FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com

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

Business EN ↓ 500 episodes

CEOs and business leaders, management consulting senior partners, ground-breaking professors, thought-provoking writers and journalists, record-setting athletes and coaches, and award-winning actors and celebrities discuss the key issues facing the business world and broader society. Get free access to our newsletter, Monday Morning at 8 am, along with sample episodes from our training programs on www.strategytraining.com. Go to https://www.firmsconsulting.com/promo.

Author

FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com

Category

Business

Podcast website

www.firmsconsulting.com

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

443: Negotiations in B2B sales and day to day leadership situations with Andres Lares 24.04.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 443, featuring an interview with the co-author of Persuade: The 4-Step Process to Influence People and Decisions , Andres Lares. This book deliver a concise and insightful take on how to transform your ability to persuade others regardless of the setting. Persuade is perfect for executives, managers, entrepreneurs, and other business leaders who negotiate or infl...

442: Founder and CEO of High Alpha Innovation, Elliott Parker. The Illusion of Innovation 22.04.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 442, featuring an interview with the author of The Illusion of Innovation: Escape "Efficiency" and Unleash Radical Progress, Elliott Parker. The Illusion of Innovation tackles the problem with innovation inside big companies, having activities that feel like innovation but lead to value destruction, not progress. This book explains why meaningful innovation natur...

441: How do I know what is corporate strategy (Strategy Skills classics) 17.04.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss how to know what is corporate strategy.   Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel:  http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe   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: ...

440: What is the big picture thinking? (Strategy Skills classics) 15.04.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss what big picture thinking is.   At least once in your life, you would have received feedback to be a more big picture thinker. The problem is that everyone will have a different definition of big picture thinking and many of the definitions are vague, counter-intuitive, or wrong.   Based on advising some of the consultants...

439: How to think about financial strategy | management consulting (Strategy Skills classics) 10.04.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss about financial strategy.   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 episod...

438: Scenario planning's common problems (Strategy Skills classics) 08.04.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss scenario planning's common problems.   Scenario planning / Scenario Analysis is a powerful tool in consulting. This is how to move from being a consultant to thinking and presenting like a partner.   Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download:  www.firmsconsulting....

437: Google's Laura Mae Martin on How to Be Productive 03.04.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 437, featuring an interview with the author of Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing , Laura Mae Martin. In her book, Laura shows how to thrive no matter where you're working, giving concrete steps that help you focus on your priorities and keep good systems, routines, and tactics in place. Uptime explains how to make technology work fo...

436: Selling Services to PE Firms with Aimably's Founder and Stanford Grad, Claire Milligan 01.04.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 436, featuring an interview with Claire Milligan, a Stanford graduate turned startup founder. Claire helps businesses grow by spending smarter and reducing their cloud costs. Her target market is PE firms. In this episode, we discuss what PE firms care about, how to approach them, the biggest challenges and potential solutions they encounter, as well as the sales...

435: Stanford University's Jeremy Utley. AI's brainstorming and problem-solving potential 27.03.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 435, where we feature an interview with the co-author of the inspiring new Generative AI study, Jeremy Utley. This episode highlights the common mistakes and missed opportunities many corporate teams and individuals make when using AI. Too often, individuals treat AI as a mere search engine, leading to answers that fall short of actual solutions.    Jeremy Utley...

434: Conditions for great PowerPoint slides (Strategy Skills classics) 25.03.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from the  Corporate Strategy & Transformation  study. This podcast is for those who have mastered all the basics on slide design and formatting. In this podcast, we discuss how to determine if your PowerPoint slides are influential on a study. Influential PowerPoint slides may not be the most beautiful pieces of work or even the ones with t...

433: Digital strategy expert, Venkat Venkatraman. How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future 20.03.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 433, an interview with the coauthor of Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future, Venkat Venkatraman. In Fusion Strategy, digital strategy expert Venkat Venkatraman and world-renowned innovation guru Vijay Govindarajan offer a first-of-its-kind playbook that will help industrial companies combine what they do best—create physical...

432: One of the world's leading experts on strategy and innovation, Vijay "VG" Govindarajan. How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future 18.03.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 432, an interview with the coauthor of Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future. In Fusion Strategy , world-renowned innovation guru Vijay Govindarajan and digital strategy expert Venkat Venkatraman offer a first-of-its-kind playbook that will help industrial companies combine what they do best—create physical products—with what...

431: Design the value chain you need | value chain analysis (Strategy Skills classics) 13.03.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss value chain analysis.   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 h...

