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Posts tagged ‘Strategic Management’

Information and Case Tips from Bain and Company

Max (not his real name) is an aspiring consultant who is looking to secure an analyst role with one of the top firms for the upcoming recruitment cycle in September 2011. His interest in management consulting was sparked by a failed McKinsey interview last year. In this series of blogs, he will be sharing his background, case preparation process, useful resources, and any breakthroughs or setbacks that he experiences.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to attend a “Crack the Case” session offered by one of Bain’s North American offices. I would like to share my notes from the session, and I hope that you find them useful! Read more

McKinsey Engagement: Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Story

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Stories which delve behind the scenes of consulting engagements are very, very rare. Today’s lengthy post is just such an article.  It is an in-depth analysis of a major McKinsey assignment in a developing economy, South Africa. We are going to give critical coverage of the behind the scenes issues and outcome of the project. This will be one of those rare articles. Upfront we must add this will not be a biased critiscm of the firm. McKinsey actually did very well on this engagement. In some ways this is a complimentary article. Read more

In the Hot Seat with Deloitte Consulting

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The Hot Seat is a fast paced interview we hold with current partners or principals at the leading consulting firms. The rules for the hot seat are simple:

  • We will not post the interviewee’s identity so they feel no pressure to market their firms.
  • We want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
  • We want them to bring forth new insight about their firms.
  • Interviewees do not see the questions beforehand.

Today’s Interview is with a partner in Deloitte’s Strategy and Operations practice. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and an AB. Read more

Distilling the essense of strategic thinking

If you have no time to read the voluminous guides to strategic analyses, have a look at the 4 slides below which elegantly distill the concept. You can get the full document here and many other stunning management consulting templates here.  

Slide 1 is a beautiful slide which perfectly explains the concept. It takes so much writing on the subject and condenses them into one easy to use guide:  

1 – Break down a problem statement using deductive reasoning (See slide two for more on this).  

2 – Determine the analyses required to answer the question.  

3 – Collect data for the analyses.  

4 – Run the analyses.  

5 – Compare the results and repeat the process if needed.  

Slide One

 

Slide two explains the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is definitely the preferred method of management consulting.  

Slide 2

 

 Slide three shows how the problem statement can help decide the type of analyses required. This is worth showing since many consultants struggle at making this jump from problem statement development to analyses.  

Slide 3

 

 Slide four again summarizes the process using a different style.  

Slide 4

 

These four slides elegantly and succinctly explain the core skill used in strategic consulting. If you want to understand anything in management consulting, make sure you understand this.  

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