The Blog
Long-form essays, field notes, and frameworks from the FIRMSconsulting team — published weekly.
All posts
Published weekly-
The lies to stop telling yourself about your career
As we step further into 2025, a lot is happening in the world. Competition is not slowing down. We live in a world of enormous change. This is good for your career because there are more opportunities. But it can also be bad for your career if you’re not the best-suited person for that opportunity. Recently,…
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We don’t compete. We redefine the game.
One Uncomfortable Truth: You’ve Been Thinking About Strategy All Wrong. “The greatest mistake executives make is assuming they are in a competitive game. The best companies don’t compete. They change the game entirely.” We have just released five new episodes of The Bill Matassoni Show, Season 3 and they challenge some of the most fundamental assumptions about business,…
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Quantifying the Real Value and Impact of Thought Leadership
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 525, an interview with the authors of The ROI of Thought Leadership: Calculating the Value that Sets Organizations Apart, Cindy Anderson and Anthony Marshall. In this episode, Cindy and Anthony discuss how their work at IBM shaped their understanding of thought leadership’s value in building client relationships and explain the quantifiable…
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Harvard Law School Alum Robert Barnett on How to Train Your Team Effectively
Robert Barnett, the author of Meet Every Learner’s Needs: Redesigning Instruction So All Students Can Succeed, joins us for Strategy Skills episode 524. In this episode, Robert Barnett discussed his approach to educational fairness and equity and the importance of personalized learning experiences. He explained the need for engaging and challenging learning environments rather than…
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Your preparation for the EB1A Program
Your preparation for the EB1A Program This one program could have the greatest possible impact on your life. It’s going to be an exciting program to see you grow and change your life and the lives of your family in the process. Kris and I have spent several years testing and adapting this program with many…
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Escaping the LA Fires Update: You Have to Choose Life
When You’re Surrounded by Loss, You Have to Choose Life Over the last 4 weeks, I’ve been to the depths of fear and managed to climb out. Before the last 4 weeks, I thought the hardest part of my life was behind me. I was grateful that I had survived those challenging phases of my life and…
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Reimagine Your Career Before It’s Too Late
Reimagine Your Career Before It’s Too Late What if your goal is completely wrong? If you achieved your goal tomorrow, would your life be significantly better? Or just… slightly more tolerable? Most people don’t have a career strategy. They have a survival plan. They work hard because that’s what they were taught. But have they…
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Lionel Barber, Former Editor of the Financial Times, on the Secret Story of the World’s Greatest Disruptor
Strategy Skills episode 522 is an interview with the author of Gambling Man: The Secret Story of the World’s Greatest Disruptor, Masayoshi Son, Lionel Barber. In this episode, Lionel discusses his career and insights on leadership, journalism, and business transformation. He talks about his tenure at the Financial Times and offers advice to young professionals…
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Ten Lessons from Creative Destruction
Ten Lessons from Creative Destruction The California wildfires were a traumatic and shocking event. Though they tried, the media could never quite capture living through it. Many events stand out, but three will forever be etched in my memory. First, a neighbor stayed overnight and recorded the unfolding events over the first 24 hours. From…
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Rewriting Your Story: Dr. Margie Warrell on Fear & Courage
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 522, an interview with the author of The Courage Gap: 5 Steps to Braver Action, Dr. Margie Warrell. In this episode, Margie shared her journey from a rural Australian dairy farm to a global career, and how she faced significant personal challenges including family illness and losing her first child.…
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Human-Powered Leadership in a Disrupted World with Christie Smith, Ph.D, Ex-Accenture Global CEO on Transformation
Our Strategy Skills episode 521 is an interview with the author of Essential: How Distributed Teams, Generative AI, and Global Shifts are Creating a New Human Powered Leadership, Dr. Christie Smith. In this episode, Dr. Christie Smith shares her career journey through boutique firms, Deloitte, Apple, and Accenture. She shares key lessons about building client…
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Mastering Conversations with Harvard Expert Alison Wood Brooks
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 520, an interview with the author of TALK: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves, Alison Wood Brooks. In this episode, Alison shares how her experiences at Harvard shaped her understanding of one of the most critical skills for anyone in any industry: conversation. She introduces the…