Management Consulting

Start Here with Case Interviews

We use ex-McKinsey, BCG et al. partners to prepare you for case interviews at the most elite consulting firms. We are the only firm worldwide using ex-partners. We do this because we believe only partners who make the final hiring decision in the final round case interview should be training you. My name is Kris Safarova and I am the CEO FIRMSconsulting.com. I work with a network of eminent ex-McKinsey, BCG et al. partners, like Kevin, Bill, Michael and many others who produce all the content on the site. Since 2010, when FIRMSconsulting.com was founded, I have assembled a universe of digital platforms teaching case interviews and business strategy. Our goal is not only to get you into McKinsey but to help you succeed far beyond the firm. We see McKinsey and BCG as mere stepping stones and while we focus on case interviews, we use ex-partners to equip clients with the broader thinking skills to solve mankind's toughest problems. [bctt tweet="I have noticed one thing in common with everyone who either comments on FIRMSconsulting.com or our case interviews podcast channel which is ranked #1 in the world for case interviews: everyone is unsure of what to do and/or starting…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

Executive Coaching Guidelines

Executive Coaching Guidelines Group Coaching Programs We offer powerful group coaching programs. You can view details about each program in top navigation drop down menu, under "MENTORING" or following links below. Consulting Sales Rainmaker - https://www.firmsconsulting.com/consulting-sales-program/ The MasterPlan - https://www.firmsconsulting.com/masterplan-coaching-program/ Speak Without Limits - https://www.firmsconsulting.com/executive-presence/ Recorded Advice Sessions Initiative with Michael (Executive Coaching) Michael currently has over three years of waiting list for private coaching, so temporarily, we are not accepting more applications for private coaching with Michael. However, we do have a new initiative that still allows Insiders to apply to get individual guidance from Michael. To ensure this initiative is a win-win, the session is recorded and made available to the FIRMSconsulting community and/or becomes part of the Firmsconsulting training library. Audio-only option is available ($300 per session fee applies). Don't want to be on audio/video? If you prefer to submit your question in a written format (you are welcome to change some details and names, if needed), you can also do so. In this situation, Michael will read your submission/question at the beginning of the session so our members can understand why certain advice is given and can better adjust the advice given to their particular situation. Then the rest…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

Consulting Specialization

Students and consultants usually ask us for help on specialization. Today’s post will provide our perspective on this topic. Many consultants do not understand specialization. Define your area of specialization around three areas Sector and type of work are not mutually exclusive. What does that mean? To specialize, you need to define your area of specialization around three areas: Sector: Within which sector or sub-sector do you want to specialize? Type of Work: Within the sector do you want to do strategy, operations, organizational design or other work? Geography: Sometimes you will need to choose a geography within which you specialize. As an example, you can decide that you want to specialize in the micro-finance sector and strategy work within the South-East Asian market. https://youtu.be/FIOSVGq2mNs How specialization work at the top consulting firms? Now that you know what specialization is, how does it work at the top consulting firms? Initially you have no choices. It’s harsh but true. When you first join BCG or McKinsey they will put you onto assignments to learn the core consulting skills – MECE, MECE, MECE…and more MECE. You will be assigned to different sectors, types of work and so on to ensure you understand and…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

Burnout in Management Consulting

Fridays were the worst days for me. You would think they were the best days. Yet, I was so exhausted from the previous four days that I would simply drag myself through the day. I usually ended up getting home by 6pm and falling asleep on my couch. This were clear signs of burnout. I would then wake at 8pm, have a shower and eat dinner at home while watching a movie. I was far too tired to go out. Of course, this can be a real problem if your partner wants to go out. So that raises a whole host of complications on the home front. Schedule that led to burnout My Monday to Thursday schedule was punishing. It usually started at around 8am when I would get into the office and there would be other partners and engagement managers waiting to discuss different engagements and proposals. I had an open door policy. If my door was open, then people knew it was okay to interrupt me. This continued non-stop throughout the day. I also needed to fit in client meetings and internal meetings. I usually finished my client meetings by 6pm, and if I had no dinner plans, I could get…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

