The Blog
Long-form essays, field notes, and frameworks from the FIRMSconsulting team — published weekly.
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Published weekly-
Strategic Ways to Use Your Competitors’ (Internal + External) Flaws
As you have elected to be a part of the FIRMSconsulting community, today I am going to share with you another piece from a new book/program we are working on. It is focused on how to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage by uncovering flaws in your thinking and thinking of your competitors. This is from writing…
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19 Ways for Developing Strategy Insights
19 Ways for Developing Strategy Insights One of my favorite words is the Japanese word Satori, translated as “comprehension; understanding” or “a flash of insight.” Insights allow us to see what others—or most others—were not able to see or what they ignored. Insights allow us to see what we ourselves have not seen before, or have not understood the importance of…
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Joining McKinsey as an experienced hire is not always a step up
Joining McKinsey as an experienced hire is not always a step up Are you an experienced hire, preparing for consulting case interviews? If yes, this article may open your eyes to something very important. My name is Kris Safarova. I was recognized among World’s Top 30 Management Professionals for 2023 along with Tom Peters, Philip Kottler,…
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Jeff Bezos Question Worth Asking
Jeff Bezos Question Worth Asking Jeff Bezos mentioned he often received this question: “What’s going to change in the next 10 years?” Jeff Bezos, however, said that the more important question is this: “What’s NOT going to change in the next 10 years?” I thought about this as it relates to building a career in…
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Who is going to be the making of YOU
Who is going to be the making of YOU I came across this story about Thomas Edison today: Edison was sent home from school with a letter for his mom. He asked his mother, “What does the letter say?” She said, “It says, your son is incredibly intelligent beyond our capabilities of teaching him. Our recommendation…
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Understanding the Risk in a Business Strategy
Understanding the Risk in a Business Strategy A business strategy tries to solve a set of problems to increase returns while minimizing risk. The return side is well covered with numerous tools, analytics, and frameworks to more or less accurately estimate free cash flow, economic profit, NOPAT, enterprise value, EBITDA, net income, ROIC, and any…
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The Ultimate Guide to Working With Business Consultants
Guide to Working With Business Consultants What Is a Business Consultant? A business consultant is a professional who provides expert advice to organizations to help improve their performance. They analyze a company’s operations, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies to achieve specific goals. Why Hire a Business Consultant? A business consultant can bring value…
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10 Case Interview Prep Myths
10 Case Interview Prep Myths There are ten myths surrounding the consulting case interview prep process that are important to recognize. Much of this advice is expanded in The Consulting Offer, where we teach participants in more depth why these misconceptions exist and how participants can increase their chances of succeeding in consulting case interviews.…
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The Desire To Feel Better About Oneself
There is a very basic human need: The desire to feel better about oneself. Everybody has this need. And there are four ways in which people act on this need. #1 is focusing on achieving, success, accomplishing difficult goals, and breaking out of your orbit. #2 is charity and sacrifice. We feel better when we…
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Success Requires Clarity
Warren Buffet remembers speaking to a woman who had survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Auschwitz was a complex of over forty concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II’s Holocaust. He asked this woman, “How do you define friendship?” She said her test was: “Would they hide me?”…
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They Didn’t Understand Life
One of our wonderful Insiders wrote this thoughtful email for Michael and me, but also for the benefit of the FC community. I removed some identifying information. I think this message can help many people. If you are in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, as you read through John’s email (name changed for privacy), step…
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You Will Have Results Or You Will Have Excuses
Do you want to succeed? You need to become an effective communicator. You need to be able to take an idea in your mind and present it in a way that allows people to understand, pay attention, consider the idea, and have confidence in your ability to execute the idea. Great communicators have the ability…