Are activist investors having a profound effect on American board rooms? McKinsey Director Larry Kanarek says, “I think the answer is absolutely yes.” How should executives respond? ACTIVIST investors are having a profound impact on American board rooms. Faced with this new situation, Larry Kanarek argues that executives should work with activists, rather than against […]
Tag: consulting
The real battle is not against competitors, but against ourselves. Morieux and Tollman make the case for a new approach to management that they call “smart simplicity” BCG partners Yves Morieux and Peter Tollman have written a new book called Six Simple Rules: How to Manage Complexity Without Getting Complicated, in which they make the case for a […]
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Monopoly Money
If you were playing Monopoly, Quantitative Easing would be the equivalent of helping yourself to a $100 note every time you rolled the dice and never having to pay it back (Source: Flickr) CENTRAL banks continue to finance government spending by easing monetary policy in order to help economies get back to “potential output”. (It […]
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Obituary: Booz & Company
RIP Booz & Company PwC completed its acquisition of Booz & Co today. Regulators approved the deal, as we expected. They appear to have conveniently overlooked or ignored the large conflict of interest issues posed by a merger of this size between an accounting firm and a consultancy. We outlined these risks in an earlier […]
The key is to know when correlation is enough, and what to do when it is not David Ritter, director at BCG, has explored the world of big data and when companies should take action based on observed correlations in the data. His ideas have big implications for business because, if correlation is enough, then […]
Evans explains that business strategy is premised on assumptions about technology, that those assumptions are changing dramatically, and that this will lead to a different concept of what we mean by business strategy
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Pushing The Boundary
Are you excited, nervous or a little bit scared? Your comfort zone, as the name suggests, is a comfortable place. It feels safe and secure to be there, because you’ve been there many times before. Nothing unexpected is likely to happen. Nothing you haven’t seen before. And certainly nothing out of the ordinary. But ordinary […]
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Getting Your Point Across
Be engaging, have something to say, don’t have a stick up your a$$, make people laugh, and never generalize
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Selling is a process, not an event
Large consulting firms like McKinsey, Bain and BCG have huge marketing budgets and strong alumni networks that they can tap into to ensure a steady stream of work. This is not a reality for most people. If you are a small firm or a solo consultant then you might just need to pick up the […]
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PEST Analysis
Understanding the big picture can help reveal hidden opportunities and threats 1. Background In 1967, Harvard Professor Francis Aguilar wrote a book entitled “Scanning the Business Environment” in which he identified four important factors – Economic, Technical, Political, and Social – that a business can use to better understand the big picture. While the ordering […]
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Understanding Intelligence
Understanding the mechanism that underlies intelligence could have big implications for economics, business and finance. The below TED Talk is worth watching.
The illusion of permanence, and the persistence of innovation (Source: Tom Spencer) IN a recent FT article, Chairman of Risk Capital Partners Luke Johnson made some interesting comments about his alma mater, Oxford University: Oxford University, my alma mater, is a classic case of a complacent establishment that is refusing to reinvent itself. It will consequently […]
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Steve Ballmer’s 3 Tips for Start Ups
Ideas matter, stick with it, and figure out the right measure of success (Source: Youtube) STEVE Ballmer spoke today at Oxford’s Said Business School, the world’s leading business community creating ideas with global impact. A few hours later, he spoke at the Oxford Union, the world’s most prestigious debating society. We were fortunate to attend the […]
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Facebook Marketing: Should You Use It?
