New Releases on StrategyTraining.com

This week’s updates focus on equipping you with the tools to tackle the problems others avoid and to deliver results that endure. We’ve released new Insider and Legacy episodes, along with another Strategy Control Room Advanced update, each built on battle-tested approaches used in high-stakes engagements. The goal is to elevate your thinking, sharpen your judgment, and take deliberate action that moves the needle, now and over the long term.

Here are new resources available for members:

For Strategy Control Room Advanced Members

New IT, Digital, AI, and Cloud Center-of-Excellence – Update 10 of TBD (151 SLIDES).

Most IT projects fail, not because of bad technology, but because of poor thinking. This Center-of-Excellence shows you exactly why projects go off track and how to prevent it. 

For Insider Members

These new training episodes were released.

Why Am I Not a Visionary - Episode 2 of 4

Even consistent execution at the highest standard can leave you stalled. This program examines the pivotal shift from being a reliable operator to becoming a leader with a clear, compelling vision. One who shapes direction rather than simply delivering on it.
Episode title: Coaching breakthrough: what leadership is actually asking for

Building a Consulting Practice. Level II  – Episode 8 of TBD
Level II moves beyond the fundamentals of establishing or rebuilding a consulting business to focus on the advanced discipline of turning everyday engagements into engines of sustained growth.

Through real-world examples, including an operations strategy project that evolved into an entirely new consulting practice, you’ll learn how to:

- Redirect client discussions from transactional tasks toward high-value, strategic issues.
- Identify opportunities even when no obvious “problem” is on the table.
- Position yourself as a trusted advisor with a seat at the most critical conversations.

This is consulting at its highest level, where strategic thinking is applied in operational contexts, discussions are triangulated toward your strengths, and growth is designed to outlast any single engagement. Together with Level I and programs such as Partnership Memoir, Rebuilding a Consulting Practice, and How to Build an Innovation Division, this series offers a complete roadmap for building a resilient, high-impact consulting practice.
Episode title: The Proposal. Context

The Bill Matassoni Show, Season 3 (Part 2 - Nicholas Gertler) – Episode 3 of 15
In this episode, Bill Matassoni engages in a deep strategic dialogue with Nicholas Gertler, a former McKinsey colleague, on how to redesign systems to create value for all stakeholders. Moving beyond traditional advertising and sales approaches, they explore the role of storytelling and influence as levers to reshape industries, organizations, and relationships.

Filmed at the iconic Philip Johnson Glass House, the conversation challenges leaders to reconsider how value is defined, created, and sustained, and how their own work can drive meaningful, long-term change. The series, now followed by leaders from many parts of the world, offers practical tools to broaden perspective and uncover opportunities often missed by others.
Episode title: Nicholas Gertler's journey

For Legacy Members

Legacy members gain access to all Insider content, plus these exclusive episodes:

What Most Product Managers Get Wrong - Episode 2 of 3
Too many product teams fixate on detailed plans and cross-functional coordination, yet overlook the single question that should precede everything else. This episode reveals the critical step that must come first, and why getting it right sets the foundation for all subsequent decisions.
Episode title: What comes before the vital planning?

Resiliency and Scenario Planning - Episode 5 of 5
Most organizations face the same underlying risk, but few address it head-on. A winning strategy is not defined solely by accuracy; it is measured by how quickly you can adapt when events diverge from plan. This episode challenges conventional planning models and offers a practical framework for becoming prepared, adaptable, and resilient, so neither your company nor your career is easily knocked off course.
There’s a problem all companies are facing, but few are truly addressing it. The strength of your strategy is not only in getting it right. It’s also in how quickly you can recover when reality doesn’t go your way. This episode challenges conventional planning models. If your company, or your career, depends too heavily on being “right,” this is your playbook for becoming prepared, adaptive, and hard to knock off course.
Episode title: How to be flexible, while being resilient

Writing an Article - Episode 4 of 4
Most aspiring authors start with the wrong question: How do I write something good? The better question is: What is the message that I need to deliver? This program reframes article writing as a strategic exercise, aligning your message with your long-term professional and personal objectives.

Before drafting a single sentence, you’ll assess your runway, intellectual property, and trajectory with the same rigor we would apply to a market entry or regulatory strategy. You will leave with a repeatable method to pinpoint the one idea the world most needs to hear from you, and a plan to ensure it reaches the right audience.
Episode title: Write tightly around what you know

Insiders can upgrade to Legacy at any time and revert to Insider without losing Insider status.

