Welcome back!
Sign in with Google
Sign in with Linkedin
Or, sign in with your email
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
This is a curated list of the best strategy books that I, and other partners you know from the FIRMSconsulting training programs, think are best in preparing you to understand, apply and excel at the development and execution of business strategy. We are going to recommend books that we have recommended for our clients and the partners use themselves.
These books teach you how to think like a major consulting firm’s partner.
They teach you how to think to develop unique solutions to your specific problems.
When people think about the business strategy we often think about the field of strategy consulting/management consulting and firms like McKinsey, BCG, et al. If you are interested in learning how to conduct a management consulting engagement, you will likely enjoy this book. Succeeding as a Management Consultant is a book set in the Brazilian interior. This book follows an engagement team as they assist Goldy, a large Brazilian gold miner, in diagnosing and fixing deep and persistent organizational issues. This book follows an engagement team over an 8-week assignment and explains how they successfully navigate a challenging client environment, develop hypotheses, build the analyses, and provide the final recommendations. It is written so the reader may understand, follow, and replicate the process. It is the only book laying out a consulting assignment step-by-step. (Published by FIRMSconsulting.) One of the best business books if you are interested in management consulting and strategy. This book will be very useful as well if you are a small business consultant.
Bill Matassoni’s (Ex-McKinsey and Ex-BCG Senior Partner) Marketing Saves The World is a truly unique book. Never before has a McKinsey partner published his memoir publicly. This book is a rare opportunity – a true exclusive – to see what shapes the thought process of a partner and learn about marketing and strategy. The memoir essentially lays out McKinsey’s competitive advantage. One of the best business books if you are interested in marketing, strategy, how McKinsey, BCG and other major consulting firms operate. This book will be very helpful if you are a small business consultant, if you work for a large consulting firm or if you want to learn how to think like a partner from a major consulting firm.
Turquoise Eyes started off the groundbreaking new genre developed by FIRMSconsulting that combines compelling narrative while teaching problem solving and critical thinking skills. Set after a bank begins implementing a new retail banking strategy, we follow Teresa García Ramírez de Arroyo, a director-general in the Mexican government, who has received some disturbing news. A whistleblower has emailed Teresa with troubling news about a mistake in the loan default calculations and reserve ratios. The numbers do not add up. The book loosely uses the logic and financial analyses in A Typical McKinsey Engagement, >270 videos.
Lords of Finance is another book that has a prime place on Michael’s giant bookshelf. He says this is one of the few books that changed his thinking about finance in the last ten years. Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. “It is commonly believed that the Great Depression that began in 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person’s or government’s control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions made by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of that economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for World War II and reverberated for decades. As yet another period of economic turmoil makes headlines today, Lords of Finance is a potent reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions of central bankers can have, their fallibility, and the terrible human consequences that can result when they are wrong.”
House of Cards is another book on Michael’s bookshelf. “It was Wall Street’s toughest investment bank, taking risks where others feared to tread, run by fueled gamblers who hung a sign saying ‘let’s make nothing but money’ over the trading floor. Yet in March 2008 the 85-year-old firm, Bear Stearns, was brought to its knees, and the global economic meltdown began. With unprecedented access to the people at the eye of the financial storm, William Cohan tells the outrageous story of how Wall Street’s entire house of cards came crashing down. ‘Gripping …high drama …riveting, edge-of-the-seat reading’ – Michio Kakutani, “The New York Times”.”
Bill and Michael mention this book often as the one book that perfectly explains marketing from a strategy perspective. I would take this further and say this book explains business models from a macro-perspective and explains the principle of capitalism very well. It is a dense read but Irresistible Empire is worth looking into since it drives so much of the thinking in The Bill Matassoni Show.
From Third World to First is a book that has been mentioned in our podcasts far too many times to count. It is the key book mentioned in The MasterPlan Program. We are not recommending this book because we want you to learn about Singapore or how countries compete. Although, this is of course very valuable. This book helps you understand how to think strategically when you personally are coming from a poorer/weaker position in life. So think about the analogies to yourself when reading this book.