Veritasium concludes that advertising your page on Facebook is a waste of money VERITASIUM is a popular educational science channel on YouTube, created by Derek Muller, which tries to uncover misconceptions about science. While not technically “science”, Veritasium has released an interesting and insightful video about the worth of Facebook marketing. In short, Facebook marketing appears to […]
Management consultants thrive in the fertile middle ground, a place where new understanding and being easily understood are both essential YOU may have had the experience of talking with a technical expert like a computer programmer and, at the end of a long conversation, being left with the overwhelming impression that you have absolutely no idea what […]
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Give and Take
But mostly give You are probably familiar with “gains from trade”. The notion that society is based on give and take. You help me, I reciprocate, and together we benefit. The idea is a powerful one and forms the basis of the free market economy. The invisible hand of market forces, as Adam Smith put it, […]
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Management vs Leadership
Management requires smooth process, leadership requires clear vision Management is about running systems, processes, and people. Leadership is about taking action, and inspiring others to do so. Having a vision, and the ability to influence and motivate others to sail towards it. Your team needs both. If you have no managers, then key details, tasks and […]
The deal will almost certainly result in post-merger headaches As we learnt at the end of October last year, PwC and Booz & Co are planning to merge. PwC Chairman Dennis Nally and Booz CEO Cesare Mainardi were very upbeat about the proposed deal. Nally stating that the merger will strengthen the scope and quality […]
Consultants can provide genuine expertise, tested methodologies, and quality resources on a variable cost basis In the previous post, we highlighted 6 reasons why executives hire management consulting firms. On reflection, we may have implied that there are only 6 reasons when in reality there are many. Tim Jeffries, experienced Sydney based management consultant, sent […]
There are 6 reasons why executives hire consultants In America, and other Western countries, senior executives often hire management consultants for strategic advice. Given that consulting advice can sometimes sound like a statement of the obvious, albeit very well power-pointed, and tends to come with a shockingly high price tag, you would be forgiven for […]
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Oxford Inspires 2014
For those of you planning to be in the UK in March, we would like to share with you details of an exciting event being hosted at Oxford’s Said Business School. Oxford Inspires is an entrepreneurial conference taking place on the 8th and 9th of March this year. The event is hosted by Oxford Entrepreneurs, the largest […]
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Social Enterprise
It’s about much more than generating social good. It’s about changing the financial goal posts.
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Who Is Your Customer?
When you try to please everyone, you please nobody There was a recent incident in Australia where Aldi, a German supermarket, decided to pull a product from its shelves after receiving racism complaints. The product in question was a t-shirt with the slogan, “Australia EST 1788”. The shirts were produced for Australia Day 2014, which […]
The take away lesson: pick your consultants carefully We had an interesting conversation with Tat Biswas today about whether consultants should provide “shrewd insights”. The catalyst for the discussion was yesterday’s post, in relation to which Tat made the following remarks: I am wondering why you … decided to use the term ‘shrewd insights’ in today’s post? “We […]
Simon Sinek gives a ground breaking talk in which he explains the biological drivers of real leadership, and the natural chemicals (endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin) that enable us to prosper, together
Sometimes you don’t need to say anything, to get your message across
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The Power of Persuasion
How can you get what you ask for? How can you significantly increase the chances that another person will say yes to your request? ROBERT Cialdini, best-selling author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, gives an insightful talk on how you can persuade people to do what you want. As a tenured professor, Cialdini jokes […]
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Implementing Real Change
Why coming up with the right answer to a business problem often isn’t enough in a large organisation – and what you can do about it “WHY won’t people in this organisation realise that this new approach could make things so much better? Why won’t people implement this idea? This is so frustrating…” Creating meaningful […]
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Giving and Growing
Business can step up by reaching out, but it needs to adopt a new approach THE OLD MODEL of corporate giving involves the CEO championing a particular charity, and then writing a cheque. The old model is broken. Broken because it relies on the whim of the CEO, who could change her priorities at any […]
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5 Steps to Creating Great Strategy
Developing excellent strategy consists of just 5 steps HERE are five steps that you can use to formulate great strategy: Diagnose: assess the lay of the land. Understand the company, the competitive environment and the broader economy. What is the company’s business model? Who are the competitors? Who are the customers and suppliers? And, what […]
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How to Make Your Own Luck
“Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.” (E.B. White) TODAY, over coffee with a friend at an alfresco cafe in Sydney, our conversation turned, as if by chance, to consider the nature of luck. As an Australian, I have always considered myself lucky. After all, if you grow up […]
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How to Make Stress Your Friend
Viewing stress as helpful can foster courage, and connecting with others under stress can aid resilience KELLY McGONIGAL explains that merely believing that “stress is harmful” can increase your chances of premature death. The good news is that by changing how you think about stress you can change your body’s stress response and improve your physical […]
By addressing social issues with sustainable business models, business leaders have the potential to provide scalable solutions MICHAEL PORTER makes an astute observation – the world is full of social problems. From environmental degradation and disease to unemployment and inequality, solving social problems has traditionally been the domain of NGOs, the government and philanthropists. Meanwhile, […]
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6 Ways to Overcome Loss Aversion
Loss aversion can lead people to favour the status quo, and so clever marketing is sometimes needed to convince people to buy new products LOSS AVERSION can lead people to favour the status quo. How so? Well, when a consumer considers replacing a good, the presence of loss aversion can lead her to experience more pain […]
“Everything is relative in this world, where change alone endures” (Leon Trotsky) IF you were offered the chance to win or lose $100 on the basis of a coin flip, would you take the bet? If you are like most people, you would probably decline the wager. Even though the gamble offers an even chance […]
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Tim Minchin’s Nine Life Lessons
“It’s an incredibly exciting thing, this one meaningless life of yours” (Tim Minchin) “TIM Minchin is a genius, pure and simple. He is to musical comedy what Charles Darwin was to evolution” (Tim Arthur, CEO of TimeOut Magazine). We tend to agree. For those of you unfamiliar with Tim’s work, you can check out some […]
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Product/Market Expansion Matrix
A framework to help executives, senior managers and marketers devise strategies for future growth 1. Background THE Ansoff Matrix (referred to by some commentators as the Product/Market Expansion Grid) was developed by a Russian-American mathematician named Igor Ansoff, and first explained in his 1957 Harvard Business Review article entitled Strategies for Diversification. 2. Benefits of […]
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How to Thrive in Hard Times
Invest for the future, reduce your debts, and insure your income TODAY’S economy is vastly different compared with our parents’ generation, and even those of us in ‘stable’ jobs should be prepared for increasingly rapid technological change and a continued downturn. The competitive landscape can change at any time and in ways that you may […]
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What is Social Customer Service?