To upgrade: While logged in, select any Legacy program and follow the upgrade prompt.

To return to Insider: Email team@firmsconsulting.com, and we will restore your Insider status, provided there are no gaps in your subscription or gaps are covered.

Legacy Member Q&A — Tailored Partner Feedback
Legacy members may submit one personal or professional question twice per month. A partner will respond with a custom recorded answer.

Submission deadlines: 15th and 30th of each month

Format: One paragraph emailed to team@firmsconsulting.com

Include: Relevant context and details so we can provide precise, actionable guidance

Subject line: Legacy Question

Strategy Skills Podcast (ranked among the top 5–10 career podcasts in many countries)
These episodes are now available on iTunes, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms.

Ex McKinsey Expert on War Games, John Horn: How to Read Your Competitors - with John Horn

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:

1. Observe what competitors say and do, including press releases, earnings calls, and other public data.

2. Assess their assets, resources, and capabilities, and imagine what you'd do in their position.

3. 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.”

4. 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.

Listen to the episode here (you can also watch or read the transcript).

McKinsey Senior Partner, Kate Smaje: Winning in the Age of Digital and AI - with Kate Smaje

In this episode, we interviewed Kate Smaje, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company and Global Leader of McKinsey Digital. 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 key: one of the biggest indicators of success is how leadership spends its time.

This conversation is going to be helpful 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.

Listen to the episode here (you can also watch or read the transcript).

Additionally, here are the recent releases on FIRMSconsulting / StrategyTraining.com / Kris Safarova YouTube Channels:

IT Strategy vs. Corporate Strategy: Microsoft - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Build Consulting Storyboards in 3 Weeks (This is How McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte Do It) - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Feel Comfortable on Camera - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

Management Consulting Storyboard | Storyboarding used by McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC et al. - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

McKinsey’s Rise to Prominence Under Marvin Bower - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

The Systems Behind Sustained High Performance with ADHD - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Enroll in Insider, Legacy, or Strategy Control Room Advanced

You may join any membership tier at this time. 

To enroll: Visit StrategyTraining.com and select your preferred membership. If you need help selecting the right membership for you please email team@firmsconsulting.com.

To upgrade from Insider to Legacy: While logged in, click on any Legacy program. The system will prompt you to upgrade.

To return from Legacy to Insider: Email team@firmsconsulting.com, and we will restore your Insider status, provided there are no gaps in your subscription or if the gap was covered.

Strategy Control Room Advanced:
Our most comprehensive library includes full studies, proposals, Centers of Excellence, and books not available anywhere else. You may join directly, or start with a monthly SCR membership and earn advanced status by the time your 7th month begins (email team@firmsconsulting.com to request an upgrade once you have a sufficient track record / 6 full consecutive months).

There is always another level of impact. We are here to help you reach it.

Your Job in a Case Interview is to Make the Interviewer Absolutely Certain You Can Be ...

...Trusted in Front of Any Client

Even if you will never sit in a case interview, this note is about a skill you will need throughout your career: earning someone’s trust in a high-stakes, imperfect situation.

The example I’ll use is the case interview, but the principles apply when you are:

- pitching to a client who is scanning their email during your presentation,

- briefing a board member who has just come from a contentious discussion, or

- interviewing for a role when the interviewer is clearly distracted or unprepared.

In all of these situations, your task is the same: leave the other person absolutely certain you can be trusted in front of any client (internal or external), in any circumstance.

That is why this is not simply an email about preparing for case interviews. It is an email about how to perform when the person judging you is tired, distracted, and human, and how to help them see your value despite the inevitable imperfections in the interaction.
 

***

As some of our clients and members are preparing for case interviews I wanted to offer some perspective. 

Let’s begin by acknowledging that conducting a case interview is not a pleasant experience for an interviewer. It is not why people become management consultants. The greatest case interviewer does not necessarily become an EM, let alone a partner. When a consultant is being assessed every few months, their phenomenal case interview skills will not save them from mediocre engagement feedback. 

Running a case interview is not what the consultant wants to do. It is not why a consultant is primarily rewarded and promoted. The very best consultants are unlikely to be conducting interviews. They would be with clients. 