Michael says this biography of Akio Morita, along with “The New GE”, are 2 books that convinced him to leave the sciences for a career in management consulting. “The chairman of the Sony Corporation discusses the rise of Sony, his extraordinary career as a businessman, and his views on the United States, Japan, and the world economy”
There is no better book than McKinsey’s Marvin Bower to explain the philosophy of strategy and the way in which management consultants develop a strategy. What we do is very different from the way a researcher of strategy would develop a strategy. I highly recommend this book and have read it several times. Bill Matassoni (see Marketing Saves The World) was a mentee of Marvin so reading both books will allow you to see things from 2 sides.
Bill Matassoni speaks highly of Kenichi Ohmae in his memoir Marketing Saves The World. He is one of a few people Bill calls “brilliant.” The Mind of The Strategist remains one of a few strategy books we recommend to understand how to think critically. Now you can read Bill’s memoir, a book about Bill’s mentor (Marvin Bower), and a book by one of Bill’s close colleagues at McKinsey (Kenichi Ohmae). Definitely, one of the best business books, especially if you are interested in management consulting and strategy.
In How Countries Compete the author addresses what does it really mean for a country to compete, and how to do so successfully. We highly recommend this book to clients in government, state-owned-enterprises, and emerging markets. “Richard Vietor shows how governments set direction and create the climate for a nation’s economic development and profitable private enterprise.”
The New GE is one of the older books but it has a prime place on Michael’s bookshelf. It was one of the books that led Michael to go into business. “Through rare and exclusive interviews with Jack Welch and dozens of GE insiders, internationally renowned Time Magazine reporter Robert Slater gives readers an inside look into General Electric and the bold leader responsible for GE’s magic.”
The Goal is a great book to read if you want to understand operations. It was recommended by Michael multiple times, including in this popular episode from our Youtube channel which explains how to solve Operations cases. A factory may be an unlikely setting for a novel but this book is very effective in helping you understand operations. It is also quite entertaining to read. In fact, I had it as prescribed reading for my Operations course during an MBA and it is probably the most memorable book, case or article I have read during my MBA, so highly recommended.
Michael referred to Netflixed in his programs and some of you were reaching out to know the name of the book, so we are adding it to Michael’s list. “Netflix has come a long way since 1997, when two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings, decided to start an online DVD store before most people owned a DVD player. They were surprised and elated when launch-day traffic in April 1998 crashed their server and resulted in 150 sales. Today, Netflix has more than 25 million subscribers and annual revenues above $3 billion. Yet long- term success-or even survival-is still far from guaranteed. Journalist Gina Keating recounts the absorbing, fast-paced drama of the company’s turbulent rise to the top and its attempt to invent two new kinds of business.”
Thinking in Systems is highly recommended by Bill. This essential primer shows readers how to develop the systems-thinking skills that Bill and many other thought leaders across the globe consider critical to succeed now and in the future. “Thinking in Systems, is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global.”
Solving Tough Problems – “Read this after you read Meadows,” recommends Bill. Adam Kahane has worked on some of the toughest problems in the world. South Africa after apartheid, Colombia during the civil war, Argentina during the collapse, Guatemala after the genocide, etc. “Through these experiences, he has learned how to create environments that enable creative new ideas and solutions to emerge and be implemented even in the most challenging contexts.”
The Opposable Mind – Bill recommends reading this book after you first read Thinking in Systems and then Solving Tough Problems. “Though following best practice can help in some ways, it also poses a danger: By emulating what a great leader did in a particular situation, you’ll likely be terribly disappointed with your own results.” The book focuses on how to engage in integrative thinking, “creatively resolving the tension in opposing models by forming entirely new and superior ones.”
One of the best business books of all time. The Innovator’s Dilemma – “By the nineties, most books on management were just rhetoric, but this book is the real deal. A well-researched classic,” says Bill Matassoni. Named one of 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime by Amazon Editors. In his book, Clayton Christensen showcases how even the most outstanding organizations can do everything right and still lose market leadership.
Capitalism at Risk – “There has been a lot of lousy thinking about this topic, but this book is well worth reading,” says Bill. Harvard Business School professors Joseph Bower, Herman Leonard, and Lynn Paine argue that governments must play a role but businesses should take the lead. “Capitalism at Risk draws on discussions with business leaders around the world to identify ten potential disruptors of the global market system.”
The Reflective Practitioner – “This was a giant book for me as I sought to understand how professionals think and act,” says Bill. A leading M.I.T. social scientist and consultant examines five professions. He argues that the best professionals know more than they can put into words. “This unarticulated, largely unexamined process is the subject of Schön’s provocatively original book, an effort to show precisely how ”reflection-in-action” works and how this vital creativity might be fostered in future professionals.”