Social Customer Service allows customers to ask questions, and have them answered by a staff member or another customer AT THE CORE of every successful business are a few key ingredients, and customer service is one of them. Customer service can be used to delight customers, boost customer retention and generate positive word of mouth. For […]
Look mum, no hands! Mercedes-Benz S500 Intelligent Drive has driven itself 125km through Germany without driver intervention MERCEDES-BENZ has demonstrated its capabilities with self-driving technology and provided a glimpse of the future by successfully driving its prototype S-Class from Mannheim to Pforzheim without driver intervention. Mercedes has successfully tested autonomous vehicles before. For example, in 1995 […]
Boards of public companies, responding to investor demands, often pressure management to meet short term earnings estimates DOMINIC Barton, global MD at McKinsey, talks with Tom Keene about how corporate boards of publicly listed companies tend to be too short term focused. Barton explains that corporate boards, responding to investor demands, often pressure management to […]
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We Think Therefore We Are
If you can imagine it, then it can become a reality ADAM Spencer (no relation) gives a wonderful speech about the beauty of mathematics, the search for the largest prime number, and the age in which we now live – the age of machine aided human discovery. As Adam poetically states, “numbers are the musical notes […]
“We’ve put charities in a box for far too long, let’s set them free.” ~ Nat Ware, CEO of 180 Degrees Consulting IN an informative and timely TED Talk, Nat Ware explains how society’s traditional notions of ‘charity’ often constrain the ability of charities to have a meaningful social impact. Below we highlight three beliefs about […]
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Mergers & Acquisitions: Valuation
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” ~ Warren Buffett LAST post, I highlighted the importance of strategy when considering the viability of a potential acquisition; however, before a final decision can be made, a consultant needs to estimate the value of the target company. Building on information provided in Management Consulting: […]
When adversity strikes, branding gives you resilience This guest post is by Ryan Currie. Ryan is a product manager at BizShark.com with 5 years experience in online marketing and product development. He is on the cutting edge of developments in emerging technologies and open source projects. IN BUSINESS, branding is crucially important. If your business doesn’t have a […]
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World Collapse Explained in 3 Minutes
Bailouts: a band-aid solution for continuing sovereign debt crises BAILOUTS were the band-aid solution prescribed for the Greek sovereign debt crisis. And every indication suggests that Greece will require another band-aid early next year. In this context, Clarke and Dawe raise an interesting and often carefully overlooked question. Where does the money come from to bail out basket […]
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Change is Constant
Change is a process IN the industrial age, change was seen as an event which could be managed: launch a new product, introduce a new feature, enter a new market. But this was never true. As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus rightly pointed out: “Change is Constant”. In the information age, change is now happening so quickly that […]
THE YEAR is 2050. Imagine waking up in a world where you feel positive and motivated about going to work, knowing that your work provides value to customers in a way that is sustainable and responsible. Your employer operates with the express aim of benefiting members of the community and reinvests all profits to further its […]
Fear, Laziness, and Pessimism YOU are capable of producing great work. But are you? It is possible that you merely producing the minimum required of you. You may even have a list of sensible sounding reasons why now is not the right time to take bold action to achieve success: you’re too old, you’re too young, […]
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The Coin Flip
Flip a coin. Make a decision HAVE you ever had two options, and found it difficult to choose between them? You may have applied for MBA programs and received offers from Oxford and Cambridge. You may have been offered a new job from a competing firm. Or, you may have been trying to decide what to […]