The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 265, an episode with a veteran Silicon Valley dealmaker, Touraj Parang. Get Touraj's book here: https://amzn.to/3bmsDGj In this episode, Touraj takes us through his unique, decades-long experiences as an entrepreneur and investor. He shares the lesso ns he learned when he sold his first startup – with no exit plan – for pennies on the dollar. It was then followed...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 264, an episode with startup entrepreneurs Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba. Get Ash and Hasan's book here: https://amzn.to/3Q8ctPD In this episode, we speak about the concept of unfair advantage and the process of identifying and managing it so it's your edge over any competition. Many people have the limiting belief that they don't have something authentic to offer, but...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 263, an episode with an artist, researcher, author, and educator at Northwestern University, Julio Mario Ottino. Get Julio's book here: https://amzn.to/3b4390g   Individuals and organizations face complex problems and challenges today that demand a new way of thinking to grasp underlying solutions and opportunities. In this episode, Julio shares the beauty of the...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 262, an episode with a professor at Queensland University of Technology, Amanda Lotz.   In this episode, Amanda shares her insights as a media expert about Netflix's recent announcement that they are introducing an ad-supported version of their streaming service. She spoke about the challenges that Netflix may face as it goes down the advertising route. Amanda di...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 261, an episode with the Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Energy and the Environment at the University of Delaware, Saleem Ali. Get Ali's book here: https://amzn.to/3aOWwie   In this conversation, we discussed numerous examples of major problems around the world, from the resources industry, environmental conflicts, culture, and the system of order and co...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 260, an episode with bestselling author, keynote speaker, workplace expert, and resilience researcher, Adam Markel. Get Adam's Book here: https://amzn.to/3PwE6l6   In this episode, Adam speaks about how he reinvented his career path through valuable lessons and eye-opening life events. He shares his experience as a Jones Beach lifeguard in New York. As a first re...

For this episode, let's revisit the 47th podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study. As I mentioned in previous posts, the reason we spend so much time on visioning workshop is because if you ever take a senior role in strategy in any company, or if you ever serve as a corporate strategy consultant, running a visioning workshop or corporate strategy workshop, in general, is the skill...

For this episode, let's revisit the 42nd podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation  study. What I noticed on this, and other studies is that the associates and business analysts are very competitive, in a way that is damaging to clients, to the firm and to their own careers. I am fine with consultants being competitive but I think they go about it the wrong way. You can be competitive and...

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we will talk about general professional values or etiquette that consultants should apply during an engagement. We specifically discuss things that consultants sometimes do on studies that may alienate the client. And rather than talking about every single thing you need to avoid, we will talk about some principles. And these principl...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 256, an episode with an expert in business law and business ethics, J.S. Nelson. Get J.S's book here: https://amzn.to/3ny1z9B Managing business ethics has always been a challenge for many organizations. As unethical business conduct rises, the struggle of implementing ethics and compliance programs in organizations also increases. Business ethics can make or brea...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 255, an episode with the CEO and managing partner at Velocity Group, Edward Sullivan. Get Edward's book here: https://amzn.to/3HT2Hy4 In this episode, Edward discussed the best practices that leaders and companies do to address mental health issues and the real cause of the great resignation. He spoke about the gravity of work-life balance, care, and understandin...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 254, an episode with the Founder and visionary Managing Director of Bandelli & Associates, Dr. Adam C. Bandelli. Get Adam's book here: https://amzn.to/3nhGgsC "It is very important for leaders to not only surround themselves with great talent but build really strong partnerships with their people." - Adam Bandelli In this episode, Adam speaks about how reliance o...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 253, an episode with Emeritus Professor at UCLA Anderson, Richard Rumelt. Get Richard's book here: https://amzn.to/3OrNfuK In this episode, Richard iterated the real meaning of strategy, which many companies today confuse with a list of their goals and ambitions. Strategy is problem-solving – a clever way of dealing with a challenge, opponent, or problem. It also...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 252, an episode with a thought leader and global expert on infectious diseases and vaccine safety, Jan Bonhoeffer M.D. Get Jan's book here: https://amzn.to/3y2x4hZ In this episode, Jan spoke about his medical career journey, working with different interesting organizations, and how he realized there was a missing piece: care. He spoke about how we often become so...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 251, an episode with a leading Yale expert and serial entrepreneur, Barry Nalebuff. Get Barry's book here: https://amzn.to/3OiNiJs For thirty years, Barry has taught negotiation, innovation, strategy, and game theory at Yale School of Management, which led him to develop a new approach toward negotiation. This approach is vastly different from how most people thi...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 250, an episode with one of Silicon Valley's most renowned business advisors and coaches, Tom Eddington. "There's always a challenge, and there's always an opportunity." - Tom Eddington In this episode with Tom, we discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a multitude of issues today – not only for individuals but also for most organizations. One of the big...

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss how to identify a corporate strategy. It is actually very simple to know if a study qualifies as a corporate strategy study. Irrespective of what anyone tells you, if you go into a strategy study where the key question – or what we call an objective function – is known to you, then it is not a corporate strategy. This is be...

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we explain what it means to be a conceptual thinker and how to demonstrate this skill. If you work at any major consulting firm – and especially if you want to be promoted – you must prove you are a conceptual thinker. The only problem is that it is hard to define the word conceptual. In this podcast, we explain a similar problem expe...

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss how to communicate recommendations that are radical in nature. If the recommendations are presented too early, they are hypotheses with little data backing them and they can be easily challenged. If the recommendations are presented at the end, it shocks the client and there likely will be little agreement from the client....

For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics where we spoke about the approach and philosophy used by the study leadership team in a power sector corporate strategy study as they guide and mentor corporate leaders at the client. We discuss the four pillars on which our leadership philosophy is built and use practical examples to demonstrate how we help clients adopt these princi...

For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics where we discuss something that affects every consultant in the world: the issue of confidence – or even arrogance – and its role in getting results on a consulting engagement. We discuss the role that confidence plays in your career and look at what actually creates a competitive advantage in your career. We also look at an example t...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 244, an interview with globally recognized academic thought-leader on digital transformation and innovation management, Satish Nambisan. Get Satish's book here: https://amzn.to/3QpWQE3 In this episode, Satish spoke about real-world examples of companies that use digital technology as their unique competency to move and globalize faster. He defined "globalization"...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 243, an interview with a business coach and change leadership expert , Richard Hawkes. Get Richard's book here: https://amzn.to/3Oe5ljU In this session, Richard shared his experiences with building a consultancy, working shoulder to shoulder with leaders and teams to grow and scale all kinds of companies – in the US and in countries all over the world, but especi...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 242, an interview with the CEO of YSC Consulting, Eric Pliner. Get Eric's book here: https://amzn.to/3HpM1hf In this video, Eric shared his career journey, experience with adjusting to consulting, and how to become a successful consultant while maintaining a healthy life balance. He discussed the reasons why his company survived and thrived during the pandemic. A...

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 241, an episode with scientist, inventor, writer, speaker, and entrepreneur, Alex Bäcker. Get Alex's book here: https://amzn.to/3HqNfZu In this episode, Alex spoke about the main ingredients of a successful life and the key to happiness. He discussed why he wrote his book, 101 Clues to a Happy Life, and shared how having children exponentially changed his life an...