Elements of Style – “Because so many people don’t know basic grammar and can’t write a strong, crisp sentence,” says Bill. You probably recognized the title and the authors. “This book’s unique tone, wit and charm have conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. Use the fourth edition of “the little book” to make a big impact with writing.”
Capitalism and Freedom – “This is the only book on economics you need to read. Yes, I’m biased,” says Bill. ” In this classic book, Milton Friedman provides the definitive statement of his immensely influential economic philosophy—one in which competitive capitalism serves as both a device for achieving economic freedom and a necessary condition for political freedom.”
Excellence, Can We Be Equal and Excellent Too? – “This book raised America’s standards. Mine too,” says Bill. “This is a book about excellence, more particularly about the conditions under which excellence is possible in our kind of society; but it is also—inevitably—a book about equality, about the kinds of equality that can and must be honored, and the kinds that cannot be forced.”
Live for Success, by John T. Malloy
“After interviewing and observing thousands of business men and women, Molloy identifies those personal and professional characteristics that lead to success and offers guidance in improving dress, posture, body signals, verbal skills, and social skills”
Winning Through Intimidation – #1 New York Times Bestseller. It teaches you how to defend yourself against the intimidators of the world. The author argues that the results a person obtains are largely proportionate to the degree to which he or she is intimidated. So it is not as much your words and actions that count but your posture while you say those words and take those actions.
Reading the best strategy books and critical thinking books above is a great start. But what if you want to take it to the next level. What should you do next?
Strategy thinking is not linear and we want you to understand and appreciate how messy it can be. At the end of the day, you want to think like a partner versus simply having a bag of tools to use. And this is what we do. By working through the programs on StrategyTV.com/apps, and especially through the programs on StrategyTraining.com/apps, you will be able to master the skills of consulting partners from major international firms like McKinsey and BCG, including strategy skills.
When I started my career there was no website I could go to to learn strategy. I personally cannot think of any website anywhere in the world even today, apart from the FIRMSconsulting platforms (FirmsConsulting.com, StrategyTV.com/apps, StrategyTraining.com/apps), that teach strategy in this step-by-step approach.
Developing a strategy that works and getting it implemented requires many skills. I know, it seems that is all about the analysis, but it is much more than that. Think of these problems you will likely encounter, and we will teach you to handle.
What is the real problem I need/must/should solve?
What is the scope of the problem?
How do I solve the problem?
How do I find the data?
How do I collect the data?
How do I change my approach if the data is not available?
How do I present my findings in a convincing way?
How do I convince people to follow me?
There are many more little steps to getting things to work. Our goal is to give you the skills and confidence to fully succeed. That is why we have such a comprehensive and in-depth range of training programs within Premium membership, and especially within FC Insider. So don’t be intimidated by the bounty of choice. Embrace it. Follow the guides and you will master this.
You have to put in the work. You have to make the decision this is worth learning.
I believe you want to and we want to help you achieve that goal. Just follow the guidance we provide and if you do not know where to start, the 21 Day programs are probably the easiest to start, finish and begin seeing some results if you are an FC Insider.
If you are a new Premium member then we recommend to start from The Consulting Offer (TCO) programs, even if you are not preparing for consulting interviews. TCO will help you develop a strong foundation before you can move on to more advanced programs like Strategy: Follow a full McKinsey et al Engagement.
If you have any questions about the recommended strategy books above or our membership level training programs do not hesitate to reach out to us at support @ firmsconsulting.com.
Cheers, Kris
Some links above are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Do you risk your relationship with the only family member who has always been on your side to... Make a Stand for Your Truth Imagine this... you're a corporate leader, used to making tough decisions, managing people, and balancing priorities. But what happens when the real test of your leadership comes…
People say, “Success leaves clues.” The advice you often hear is find someone who achieved something you want to achieve, watch them carefully, repeat their steps, and you will achieve success too. It is useful, but to a point. There is one big problem with this approach. Each of us has a…
Senior McKinsey partner on the most important skill you should develop We trained our AI system on our proprietary information. It’s like having access to our brains 24/7. That said, you might still run into challenges. Maybe you ask a question and don’t get the response you want. This is…
