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

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The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving
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  • 575: Ex McKinsey Expert on War Games, John Horn: How to Read Your Competitors (Strategy Skills classics)
    John Horn, professor of economics at Washington University's Olin Business School and former McKinsey strategist, shares a disciplined framework for understanding competitive behavior by applying game theory and structured simulations. In this episode, he explains how companies can elevate competitor analysis from basic intelligence gathering to actionable strategic insight.   Horn begins by debunking the common misconception that many competitors behave irrationally. As he puts it: “Every single time a client said the competitor is irrational, I could ask them... two, three questions which would explain... why the company was being rational in what they were doing.”   He outlines a four-step framework leaders can use to model likely competitive behavior: Observe what competitors say and do, including press releases, earnings calls, and other public data. Assess their assets, resources, and capabilities, and imagine what you'd do in their position. Identify the decision-maker and their background to infer how they think: “If you grew up as a marketer and you became a CEO, you’re going to look at the world from a marketing perspective.” Make a short-term prediction, write it down, and revisit it: “It becomes a virtuous cycle of getting a better insight into how that competitor thinks.”   Horn emphasizes that many firms fall short because they stop at step one or lack mechanisms to feed deeper insights into decision-making. He also stresses the role of empathy—not sympathy—in strategy: “I do have to empathize, understand why they’re making the choices they make.”   War gaming, in Horn's view, is a powerful simulation tool, not theater. “It’s a chance to practice business choices in a risk-free way... and just a much more realistic discussion.”   For entrepreneurs or under-resourced teams, Horn offers a lighter-weight version called "War Gaming Lite," which enables rapid, structured thinking about competitive responses using only internal knowledge and role-playing.   He also discusses how human biases, short-term incentives, and lack of time make both your firm and your rivals more predictable than you might think: “People really are predictable... It’s not rocket science—it’s about being disciplined.”   Whether you're a startup founder or a Fortune 500 executive, this episode offers practical steps to improve your strategic foresight and competitive positioning, grounded in empathy, behavioral realism, and iterative prediction.   Get John’s book here: https://shorturl.at/6DOyh Inside the Competitor's Mindset: How to Predict Their Next Move and Position Yourself for Success.   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  
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  • 574: McKinsey Senior Partner, Kate Smaje: Winning in the Age of Digital and AI (Strategy Skills classics)
    For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics, where we interviewed Kate Smaje, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and Global Leader of McKinsey Digital.   In this episode, Kate offers a clear-eyed and disciplined perspective on what it takes for organizations to succeed in digital transformation. Drawing from deep client work across industries, she outlines a practical, results-focused view of how digital can be embedded into the operating core, not treated as a parallel initiative or buzzword.   Kate Smaje challenges conventional narratives around innovation, urging leaders to look beyond technology adoption and focus instead on talent systems, cultural alignment, and strategic clarity. “We often start with a conversation about tech, but the value comes from the way you bring it all together,” she says. “If you think digital is the job of the digital team, you’ve missed the point. It’s about how the whole organization behaves.”   Key Takeaways: Digital Transformation Must Be CEO-Led and Enterprise-Wide Smaje emphasizes that meaningful transformation requires the involvement of the full organization, not just IT or digital teams. “Digital is everyone’s job. The companies who really succeed have a CEO and leadership team who are actively engaged.” Shift Metrics from Volume to Value She critiques outdated performance metrics: “If you’re just measuring lines of code or hours worked or features shipped, you’re not measuring outcomes.” Technology Without Architecture Is Just Chaos Many companies overemphasize agile practices but underinvest in foundational tech and data coherence. “You can’t run 300 agile teams and not have an architecture that supports it. It’s like having everyone run at speed but in different directions.” Product Ownership and Cross-Functional Clarity Are Essential Successful organizations empower teams with clear product mandates while maintaining enterprise-wide alignment. “The product owner model is about creating real accountability, with multidisciplinary teams who have the context to make decisions.” Leadership Behavior Drives Cultural Change Where leaders focus their time is a key signal: “One of the biggest indicators of success is how leadership spends its calendar.” This conversation is essential listening for senior executives who want to move beyond surface-level digital initiatives and embed durable capabilities that support both innovation and performance. Smaje leaves no doubt: digital excellence is not a side project—it’s a leadership discipline.   Get Kate’s book here: https://shorturl.at/hxqk6 REWIRED: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI. Eric Lamarre, Kate Smaje, Rodney Zemmel.   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
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  • 573: How and when a consultant must disagree (Strategy Skills classics)
    For this episode, let's revisit one of Strategy Skills classics, where we discuss when a consultant must dissent and how it should be done.   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  