430: Chief evangelist of Canva and host of the Remarkable People podcast, Guy Kawasaki, on Lessons from the world's most remarkable people 11.03.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 430, an interview with the author of Think Remarkable: 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference, Guy Kawasaki. In Think Remarkable , tech titan Guy Kawasaki teams up with Madisun Nuismer, producer of the Remarkable People podcast, to share invaluable knowledge from more than 40 years of working with game-changing organizations such as Apple, Canva, Go...

429: Benchmarking analysis (Strategy Skills classics) 06.03.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic from the  Corporate Strategy & Transformation  study, where we explain how benchmarking analysis, or what is also called best practice analysis, should be used for the top-down analysis and why they are so difficult to manage in a real study. Click  here  to see the full study and here to see the  merger study  and  market entry  study. Enj...

428: Vice President of SCADpro, Paul Stonick. The Business Value of Design and The Cost of Not Innovating 04.03.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 427, an interview with Paul Stonick, the Vice President of SCADpro—Savannah College of Art and Design's in-house design, research, and innovation studio—which is generating innovative designs and products for the world's most influential brands, including Google, Amazon, and Apple.   From sketches to on-screen visuals, SCADpro students conceptualized and created...

427: Ex McKinsey and LBS lecturer, Dr. Rebecca Homkes, on high growth strategy 28.02.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 427, an interview with the author of Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times , Dr. Rebecca Homkes. Survive, Reset, Thrive is a playbook for leaders derived from the author's first-hand experience working with executive teams across industries from software, technology, retail, fashion, and construction through to manufacturi...

426: Professor of Neuroscience, Dr. Charan Ranganath, on Memory, Neuroscience, and Discovery 26.02.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 426, an interview with the author of Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold on to What Matters, Dr. Charan Ranganath. In the book, Dr. Charan radically reframes the way we think about the everyday act of remembering. Combining accessible language with cutting-edge research, he reveals the surprising ways our brains record the past and how we use that i...

425: Former President of Nike's Consumer-Direct Division and Former Executive Vice President and COO of PepsiCo Discuss Strategies from Women Who've Made It—Christiana Smith Shi and Grace Puma 21.02.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 425, an interview with the authors of Career Forward: Strategies from Women Who've Made It , Christiana Smith Shi and Grace Puma. In this book, the authors challenge negative stereotypes about female ambition, and urge women to be bold, follow their dreams, and seize the chance to lead "big" lives. The secret is to focus on career first, job second. Instead of ch...

424: CEO of Churchome, David Kroll, on Using Modern Technology to Scale Your Nonprofit Organization and Grow Your Community 19.02.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 424, an interview with the Chief Executive Officer for Churchome, David Kroll. In this episode, David shares his career journey and transition from investment banking to becoming a pastor, highlighting his exposure to extreme success and the realization that money doesn't equate to happiness. David found personal freedom and alignment by pursuing work that aligns...

423: Value chain mapping (Strategy Skills classics) 14.02.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss value chain mapping. We have seen many value chain mapping examples. We have seen good value chain mapping, bad value chain mapping, and incomplete value chain mapping. Ultimately, given the nature of how value chain mapping will work, it can and cannot do a few things. So if value chain mapping is presented to do things it...

422: Harvard grad and Cerebral data science team leader, Akshay Swaminathan, on winning with Data Science 12.02.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 422, an interview with the author of Winning with Data Science: A Handbook for Business Leaders. This book is a compelling and comprehensive guide to data science, emphasizing its real-world business applications and focusing on how to collaborate productively with data science teams. The book follows the stories of Kamala and Steve, two professionals who need to...

421: A Visionary Business Leader and Best Selling Author, Mark A. Mears. What's LOVE Got to Do With Leadership? 07.02.2024

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 421, an interview with the author of The Purposeful Growth Revolution: 4 Ways to Grow from Leader to Legacy Builder. In this book, you will learn to apply 4 holistic and revolutionary processes found in nature to help individuals, teams, and organizations find purpose, fulfill their true growth potential, and leave a living legacy—what Mears calls paying it backw...

420: What a strategy workshop will not give you at the end (Strategy Skills classics) 05.02.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss what a strategy workshop will not give you at the end. Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel:  http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe 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 do...

419: The one thing every consulting case study must produce (Strategy Skills classics) 31.01.2024

For this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic where we discuss one important thing every consulting case study must produce. Subscribe to FIRMSconsulting's YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/Firmsconsultingsubscribe 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 f...

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