How to implement the client-first rule

We receive many emails from readers wanting to implement the client-first rule. Too many readers make a single tragic mistake when implementing this rule. They become martyrs. They believe the client-first rule means you have to do whatever it takes to put the client's interests first. In this process they damage their careers, as well as the organization's long-term performance, and health. Misunderstanding the client-first rule This is not the way the client-first rule is used at McKinsey and BCG, but readers fall in love with the glossy narratives of Marvin Bower, which are largely true, but heavily romanticized by recent biographers. People who read about this and who work at smaller firms or rival firms, and even McKinsey, often don't understand that there is a rule that precedes the client-first rule. And it is a more important rule. The problem with applying the client-first rule The problem I see with how many apply the client-first rule is that they put a client first but in an unsustainable way. If you put your client first in a way that burns out and destroys your organization you are ultimately not putting your client first because you are killing your organization and, in time,…

Business Unit Strategy: Core & Critical

Welcome to the next Strategy Skills podcast. This is a video version that will be released as part of the Firmsconsulting TV video series on iTunes, which will also be accompanied by an audio version released through our Strategy Skills iTunes channel and Strategy Skills app. Of course, if you want to see the entire study, with all slides and training videos released to date (more will be added over time), you can join the Executive Program and it will all be there. In today’s video we will focus on business unit strategy within the context of a corporate strategy study. We will talk about the role of the business unit strategy stream within a corporate strategy study, a very particular and crucial role. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSNDAvmXjzA&feature=youtu.be Business unit strategy stream The corporate strategy team will determine what the strategy is going to be, and what skills are required to play in that market, region and part of the value chain. The business unit strategy team will then go through all the business units and decide which of these 100 odd business units are absolutely essential to implementing the new strategy. We call them core. They will also decide which of these are not essential…

Why Value Chain Analysis is at the Core of Strategy Consulting

Value chain analysis is very poorly done more often than not. Its one of those concepts that has become so common in business that when you hear the words "value chain analysis" you don’t even think about it. But you should. Porter's Value Chain Analysis Concept Value chain is a concept which was introduced by Michael Porter in 1985 and popularized in his best-selling book Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. The book introduced a new way of looking at an organization as a series of activities which link together into what Porter called “a value chain.” “My quest was to find a way to conceptualise the firm that would expose the underpinnings of competitive advantage and its sustainability”, said Porter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUU-18rWzX4 Porter explained that a firm can only be understood by looking at discrete activities an organization performs in designing, producing, marketing, delivering, and supporting its product. Looking at the industry or sector as a whole is too broad and will not allow one to isolate sources of competitive advantage for a particular organization. In fact, those very differences between competitors' value chains is a vital source of competitive advantage. Value chain analysis was introduced as a tool to analyze the sources of competitive advantage…

Wendy Suzuki on improving cognitive performance

Bill Graca, Management Consultant at a boutique consulting firm

We recently started a new series “Firmsconsulting Insiders share their thoughts” where you will meet selected FC Insiders, learn from their experiences and what they found works and does not work to ensure they make the most of FC training. In this video documentary, you will spend some time with a great client of over 4 years, Bill Graca, and his wonderful family. Bill is a management consultant at a boutique consulting firm and discusses his career journey. He talks about the way he has used Firmsconsulting content to both improve his work for clients and the community, and help his firm become more successful. Watch the full documentary: No one will outwork Gracas https://youtu.be/_LhPWPhhGzY Part 1: Meet Bill Graca (Bill is a management consultant at a boutique consulting firm) I'm Bill Graca. I am 33 years old. I'm a husband, I'm a father of three awesome kids. I work in Southeast Michigan, primarily in the Detroit area as a management consultant for a boutique consulting firm in strategy. I had a great upbringing as a kid. I had two wonderful loving parents. Both were professionals. My mom was a physical therapist, my dad was an attorney by trade. My dad was actually first-generation college student so he…

Failure to launch

I wanted to offer some observations on a phenomenon we see with many clients. We call it a failure to launch. What is a failure to launch? Joining McKinsey, BCG et al., is a great achievement but certainly not the pinnacle achievement of your life. It is a stepping stone. And we always encourage clients to aim higher and do bigger things with their lives. We find across all levels of clients we mentor - associates, managers, principals and senior partners - many believe they lack that one skill before they can pursue their big goal. The skill that clients think is lacking is a little different at each level but broadly similar in one way. They have convinced themselves success is not possible without a specific skill and there is no point to even try without this skill. So they keep trying to gain this skill, and it can set them back years. They pursue an MBA, they join McKinsey, they join industry, they join PE firms and so on, with the goal of developing this elusive skill. What is also common is they truly believe there is an experience that will give them the skill, and they end…

Career strategies to avoid

6 CAREER STRATEGIES TO AVOID Today I would like to offer you some thoughts as you think through your career strategy. I specifically would like to mention 6 career strategies you should avoid. Career strategies to avoid: #1 - Thinking that joining McKinsey, BCG, Bain et al. is the ultimate goal Joining McKinsey, BCG et al. is great but it is not the ultimate goal. We are proud of our clients when they reach this goal, but we always push them to think about what happens after McKinsey. Becoming a partner is not enough. Joining McKinsey is the equivalent of obtaining an MBA from a great school. One has to do something with the designation and often times many squander the very valuable designation. Career strategies to avoid: #2 - Lack of long-term focus When we tell clients to think and plan 4, 8 or 10 years into the future, most do not. They assume things will just take care of themselves or it is just too far out. However, 5 years is just 5 birthdays or 10 x 6-month cycles or possibly 3 Avenger movies. It is not a long time and while it may seem strange to think…

How I developed skills that matter to clients?

How I developed skills that matter to clients? Are you working hard to develop the skills of consulting partners but need some tips and motivation to help you make the most of FC programs? Do you struggle to relate to Kevin P. Coyne, Bill Matassoni, Michael etc. as their achievement level seems to be unreachable and wish you could also learn from role models who are your fellow FC Insiders? If yes, the Meet FC Insiders series was made for you. You will find FC Insiders everywhere. From McKinsey partners to banks, governments, industry, non-profits, startups to accounting firms. Even executive committee members of the largest consulting firms. We are thrilled to introduce more role models for the FC community who are fellow FC Insiders. Meet Nerses Nersisyan, one of our closest clients, a big 4 country head of tax and legal (previously PwC, currently KPMG), an amazing father and husband, and an FC Insider. Nerses talks about how he used FC training over the last 4-5 years to develop skills that helped him raise the bar 10 times higher and significantly accelerate his career progression. You can watch the documentary or read the transcript, whichever you prefer. Let us…

Can a functional partner lead the strategy workshop over a sector partner?

Can a functional partner lead the strategy workshop over a sector partner? Today, we would like to address a question related to the corporate strategy and transformation study to turn around an energy giant. This and other similar advanced strategy training programs are available to FC Insiders. In this article, we will address the question of whether a functional partner should lead a strategy workshop over a sector partner. Types of partners: functional partner, sector partner or regional partner Firstly, let us start with the definition of a partner in consulting. There are three types of partners. One is a functional partner: someone who specializes in particular function work and does not really worry about sectors. A function is things like strategy, operations, implementations, and corporate finance. Functions exist across sectors. The second type of partner is a sector partner: one who only does work in a sector e.g. Energy sector. He or she only does work in energy. The third type is a regional partner. A regional partner is someone who specializes in a particular region, e.g. emerging markets. For instance, a partner who does primarily different kinds of consulting engagements in energy in a particular region. The most common type…