Case Interview Preparation & Management Consulting | Strategy

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163: Declining Bain's CEO Over BCG Oct 28, 2013

Show notes

It is indeed a rare moment when the Worldwide Managing Partner of Bain calls a client to encourage him/her to accept an offer. We have had similar situations happen on a handful of occasions to clients. It is an accomplishment and should be celebrated. That does not mean the offer should be accepted.

162: Accenture to McKinsey Oct 22, 2013

Show notes

Clients we place into McKinsey etc from the so-called tier-2 firms like Booz, Deloitte, KPMG etc always think they will struggle most with the analytic and other technical elements. We see a flurry of activity, and anxiousness to master story boarding model building, brainstorming and hypotheses development. Our advice to these clients is that this should be the least of their worries. The harsh reality is that they have been pre-wired to think about the wrong priorities on soft-issues, and these intangible areas cause more trouble than they could imagine. Many find that very difficult to understand, so here are some stories based on our own clients' experiences demonstrating how the soft issues could betray your ambitions.

161: Evaluating Your Firm's Training Oct 16, 2013

Show notes

Too often clients ask the wrong questions when it comes to assessing training at consulting firms: do smaller offices have poorer training, should I attend training as soon as I join, does BCG have better training than Bain etc. When considering training you need to both consider formal and informal training. As we show, formal training is very useful, but not at all for the hard/technical skills it purports to impart on attendees. Informal training, also known as training on an engagement, is most effective when consultants can practice under diverse conditions. In other words, the more you travel and work with foreign teams, the better will be your training. Some firms encourage more global staffing and others far less. That counts.

160: Building Hypotheses From Data Exhibits Oct 10, 2013

Show notes

Reading graphs is a perennial problem for many candidates. Yet, the problem is not the interpretation of the graphical data itself. Rather, it is knowing what to do with that data once you have interpreted it. This podcast introduces a simple 4-step process we introduced for a Yale doctoral client, Felix, and a technique called the One-Sentence-Test which we again developed for the same client. The improvement in her answers warrants sharing this technique. You can see Felix's Improvement in Season One of The Consulting Offer.

159: What is Analytic Thinking Vs Mathematical Thinking Oct 04, 2013

Show notes

The first podcast discusses a common challenge new consultants face: how to show strong analytic skills on an engagement. Here I discuss one of my earlier engagements as a principal where I managed a very introverted lawyer. Despite her non-quantitative degree, reserved demeanor and being placed on a piece of work which was not, at first, open to much creativity, she developed an eminently analytic way to solve a significant problem impacting the entire engagement. This is probably one of the most concise, tailored and innovative pieces of analyses I had ever seen in my career. What makes a consultant analytic, is not the type of work that lends itself to analytic reasoning, but the way you approach what may seem to be a mundane problem. In fact, no sector or engagement is boring if examined appropriately.

158: US Postal Case Coaches Detailed Feedback Sep 28, 2013

Show notes

This podcast answers the questions raised below, by a client trying to understand how to develop hypotheses in a fairly difficult case. The case looks at ways to increase the US Postal Services market share and profitability. The client has graciously allowed this one detailed response and his notes to be shared in our public section. "A big overarching question I have with the answer first approach is I don't know if my initial hypothesis should be broad (in which case they cannot be tested with data unless the hypotheses are first refined and narrowed, so I could only ask what areas I would explore to do that) or alternatively to make my initial hypotheses narrow and precise (in which case I can ask for data to test them but if my hypothesis are wrong then I will be stuck). Any thoughts?"

157: How to Influence Your Interviewer Sep 22, 2013

Show notes

In this podcast we will discuss a client who is very good at influencing the way interviewers work with her, and the subtle danger of her approach. A counter-point to this is another candidate who initially completely mismanaged his image, and we discuss the impact of his actions and what happened when he changed.

156: Key Differences in Bain FIT Questions Sep 16, 2013

Show notes

In looking through our database of over 240 former clients and speaking to Bain partners we know, we see two unique ways a Bain fit interview differs from a McKinsey PEI. The first relates to way in which you interact with the interviewer as you deliver your response, and the second relates to a very specific attribute that Bain seeks in your fit responses. Both differ substantially from a McKinsey or BCG interview. In fact, EVERY single client we placed at Bain strongly displayed these two characteristics. It is uncanny how close a correlation exists.

155: Bonus vs. Salary Resume Editing Sep 10, 2013

Show notes

Bonus versus salary resumes, is a very simple test we do on resumes. This podcast explains the test. We basically look at whether or not a bullet point explains an action which earned you a salary or would have resulted in a bonus. The latter is vital and the former should be purged from your salary. McKinsey looks for things on your resume which earned you your resume. It is important to understand that merely doing your job is not an achievement in itself.

154: Economic Impact of Poor Business Judgement Sep 04, 2013

Show notes

The economic impact of poor business judgement, is a topic we managed every day as partners. Each time an associate made a poor "common sense" decision we needed to explain both the potential reputation and economic damage done to the firm. The former is well-known, but the latter is less known but just as important. In thinking through why consulting firms look for business judgement, it helps to consider the economic impact to clients and the firm.

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