Chartered Accountant struggling into McKinsey / BCG / Bain

This is a common scenario to British, South African and Australian candidates, and to some extent Canadian Chartered Accountants as well. This posting was prompted by a British graduate who immigrated to the US and is trying to join a consulting firm. We have been asked this question a few times before so it is worth answering it here for all our readers. "Will my Chartered Accountant background give me an advantage in management consulting?" Upfront, I must state that I have close personal experience with Chartered Accountants and the field. I was offered an Ernest & Young full scholarship to study accounting and pursue a Chartered Accountancy path which I ended up not undertaking since that particular scholarship arrived in the mail about 2 weeks after another scholarship which I ended up pursuing to study the sciences. Moreover, my first appointed mentor at the firm was a Chartered Accountant and a great guy. Really smart and friendly and I also worked with a few younger Chartered Accountants who were associates and consultants. Like all affiliations they were a mixed bag with a few exceptional, most average and a few who were struggling. This is like all degrees and the same…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

What is management consulting?

I was talking to my family recently who know about my diligent preparation efforts to build my management consulting skills and they asked me “what is management consulting?” Although they were aware of my previous career in consulting they did not had a good understanding of what this line of work entails and why I am so interested in pursuing it. In fact they have never heard about it before I brought it up. I looked back at my own experience and realized that this question, what is management consulting, is not rare and I had to answer it at least few times in my life. In fact, there was a moment many years ago when I asked this very question to myself. Management consulting is not as well known as law, banking or engineering. Even many of my MBA classmates only learned about this line of work once there were in the MBA program. So what is management consulting? I would say it is a practice of helping organizations to identify and solve their key problems, and to pinpoint and seize most promising opportunities. If done right, this work is valuable to clients, and deeply satisfying and impactful at…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

Cause and Effect: When Not to Choose Consulting

Cause and Effect: When Not to Choose Consulting Cause and effect are discussed to help readers understand when working for P&G, GE, Nestle etc., may be a better career path versus working for McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, etc. Misunderstanding Cause and Effect Do you remember the days when it was cool to roll out software and stick a beta sign on it? There was a time between 2004 and 2008 when it was a badge of honor to roll out broken software and expect the beta sign to make up for the poor performance. Companies loved saying they were in beta-mode. Some start-ups actually rolled out software in this format just to have the beta sign up, even when they could have easily waited for a more refined version. Why did this happen? There is a one-word answer: Google. Google may not have pioneered the beta idea but they certainly made it acceptable. After Google started doing it, betas became famous for three reasons. First, Google was becoming cool and everyone wanted to be cool so they wanted to be like Google. If Google was releasing beta software, then they said, “What the heck, I should do it too.” Second,…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

Update, Big Changes to Firmsconsulting

We recently held our annual leadership meeting where we debated the future of Firmsconsulting and made some important decisions. We have come a long way since starting as a blog exactly 4.5 years ago. Yet, it seems like we are just getting started. This is a special and deeply sincere thank you to all our readers who built a tiny blog into a full company operating around the world. This update discusses the significant changes we will make. Some of these you would have deduced based on the changes to the website, though the others will be new. All of the studies and shows we discussed in the February update will proceed as planned. There will be no changes to those commitments. The big decisions in this email simply explain what we are doing and why. Most importantly, we want to be more focused. So when you read everything below, it does not mean we are doing more. We are actually going to do less and focus around just TCO + its spin-off shows and the consulting studies + related training. That is all. Overall strategy in one word: crowdsourced Why do we exist? We will remain committed to our…

Management Consulting

Management Consulting

BCG & Bain turned down by Brazilian client

A female client turned down all the interviews from BCG, Bain, Booz and Roland Berger in the worst recession in recent Brazilian memory and takes on an investment banking role at Goldman Sachs. This is her story as recounted in her words. "I turned down the interviews from BCG et al was because I thought the consulting firms were just so arrogant. I mean these guys came to my school cocktail events and did not even want to be there. They had these fake smiles and gave fake answers. And they were just so rude and misleading. I don't have a green card. So don't lead me on with interviews and then ding me in the final round. Just be honest up front. I just could not do it anymore. The interviews were usually [with] weak first-year associates who were in my position just 9 months ago! And they did not even know their cases well. I worked in management consulting as an analyst. I know the game and what is the lifestyle. I did not need these boring and lame stories to mislead foreign students and bolster turnout. I actually believed Accenture and turned down a Morgan Stanley cocktail…

Management Consulting