Case Interview Preparation & Management Consulting | Strategy | Critical Thinking

Welcome to an interview with Marshall Goldsmith, a world-renowned executive coach and leadership thinker.   In this episode, Marshall offers invaluable advice for aspiring leaders and coaches, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an adult-to-adult relationship in coaching scenarios. His focus on measurable results has made him a trusted advisor to some of the world's top CEOs and leaders. He...

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we discuss religion, politics, culture, etc. When interviewing with a partner or associate from a different culture, it is very easy to say something which can offend a person. Our very own clients have said seemly innocent things only to have it blow up in their face much later, and sometimes in the interview....

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we discuss about the typical errors candidates make in trying to read too much into the behavior of interviewers: quiet, asking questions, rude, etc. One thing we always caution candidates is to be wary of assuming the friendly person likes them or that the unfriendly person does not like them. Friendliness does...

Welcome to an interview with Ben Orlin, a math teacher turned full-time writer who's on a mission to make mathematics engaging and accessible to all and the author of the book Math for English Majors: A Human Take on the Universal Language.   In this episode, Ben offers insights into his teaching and writing journey, the challenges in teaching math, the unexpected success of his first book  "Math...

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 thi...

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 thi...

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 thi...

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 thi...

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 thi...

Welcome to an interview with Dr. Sam Adeyemi (Ah Day yeh me), a global speaker, strategic leadership expert, minister, and author who has influenced millions of people on success and leadership through radio, television, conferences, and information products for more than 25 years.    Atlanta-based Dr. Sam Adeyemi leads leaders. He shifts mindsets to help leaders see possibilities and become those...

Welcome to an interview with Deborah Ancona, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management.   In this episode, we explore "family ghosts," a rarely discussed topic that significantly impacts professional growth, behavior, and attitudes toward work. We discuss how to achieve your greatest potential as a leader by recognizing your own "family ghosts" and deter...

Welcome to an interview with the author of Job Therapy: Finding Work That Works for You , Dr. Tessa West. In her book, Dr. Tessa West helps you figure out the real reason you're unhappy and shows you how to find a new position in which you'll thrive, whether in a different role, company, or new industry altogether.   Dr. Tessa West  is Professor of Psychology at New York University, where she is a...

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...

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 t...

This general podcast describes some of the common misconceptions applicants and even practicing McKinsey/BCG consultants have about their own firms. It will be useful to anyone who wants to understand some of the broad themes and misunderstandings about the profession.   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download:  www.firmsconsulting.com...

Welcome to an interview with the coauthor of  Business on the Edge: How to Turn a Profit and Improve Lives in the World's Toughest Places , Viva Ona Bartkus. In this book, they argue that by entering markets in the world's frontline regions—areas stuck in cycles of violence and extreme poverty—businesses can actually create stability and expand opportunity for communities and corporations alike. ...

Networking calls/coffee chats are tricky. You should not be following the advice found for general recruitment. We insist our clients network with partners so most of the advice we provide is for networking with McKinsey and BCG partners. The reality is that partners are best equipped, and most influential, to assess a unique profile and make a judgement call on the spot. The danger is that if you...

Many candidates forget to sanity-check their calculations in a case. That is a bad idea. Without a sanity-check there is no way to meaningfully assess the accuracy of your answer. More important, how you perform the sanity check is the key. All sanity-checks must involve the reduction of the answer to a number that you can intuitively compare to your own experiences. Unless you do this, you can ne...

Welcome to an interview with an award-winning marketer, TEDx speaker and authority in harnessing the instinctive mind to accelerate brand and business growth, founder and CEO of Triggers, Leslie Zane.   In this episode, continuing the discussion from her first interview, we delved deeper into the conventional marketing wisdom and instinctive behaviors that drive people to buy your product.   Lesli...

Welcome to an interview with the author of Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future , Mike Maples, Jr. In this book, Maples and coauthor Peter Ziebelman set out to discover the hidden forces that drive extraordinary start-up success. Pattern-breaking success, they reveal, demands a different mindset and actions to harness developments others miss or that may, at first, seem crazy.  ...

Welcome to an interview with golf coach, entrepreneur, and personal development enthusiast Eric Cogorno. In this episode, Eric shares the most effective tips and techniques that he uses to grow his business and followers.   Eric took his business from $80K to $1.5 million revenue a year -- in less than five years. He has grown an audience of 500K+ followers (and 3-5 million views every month) from...

Welcome to an interview with the author of Intentionality: A Groundbreaking Guide to Breath, Consciousness, and Radical Self-Transformation,  Finnian Kelly. In this book, Finnian Kelly shares his step-by-step process for manifesting Intentionality into success. Through combining both scientific and spiritual principles, Finnian leads you through the five key intentions, including actionable steps...

Welcome to an interview with the author of Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times, Dr. Rebecca Homkes.   How would you stabilize your business to withstand and grow through market shocks, reset your strategy to take account of new realities and thrive through uncertainty?   Survive, Reset, Thrive is a playbook for leaders derived from the author's first-hand...

Welcome to an interview with the author of Crossing the Desert: The Power of Embracing Life's Difficult Journeys , Payam Zamani.    In this episode, Payam shares the most important lessons he learned from building a record-breaking billion-dollar IPO called AutoWeb, and how it fell apart. He took those early lessons and created his current company, One Planet Group, with the "people-first" culture...

Welcome to an interview with the author of May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases―And What We Can Do about It , Alex Edmans. In this book, renowned economist Alex Edmans teaches us how to separate fact from fiction. Using colorful examples, he highlights the biases that cause us to mistake statements for facts, facts for data, data for evidence, and evidence for...