The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving Podcast Por FirmsConsulting.com & StrategyTraining.com arte de portada

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

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

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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.© COPYRIGHT 2010 - 2019 THE STRATEGY MEDIA GROUP LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Economía Exito Profesional Gestión Gestión y Liderazgo
Episodios
  • 641: Former Bain & Company Director Michael Farmer — Differences Between McKinsey, Bain and BCG, Strategy Consulting, Helping Ad Agencies and Their Clients Navigate Change (Strategy Skills classics)

    641: Former Bain & Company Director Michael Farmer — Differences Between McKinsey, Bain and BCG, Strategy Consulting, Helping Ad Agencies and Their Clients Navigate Change (Strategy Skills classics)
    Apr 2 2026

    In this episode, let's revisit a Strategy Skills classic interview with the author of Madison Avenue Makeover: The Transformation of Huge and the Redefinition of the Ad Agency Business, Michael Farmer. He also wrote the award-winning Madison Avenue Manslaughter, an inside view of fee-cutting clients, profit-hungry owners, and declining ad agencies (Third Edition, 2019).

    In this episode, Michael speaks about the time he worked for McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, and the differences between the three consulting firms. He also shared his advice for those aspiring to build their consulting firm and discussed the technique that helped him write his first book, Madison Avenue Manslaughter. Finally, Michael shared his experience of helping in the Transformation of a Creative Ad Agency (Huge).

    Michael Farmer is Chairman and CEO of Farmer & Company LLC, a strategy consulting firm for advertisers and agencies. He also serves as Professor of Branding and Integrated Communications at The City College of New York (CCNY). He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and was previously a Director of Bain & Company.

    Connect with Michael here: https://www.farmerandco.com/

    Get Michael's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Madison-Avenue-Makeover-transformation-redefinition/dp/1911687646

    Madison Avenue Makeover: The Transformation of Huge and the Redefinition of the Ad Agency Business. Michael Farmer.

    Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo
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    1 h y 3 m
  • 640: Jim Hemerling, BCG. Co-author of "Beyond Great" (Strategy Skills classics)

    640: Jim Hemerling, BCG. Co-author of "Beyond Great" (Strategy Skills classics)
    Mar 30 2026
    Jim Hemerling is Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group's San Francisco office and a leader in the firm's People & Organization and Transformation Practices. He has been the leader of BCG Greater China and is a Fellow of the BCG Henderson Institute. His work with clients and his research focuses on holistic human-centric approaches to organizational transformation. Jim is a co-author of BCG's new book - Beyond Great: Nine Strategies for Thriving in an Era of Social Tension, Economic Nationalism, and Technological Revolution. Global companies remain hamstrung by organizational forms that leave them mired in bureaucracy and slow to respond to changing needs. To grow in the volatility of the 21st century, firms must go beyond the familiar matrix structure and reconfigure themselves in more flexible ways. COVID-19 and its myriad effects on ways of working will force leaders to rethink how they build teams and acquire, upskill, and retain talent. Hemerling and his colleagues launched a study of dozens of global companies to determine successful leadership strategies and found that, though seemingly obvious, the best leaders put people and their needs first, rather than regarding them as resources to exploit. Hemerling and coauthors write about these topics in Beyond Great: Nine Strategies for Thriving in an Era of Social Tension, Economic Nationalism, and Technological Revolution (October 6, PublicAffairs). BCG's first major book in years, it will redefine strategy in the post-COVID era. Extending their research far beyond the expected Silicon Valley players, Hemerling and his coauthors at BCG looked at over fifty companies and interviewed hundreds of CEOs across sectors and geographies. The trends: By 2030, companies around the world will have some eight-five million skilled jobs unfilled—a gap that will exact a severe economic toll;In a 2018 BCG survey of 366,000 people from two hundred countries, ranked "good work-life balance" as much more important than "financial compensation"Over 40 percent of hiring managers anticipated that nontraditional educational criteria—like a coding "boot camp"—would soon be just as good a credential as a college degree when evaluating candidates. For incumbents to thrive amidst these challenges, they must deploy new strategies that touch every part of their business, from value propositions and global supply chains to leadership and social responsibility goals. A huge part of this is leadership and the future of work—how to retain employees, attract top talent, and navigate tension when global forces are changing attitudes about work and life. Examples of innovative leadership: Deemphasizing hierarchy encourages employees to take ownership of projects and propel them forward without bothering to seek approval from bosses;Exploiting the gray area of informal conversations that typically take place between colleagues allows employees to break free from their daily work and innovate;Gamifying candidate screening and identifying talent via online competitions and hackathons to appeal to a new generation. Claim your free gift: Free gift #1 McKinsey & BCG winning resume www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF Free gift #2 Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts www.FIRMSconsulting.com/decisions Free gift #3 Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody www.FIRMSconsulting.com/owntheroom Free gift #4 Access episode 1 from Build a Consulting Firm, Level 1 www.FIRMSconsulting.com/build Free gift #5 The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies www.FIRMSconsulting.com/OverallApproach Free gift #6 Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Action, a book we co-authored with some of our clients: www.FIRMSconsulting.com/gift
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    1 h y 2 m
  • 639: Growth at Scale in the Age of AI (with McKinsey's Marc Canal)

    639: Growth at Scale in the Age of AI (with McKinsey's Marc Canal)
    Mar 25 2026

    Marc Canal, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, examines how long-term economic progress is built and what current shifts in AI, demographics, and productivity mean for senior leaders. He explains that consulting is less about analysis than it appears and more about trust, judgment, and the ability to frame relevant questions. Building a small number of strong relationships is more valuable than broad exposure, particularly when developing a client base.

    Organizations, he notes, are inherently messy. What appears structured from the outside is the result of distributed decisions and constant adjustment. The role of leadership is not to eliminate this complexity, but to bring enough structure to make effective decisions. A key differentiator is the ability to connect macro trends such as technology, demographics, and geopolitics to specific business choices. This broader perspective is often undervalued but increasingly expected by clients.

    On AI, Canal emphasizes that most skills are not replaced but reshaped. Writing, analysis, and coding become shared capabilities between humans and machines, shifting the premium toward judgment and application. Two areas stand out: relationship-based leadership skills and practical AI literacy. He also cautions against over-reliance on AI in core thinking processes. Insight often emerges through iteration, particularly in writing, and this discipline remains essential.

    Drawing on his research, Canal argues that a future of sustained global prosperity is achievable. Historical growth rates suggest that lifting living standards broadly is feasible, but not automatic. It requires continued investment in productivity, technology adoption, and human capital.

    The discussion closes with a consistent theme: progress depends on choices. Leaders who combine long-term perspective with disciplined execution are best positioned to shape outcomes.

    Get Marc's book here, A Century of Plenty, here: https://tinyurl.com/mryykcxc

    Claim your free gift:

    Free gift #1
    McKinsey & BCG winning resume
    www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF

    Free gift #2
    Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts
    www.FIRMSconsulting.com/decisions

    Free gift #3
    Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody
    www.FIRMSconsulting.com/owntheroom

    Free gift #4
    Access episode 1 from Build a Consulting Firm, Level 1
    www.FIRMSconsulting.com/build

    Free gift #5
    The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies
    www.FIRMSconsulting.com/OverallApproach

    Free gift #6
    Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Action, a book we co-authored with some of our clients:
    www.FIRMSconsulting.com/gift
    Más Menos
    54 m
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