Strategy Study
An earlier podcast discussed a fairly labor-intensive case where we needed to literally roll-up our sleeves to find and extract data, and a corporate finance study. This engagement is somewhere in-between. It discusses a study I led to help a major corporation completely redesign their entire R&D strategy and restructure their R&D division, a behemoth of a unit with little direction. I do recall this being one of the friendliest clients I have ever encountered. PhD's usually are this way.
11 Apr 201234min
65: Discuss your analytic skills, sample answer
In this series of podcasts we look at each of the typical McKinsey/BCG FIT/PEI questions and provide a typical answer. Note, that while replicating this approach and standard will help you, we caution you that the main test of fit is in handling the cross-examination of your answer. Most candidates tend to be unprepared for that and we urge you to be very aware this will happen and to practice this interrogation style. You can never memorize your way out of these interrogations questions, since you cannot predict the actual question and, therefore, prepare for them. At least 20% of clients ignore this advice at their peril. The reality is that McKinsey will rarely ask this question directly. They will ask a simple question, not referring to leadership, but expect you to always draw out leadership, analytic, teamwork and "can-do" attributes.
5 Apr 20129min