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  • 572: Improve Your Cognitive Performance with Herbs
    Rachelle Robinett, founder of Pharmakon Supernatural and educator in holistic health, offers a clear, science-aware framework for supporting energy, focus, and stress regulation, without defaulting to pharmaceuticals or overstimulation. In this episode, she explores how plant-based medicine, nutrition, and daily practices can be woven into practical, long-term routines that support resilience and cognitive clarity.   Robinett challenges the assumption that performance must rely on synthetic energy or end in burnout. Drawing from her work at the intersection of herbalism and evidence-based wellness, she shares actionable strategies for optimizing physiological readiness through balance, not intensity.   “I’m really interested in how we can live well without needing to biohack or rely on pharmaceuticals or stimulants or even supplementation all the time.”   Key insights from the conversation include: Stimulants Borrow, Not Create Energy Robinett explains that caffeine and similar compounds don’t give us energy; they “just turn off the signals of fatigue.” Instead, she emphasizes rhythm management, aligning with circadian patterns and energy cycles: “You don’t have to be on all the time. And if we try to be, the crash will always come.”   Herbs Should Be Matched to Mechanism, Not Trend She encourages listeners to move beyond marketing labels like “adaptogen,” noting that compounds like rhodiola (stimulating) and reishi (sedating) serve very different roles.  “Match your plants to your goals... It’s kind of like caffeine; if you don’t need it, don’t take it.”   Sugar Is Energizing, But Often Disruptive Robinett discusses how sugar can be paired with fiber, fat, or protein to reduce its volatility: “Sugar is biologically energizing… but we tend to use it in ways that give us a spike and then a crash.”   Daily Practices Outperform Sporadic Interventions Light exposure, meal timing, and breathwork help regulate the autonomic nervous system more effectively than isolated hacks: “What we do daily matters more than what we do occasionally… so many people don’t understand how profoundly their breathing patterns are affecting their state.”   Recovery Is an Active Recalibration Robinett distinguishes between activities that feel restful and those that actually reset the stress response system: “Sometimes the things we think are relaxing are not—Netflix, alcohol, even yoga. True recovery is shifting the nervous system.”   This conversation reframes wellness not as indulgence or optimization, but as physiological literacy—a disciplined, systems-level approach to mental clarity and endurance. For professionals seeking alternatives to overstimulation, Robinett offers a sustainable path toward long-term resilience and regulated energy.   Get Rachelle’s book here: https://shorturl.at/q7TDb Naturally: The Herbalist's Guide to Health and Transformation   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
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  • 571: Multi-Award-Winning Researcher Vanessa Druskat on Team Emotional Intelligence
    Vanessa Druskat, organizational psychologist and professor at the University of New Hampshire, discusses team emotional intelligence (EI) as a predictor of sustained performance. Building on her foundational work with Daniel Goleman, Druskat focuses not on individual EQ, but on the group-level norms and practices that distinguish effective teams, particularly in complex, high-stakes environments.   Druskat identifies three core team norms essential to cultivating group EI: mutual trust, constructive expression of emotions, and norms that support individual and group self-awareness. These are not “soft” ideals; they function as operational levers for managing conflict, decision-making quality, and adaptability.   Key takeaways include:   High-performing teams are not those without conflict, but those with processes for metabolizing conflict. Druskat emphasizes the role of emotional expression norms in allowing task-related disagreement while mitigating interpersonal friction.   Leaders significantly influence team EI by modeling openness and emotional competence, but sustained performance requires that these behaviors be embedded in team norms, not reliant on individual charisma or authority.   Team emotional intelligence predicts effectiveness beyond technical competence, especially when teams must adapt to ambiguity, pressure, or interdependence. Druskat cites multiple studies where team EI predicted performance outcomes more reliably than IQ or experience.   Psychological safety is necessary but not sufficient. Teams with high EI create an environment where members not only feel safe but are also expected to monitor and manage the group’s emotional climate.   Organizations often undermine team EI unintentionally, through forced competition, misaligned incentives, or ignoring the emotional fallout of change. Druskat suggests that senior leaders regularly audit not just team outcomes, but the emotional processes behind them.   This episode reframes emotional intelligence not as a personal trait but as an institutional capability with measurable consequences for execution, resilience, and organizational learning. The discussion is particularly relevant for senior professionals seeking to institutionalize performance through culture rather than control.   Get Vanessa’s book here: https://shorturl.at/u5KOs The Emotionally Intelligent Team: Building Collaborative Groups that Outperform the Rest   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
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CEOs and business leaders, management consulting senior partners, ground-breaking professors, thought-provoking writers and journalists, record-setting athletes and coaches, and award-winning actors and celebrities discuss the key issues facing the business world and broader society. Get free access to our newsletter, Monday Morning at 8 am, along with sample episodes from our training programs on www.strategytraining.com. Go to https://www.firmsconsulting.com/promo.
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