The Blog
Long-form essays, field notes, and frameworks from the FIRMSconsulting team — published weekly.
All posts
Published weekly-
BCG Henderson Institute Senior Director Adam Job on Growth and Strategy in Uncertain Times
Adam Job, Senior Director at the BCG Institute and leader of its strategy research, offers a clear-eyed examination of growth, uncertainty, and value creation in today’s business environment. Drawing on long-term empirical research, he explains why growth remains the primary driver of value over time, while also outlining why it has become structurally harder to…
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New York Times Bestselling Author and Navy Seal Advisor Daniel Coyle on Leadership, Psychological Safety, and Flourishing Teams
Daniel Coyle, New York Times bestselling author of The Culture Code and adviser to organizations ranging from Navy SEALs to global technology companies, joins the Strategy Skills Podcast to explore what truly drives leadership, performance, and flourishing. Drawing on decades of research into elite performers and high-functioning cultures, Coyle explains why performance alone is not enough, and…
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From IQ to AQ: Agility as the New Leadership Advantage (with Liz Tran)
Liz Tran, former venture capital executive and author of AQ, examines why agility—not raw intelligence or experience—has become the defining capability for leaders operating amid persistent uncertainty. She introduces Agility Quotient (AQ) as the capacity to adapt thinking, identity, and decision-making when familiar structures no longer apply. Tran explains how traditional markers of success, from credentials to past wins,…
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Business Longevity Principles from Immigrant Entrepreneurs (with Neri Karra Sillaman)
Neri Karra Sillaman, entrepreneurship advisor at the University of Oxford and author of Pioneers: Eight Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs, discusses why immigrant-founded companies are disproportionately successful and tend to last longer than their counterparts. Drawing on her experience as a former child refugee and on research that began with her PhD, she…
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The MasterPlan Annual
The MasterPlan Annual 12-Month MasterPlan Design, Update & Implementation Program “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” – Henry David Thoreau Many high-achieving professionals reach a pivotal moment where they realize: Their impressive credentials do not equate to personal fulfillment or direction. They hold significant titles yet lack a strategic framework for the…
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Rethinking Capitalism, Innovation, AI, and the American Dream (with Elizabeth McBride and Seth Levine)
Elizabeth McBride and Seth Levine return to discuss the ideas behind their book Capital Evolution and the shifts they see across capitalism, innovation, and work. They describe conversations with young people who believe “socialism is the right answer,” and explain why “nearly half of people under forty now don’t think that capitalism works.” They share…
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Psychology behind leadership influence and human behavior (with MichaelAaron Flicker)
MichaelAaron Flicker explains that people often struggle because “adding and adding must be more effective,” yet humans are “more confident when just one advantage is presented.” He shares that Five Guys succeeded because they “only do burgers and fries” and that “if you say you are best at one thing most of all, they’re more…
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NYU Stern’s Prof on How AI Is Rewriting the Future of Work (with Ben Zweig)
When most executives discuss AI, they focus on automation. Dr. Ben Zweig, NYU Stern professor and CEO of Revelio Labs, explains why the real disruption isn’t machines replacing people, it’s our failure to rethink how work is structured. “Labor markets are not as sophisticated as capital markets,” Ben explains. “We allocate capital efficiently, but not…
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$12B Investment Firm CEO on Saving the American Dream (with Mark Matson)
In this conversation, Mark Matson explains that “we often build our lives on things we are certain about that simply are not true.” He describes how “we don’t actually see the world… we see screens of how we think the world is.” He explains that these screens create “a double paradox” shaping what we think…
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Why Executive Leaders Feel Lonely with Adam McGraw
Adam McGraw is a Fortune 100 VP turned entrepreneur and co-founder of CREW, a leadership community. “We try and really curate it for folks that are in the VP and above through CEOs as well, founders, etc., so that they have this kind of safe white space atmosphere to really consistently plug in and build…
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Microsoft CTO Marcus Fontoura on AI, Human Agency and the Future of Work
Technology is reshaping the world at a pace few people, inside or outside the industry, expected. But every so often, you meet someone who has not only witnessed the major waves of technological change, but helped build them. In this conversation, Marcus Fontoura, Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, CTO for Azure Core,…
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How to Have More Hope with Dr. Julia Garcia
In this episode, Dr. Julia Garcia explains why hope is a habit and why it is critical for us to remove what blocks hope. She describes what happens inside teams when leaders lose hope, including “the culture that creates, the burnout that leads to, the discouragement and defeat.” Julia shows how unprocessed emotions drain leaders…