Interviews take consultants away from engagement teams and away from clients. No client ever uttered the words, “I respect Amy as a consultant because she took 2 days away from my study to fly to Boston to conduct MBA interviews.” To a client, having their consultant engaged in interviews is a distraction and a cost they do not want to bear. 

Consultants are tired. Consultants are behind schedule. Consultants are overworked. They are overwhelmed. Consultants do not have sufficient time to prepare. If a consultant could do it, they would spend all their time working on client work and never prepare for the case interview. They would simply create an interview based on what they know. 

Companies expect responses immediately. An interviewer is not supposed to read and respond to emails, but it is bound to happen. An interviewer should be able to multitask if they choose to read and respond to emails. But interviewers are tired and sleep-deprived. They often may miss things or not hear something you say in an interview. 

Interviewers would rather fail you than admit they made a mistake. Can you think of any situation where a firm/interviewer admitted an interview mistake? 

Interviewers should take the time to help you. They should give you the benefit of the doubt. They should have no prejudices. They should not discriminate against gender, race, schools, or other forms of pedigree. But interviewers are human. They do and will.

I mention this because too many clients only focus on themselves in an interview and assume the interviewer is a perfect person who is totally focused on them, and with a razor sharp intellect. They are not. They are only human, and even if the day they meet you is their best day, they will have quirks. 

Knowing all of the above, you need to practice defensive case interviews. Like defensive driving, in this approach, you expect the worst and run the case interview by taking charge to help the interviewer help you. 

If the interviewer is in a bad mood, take charge of the energy in the room and keep things pleasant, conversational, and moving along. Listen to how Assel managed a tough McKinsey interviewer in the final session with Assel which we made available at this time to help you with your case interview preparation. You can watch the full program with Assel on StrategyTraining.com, even as part of a monthly Premium membership (only $167 per month).

Knowing how busy and unprepared most interviewers are, take the time to speak clearly and offer your assumptions and inferences versus waiting for the interviewer to guide you. 

Do not be thrown off by an interviewer who is checking emails, typing emails, or even eating lunch. They are human. They should not, but it is far worse to have a consultant suffering from low blood sugar in an interview. 

Make it pleasant for the interviewer. Make sure they can read your exhibits or any diagrams you draw. Help them understand your thinking by offering succinct explanations and offering them options. 

Answer their questions. Don’t give them what a case book told you to give them if it does not answer their question. 

I can sum this up by saying treat interviewers as if they are human. Which they are. They are not perfectly programmed robots who do everything correctly. 

And the same advice applies to you. Every client tries to avoid a mistake. And should clients make a mistake, they act like the case interview is over and they have failed, and therefore, there is no point in trying any further. 

Try this approach. Rather than practicing to avoid a mistake, practice what you will do when you make a mistake. You should not apologize and offer to fall on a sword, since that means nothing at all and is not helpful, but rather focus on immediately and cheerily fixing it and moving on. 

Assume you will make a mistake. Accept this and have a plan. You will rarely be failed for a mistake unless the mistake is truly obvious, you did not spot it yourself, and/or you failed to correct the mistake after it was pointed out to you. 

Three minutes spent apologizing is three wasted minutes to solve a case. Three minutes of berating yourself simply lowers your standing in the eyes of the interviewer. Leaders don’t take the time to belittle themselves. They act. 

Don’t worry so much about math mistakes. While firms usually point them out when offering feedback, far more clients fail due to a lack of proper structure, critical thinking, judgment, and fit. 

Your job is not to pass the case interview. Your job is not to solve the case. Many interviewees will achieve this goal but fail to get an offer. Your task is to make this such a pleasant experience for the interviewer that you will leave them no doubt that you are fit to be in front of any client. 

You can only do this if you take the time to think about the interviewer as a person. It's not about you. It's about them. Most clients never think about the interviewer. You may not be able to solve a case. You may not even complete the case. Yet, you could still easily obtain an offer if you prove you have the skills to think critically. 

Communication, MECE, 80/20, hypotheses, prioritized branches are like ingredients. If you have the perfect ingredients but assemble them in the wrong way, you will have a bad dish. So take the time to learn how to use them conversationally, versus just ticking the boxes off as you use them. 

Always remember that many things lie outside your control. Firms and offices are driven by economics. If an office can only afford to hire 3 people and 6 people were exceptional, unless the firm found a way to defy the laws of economics, only 3 people will be hired.

Overall, hiring numbers are driven less by case performance and more by the general economic environment. There is a reason firms hire more in strong economic environments, and hire less and fire more during weaker economic growth. 

