The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 425, an interview with the authors of Career Forward: Strategies from Women Who've Made It, Christiana Smith Shi and Grace Puma. In this book, the authors challenge negative stereotypes about female ambition, and urge women to be bold, follow their dreams, and seize the chance to lead "big" lives. The secret is to focus on career first, job second. Instead of chasing a better job title or a salary bump, the goal should be a long-range career path that leads to success. "Career forward" means keeping a focus on the future and recognizing that being good at your job is often not enough—that you should take every opportunity to boost your connections, take on "difficult" assignments, and work actively to broaden your skills. Christiana Smith Shi is the former president of Nike's consumer-direct division where she led the company's global retail and ecommerce business. Before that she was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co. Christiana has been named one of the Most Influential Corporate Directors by Women, Inc. She currently leads Lovejoy Advisors, which is focused on digitally transforming consumer and retail businesses. Shi is a graduate of Stanford University and has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she graduated as a Baker Scholar. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Grace Puma is the former executive vice president and COO of PepsiCo, and before that held senior positions with United Airlines, Kraft Foods, Motorola, and Gillette. A board member of both Organon & Co and Target, she has been ranked on the "Most Powerful Latina" list by Fortune magazine and recognized as the "Executive of the Year" by Latina Style magazine. Puma holds a BA in business administration and economics from Illinois Benedictine University. She lives in Tampa, Florida. Get Career Forward here: https://rb.gy/t7e8f9 Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

David Kroll, CEO of Churchome, shares his journey from investment banking to becoming a pastor, emphasizing personal alignment over financial success. He discusses leveraging technology for faith practices and advises embracing career transitions. Kroll highlights the importance of following intuition and staying true to beliefs, emphasizing patience, honesty, and embracing the journey toward fulfilling work.

In this podcast, they discuss value chain mapping and its limitations. They emphasize the importance of understanding profit shifts and assigning probabilities. Factors like consumer spending, recession, legislation, and competitors can influence a sector. They caution against being too certain about predicting the future. The chapters cover good, bad, and incomplete value chain analyses, as well as the uncertainty and risk involved.

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 422, an interview with the author of Winning with Data Science: A Handbook for Business Leaders. This book is a compelling and comprehensive guide to data science, emphasizing its real-world business applications and focusing on how to collaborate productively with data science teams. The book follows the stories of Kamala and Steve, two professionals who need to collaborate with data science teams to achieve their business goals. Akshay Swaminathan is a data scientist who works on strengthening health systems. He earned a degree in Statistics from Harvard University and is an MD candidate and Knight- Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine. He has more than forty peer-reviewed publications, and his work has been featured in the New York Times. He currently leads the data science team at Cerebral. Get Akshay's book here: https://rb.gy/tievb8 Winning with Data Science: A Handbook for Business Leaders Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Mark A. Mears, best selling author and visionary business leader, discusses the importance of purposeful growth and legacy building. He emphasizes treating employees with respect, increasing engagement and productivity, and taking purposeful action as a leader. The conversation also touches on the challenges of leadership in sectors like electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. The chapter ends with a book recommendation and an invitation to visit the guest's website for self-assessment resources.

The podcast discusses the role of strategy workshops in narrowing down ideas and options, and the components of a visioning workshop. It also explores the methods used in strategy workshops, including interviews, benchmarks, case studies, and financial analysis, to identify and validate problems.

This podcast discusses the importance of case studies in decision-making. It emphasizes the power of a single slide in presenting key insights and provides tips on creating effective slides in consulting case studies.

This podcast explores the importance of presenting a business case or benefits case in management consulting projects. It highlights the role of financial levers in driving profits and discusses how understanding potential benefits helps CEOs make informed decisions and implement organizational changes.

Brian Klaas, author of Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters, discusses the importance of embracing uncertainty and creating moments of serendipity. He explores the concept of optimization in strategy and the role of culture in decision-making. The podcast also highlights the impact of small disruptions in systems and the need for resilience.

In this episode, they discuss consulting workshop best practices, including setting a clear vision, tips for successful strategy workshops, and key factors that separate good workshop runners from average ones. They also talk about staying focused on workshop themes, using first principle analysis, creating simple slides, and pre-presenting to clients.