The Ultimate Guide To Consulting Skills For Advancement From Manager and Above

Consulting Skills as a Competitive Advantage Developing strong consulting skills such as the ability to communicate in a way that holds the attention of the room, the ability to solve complex problems in a structured and effective way, and the ability to build a peer-level relationship with the most senior executives of major companies. Developing strong consulting skills can be the competitive advantage that will allow you rise above the average and gain the momentum, respect, and opportunities you want. Not everyone working for major consulting firms have strong consulting skills. Similarly, you can develop strong consulting skills without ever working for a major consulting firm. In this post we are going to explore how to achieve career advancement from manager and above, and how to use consulting skills to help you achieve career growth. What is Career Advancement? Career advancement refers to the upward trajectory of someone’s career. Top professionals know the importance of professional and personal development. For anyone in the corporate world having a secure job to go to each week is important, but it is not enough. Humans crave progress. If we do not grow, we degrade. We do not stay still. Our skills deteriorate.  So…

Life Purpose: How to Find It & Examples

If you’re trying to find your life purpose, the central motivating aims of your life, and to find better ways to manage your time and be more productive, there’s an exercise that will help you determine what motivates you. Discovering the core of what drives you, what motivates you to do things will be a much more powerful tool than any time management technique or productivity trick. And it will help you in finding your purpose so you can steer your ship in the right direction. This is a life-changing exercise and – depending on the person – it generally doesn’t take a lot of time. Some people may need to do this life purpose exercise multiple times before they get to the core reason why. I had to do this exercise about four times before I gained clarity on my life purpose and felt that I really got to the core of what motivates me. This exercise, this way of thinking is often commonly used in problem-solving. As the CEO of FIRMSconsulting.com and StrategyTraining.com, I also use this exercise for our training programs. But my favorite application of this excercize is for discovering life purpose. What Is Life Purpose? Before…

Retirement Planning & How to Retire Early

Retirement Planning & How to Retire Early Many people are concerned about their retirement planning but put it aside for far too long. Unfortunately, this often leads to a retirement you settle for versus a retirement you want. Retirement planning is a process you put in place to manage your finances after you leave the workforce or sell your business. Retirement planning involves various steps, including planning when to start, figuring out how much money you will need to maintain the lifestyle you want after you retire, identifying priorities (what is most important, not negotiable, and what is least important), planning investments and figuring out who will manage those investments. If you plan to manage your investments yourself, you will need to learn to do so. If you plan to delegate this to a financial planner, you will need to learn enough to see if they are doing a good job for you. And then, you also need to plan for how to make your retirement enjoyable. This often means having sufficient mental stimulation and social interactions to maintain a full and engaging life. Please note that we are not financial planners. Please ensure you get proper advice from financial…

The MasterPlan Acceleration Program

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” Winston Churchill FINALLY: A CHANCE TO DISCOVER EXACTLY WHAT KRIS AND MICHAEL ONLY REVEAL TO OUR HIGHEST PAYING CLIENTS IN PRIVATE? NOW YOU CAN... VIP level (6 months + additional access/deep dive one on one coaching). Special price (conditions apply) $14,995: Apply for VIP Now Elite level (3 months of access). Special price (conditions apply $5,995): Apply for Elite Now Installment options are available (outlined below). Unfortunately, many professionals are ignored, miss out on promotions, or feel they are on the wrong path and not living up to their potential. This results in feeling frustrated and under-appreciated. We have tested strategy tools and blueprints that allow our clients to stop being ignored, get promoted or start their own business, and find a greater career and personal fulfillment, and a higher level of contribution. The MasterPlan Coaching Program is a group-mentoring program where we work personally with you…

When Everything Goes Wrong with Your Career Plans

The Dark Side of Being a Leader

  We've almost rounded the sun once more. Less than 2 weeks left in 2021! And I turned 40 on top of it. Feels like an end of a chapter and the beginning of the next. This year was hard. If you weren't hard enough on yourself, I'm sure you felt judged by many people for how you've decided to deal with the pandemic, and how you thought about protecting your family, healthcare, closings/openings, the economy, the kind of leader you are, and many other things. I wanted to say... ... thank you for your support during this year. We have the most amazing people within our community who went out of their way to support me and the FIRMSconsulting team during this year, and during the entire pandemic. When masks were in short supply one of our incredible members made sure the entire FC team had enough masks. We have a prelaunch team that helps us polish the books before it is released to the broader community. We have amazing members doing all kinds of supportive acts of kindness to ensure the success and wellbeing of the company. And I am so grateful for each and every one of…

The Published Author Program

How can you start using the title published author in the next few months, even if you don't want to write an entire book You probably already know the benefits of getting a book published: Build a stronger personal brand immediately. Open the door to new opportunities. Add to your signature, your bio, your articles and proposals. A permanent marketing tool - most people do not throw books away, and they are always working on your behalf. Pre-frame yourself to clients before they even speak to you. Your book shows your expertise. Multiple authors are marketing you, every time they talk about your book. Use it in your content marketing plan to get leads. Instant authority boost. A book is your most powerful business card. Most people will never write the first book, you will have one to share in the next few months. Imagine your client interactions if potential and current clients saw your thinking in a published book before they met you? Imagine the time you would save not having to explain your ideas and the value you could add to them? Imagine the fee premium you could earn? Imagine avoiding awkward meetings trying to establish your credibility?…

Kris Safarova’s Biography

As Presiding Partner Kris works with only the most eminent BCG, McKinsey et al ex-partners to produce strategy, operations, implementation and case interview media that does not exist anywhere else. She is the author of 5 books on strategy and critical thinking. This is the story of how I changed my life when I found myself at the age of 25 without a degree, in a foreign country and working as a front-office receptionist for a 4-person manufacturing company where I earned ~$500/month with no health benefits. I will be candid about the struggles I faced and mistakes I made. Although it is not easy to discuss these things, I am optimistic others will realize they too can succeed despite significant obstacles. The Person Who Influenced Me The Most I was born in Russia where I lived until the age of 21. My paternal great-grandfather was born in Dagestan. He died so early that his son, my grandfather Aron, did not remember him. A foster family raised Aaron. Later he moved to Azerbaijan for his studies and for a better life. He married and had 4 children. The youngest was my father. My grandfather, Aron, supported his family by working as a…

What is the CEO’s role?

What is the CEO's role? The CEO's role is to be the top executive of of a company who is responsible for key decisions such as overall strategy, managing overall operations. Here are some key responsibilities of a CEO: The CEO's role is to determine company's business model. The CEO has to define and adjust as needed company's strategy. What is company's mission, vision and strategy. The CEO has to define standards. Standards for your people and for your product. And for us at FIRMSconsulting, for example, standards for our people extend to standards for our clients. It's about integrity and quality. And CEO's role is to ensure the company operates in line with these standards. You have to lead by example. As with children who learn not from what you say but from what you do, so are employees within the company. The CEO's role is to motivate and solve the role of a politician in negotiating and maintaining/growing relationships with suppliers, distributors, collaborators, partners, and strategic allies. The CEO's role is to be an effective communicator. You have to keep on reinforcing important messages. When you say it, they say it. The CEO's role is to ensure financial…