The Blog
Long-form essays, field notes, and frameworks from the FIRMSconsulting team — published weekly.
All posts
Published weekly-
[The Annual] Still waiting to be picked?
Leadership Is Not a Promotion. It’s a Decision. The last episode of Module 1 and the first episode of Module 2 of The Annual are now available for Insiders and Legacy members. You can watch the trailer [here], and members can access the new episodes [here]. — Too many smart people are waiting. Waiting to be promoted. Waiting to be handed a…
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Ex-Google Executive Jenny Wood on Breaking the Unwritten Rules
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 537, an interview with the author of Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It, Jenny Wood. In this episode, Jenny discusses her career journey and the key skills that helped her rise from an entry-level role to an executive over 18 years. She also discusses overcoming imposter…
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Joel Salinas on The Science and Art of Coming Together in a Conflicted World
Our Strategy Skills episode 536 is an interview with the co-author of Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In, Joel Salinas, MD. In this episode, Joel Salinas talks about conflict resilience and how our brain reacts to disagreements. He explains how loneliness affects health, how conflicts activate pain-related brain areas, and shares…
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The Existential Mistake Made When Immigrating
Most Relocation Plans Miss One Critical Factor. Does Yours? The first five episodes of our new 11-part Legacy program, The Existential Mistake Made When Immigrating, are now available. You can watch the trailer [here], and Legacy members can access the first 5 episodes [here]. A reminder for Insider members: you’re welcome to upgrade to Legacy and return…
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Former Time Editor William Green on Being Richer, Wiser, and Happier
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 535, an interview with the author of Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets and Life, William Green. In this episode, William Green talks about his journey from Oxford to becoming a renowned journalist. He shares stories of his unconventional career path, including impulsive moves to…
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Building a Consulting Practice: From First Client Meeting to a Scalable Business
This week, we begin the release of the very first documents (wrap-up meeting of the engagement that led to the new engagement and five issues meetings). *** This is for a significant and much-requested program: Building a Consulting Practice – from the first meeting to the methodology, proposals, books, and new revenue streams. Documents are being released to SCRA and…
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The Science of Personal Power with Chris Lipp
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 534, an interview with the author of The Science of Personal Power: How to Build Confidence, Create Success, and Obtain Freedom, Chris Lipp. Powerful people operate with a fundamentally different mindset. While others seek approval and dodge accountability, influential individuals take ownership and remain anchored to their goals and values.…
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The Blind Spot in Modern Strategy
The Leaders Who Grasp This Will Own the Future. The Rest Will Be Obsolete “Executives talk about ecosystems like they’ve discovered something new, but most don’t understand what they’re dealing with. It’s not a supply chain. It’s not a partnership. It’s a system. An evolving, self-reinforcing structure that dictates behavior, outcomes, and competition itself. You…
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Anne Marie Anderson on Being Audacious
For episode 533 of Strategy Skills, we interviewed Anne Marie Anderson, the author of Cultivating Audacity: Dismantle Doubt and Let Yourself Win. In this episode, Anne Marie Anderson shared her journey from being rejected by ESPN at 21 to working there for 35 years and becoming one of the most experienced female play-by-play announcers in…
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[NEW SCRA] Investor Relations Strategy Proposal
We remain focused on a Year of Consulting Sales. In an earlier post, we laid out the program and explained the five sales meetings. The documents from those meetings and the explanation will soon be loaded. We have just released the Investor Relations Strategy Proposal, the third engagement generated by those five sales meetings. It is accessible within…
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Caroline Adams Miller on Setting Big Goals and Creating Your Best Life
Strategy Skills episode 532 is an interview with the author of Big Goals: The Science of Setting Them, Achieving Them, and Creating Your Best Life, Caroline Adams Miller. In this episode, Caroline takes us through her journey of overcoming personal challenges to becoming an expert in positive psychology and goal setting. She breaks down why…
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The superior advantage only audit firms have
Missing One Crucial Step in a Business Case Can Turn A Winning Strategy Into a Costly Failure As part of our Year of Sales theme, we also focus on how strategy/business consultants within audit firms should effectively compete against more focused strategy firms. We refer to them as Audit-Based Consultants (ABCs) even though they reside within an audit firm’s…