So you can be phenomenal but there could have been someone better. These things happen. 

Everyone will learn at their own pace with their own level of commitment. Some clients do well with little preparation. This is because they already think in this critical reasoning format and generally speak well. Others need more time. And that is fine. 

Some clients are very good but lack confidence and need the interviewer to constantly affirm that they are going in the right direction. This hurts their chances. 

I know many McKinsey, BCG, Bain, et al. partners who did not get in on their first chance. I know many people who chose not to join the firm after obtaining an offer. And I know many whose lives did not materially change after they joined. 

Good, talented people will always excel. They may end up on a different path, but they will get there. 

Solving cases requires critical reasoning skills. The same way you only need to solve a few math problems to understand a concept, many candidates don’t need to practice +100 cases. If you are doing that, you are probably memorizing frameworks. It's far more efficient to learn how to build frameworks from first principles, which is why we spend so much time in The Consulting Offer on how to build frameworks. 

If this were not true every great mathematician and scientist would be memorizing the answers to every type of question. They don't, and neither should you. 

If you want to meaningfully strengthen your foundational skills, not just to help you prepare for case interviews but to become a stronger communicator, networker and problem solver, I believe there is no other more effective program out there to help you than The Consulting Offer. I recommend you go through our case interview programs in the following order:

• TCO 1 with Felix - See Felix getting trained and ultimately obtaining an offer from McKinsey.

• Experienced Hire program - in-depth (110 episodes) case interview program specifically designed for EMBAs and experienced hires, prepared for the Darden EMBA program.

• TCO 4 with Assel - See how we trained Assel to join McKinsey after five years out of the workforce. Prior to joining McKisney, she never worked at MBB.

• TCO 3 with Jen - See how we trained Jen to join Bain, Boston.

• TCO 2 (full program) - See Alice going through the program and getting offers from McKinsey and BCG, NYC.

• TCO 5 with Ritika - See us training Ritika to join McKinsey, Chicago.

The above programs are programs we recommend everyone should start with when enrolling as an Insider or Legacy member on StrategyTraining.com. This is because they are designed to help you develop foundational problem-solving,  communication, networking, and interviewing skills. They will also help you make the most of more advanced programs.

The above programs may look like programs only relevant to people who want to join a consulting firm.

In reality, they help you develop impressive problem-solving, interviewing, networking, and communication skills that can set you apart from your colleagues and competitors and alter the trajectory of your career.

Many of our most successful Insiders and Legacy members, including those who never worked in consulting, credit The Consulting Offer with giving them the foundational skills to fully benefit from more advanced programs on StrategyTraining.com, and with delivering meaningful career impact.

If you find this message useful, please share it with those who need it.

Good luck with your case interview preparation, and with developing and strengthening foundational skills.

My first consulting engagement. Traveling internationally with the head of practice and another consultant, presenting to CEOs. Summer of 2007.

I Know What It Means To Start Again...
With Nothing But Your Will.

This is my fifth restart.
Not metaphorical. Not optional. 
Real-life ground zero. Again.

I started over 4 times before.
Across 3 continents.
Across what it feels like multiple lifetimes.

Each time, walking away from everything I knew and starting again from the ground zero.

People think starting over is brave.

It probably is.
But for me, starting over was the only choice.
Staying, that would be much harder.

I first learned to survive in Russia.
Not later. There.

By 4-5 years old, I already knew what it meant to carry someone you love, literally.
My grandmother carried my drunk grandfather on her back, and I walked beside her through the gloomy streets of Samara, making sure his feet didn’t get caught, and carrying her purse.
My grandmother didn’t allow me to help her lift him, but you wouldn’t accuse me of a lack of trying the entire time we walked home.

We lived in one half of a tiny house.
There was no shower. No hot water.
Just a hole in the backyard that was used as a toilet, with pieces of old free newspapers used as toilet paper.
Imagine going there when it is minus 40, windy, and dark outside.

And still, I was a happy child when I was with her.
Because my grandmother, Galina, loved me.
Unconditionally.

That’s what kids actually need.
They can go to bed hungry,
but they can’t go to bed deprived of love without significant consequences.

I went to bed deprived of love when I wasn't with her.
And if it wasn’t for her, I don’t know who I would be today.

She taught me that you don’t need much to be rich in spirit.
And that no matter how little we had, we had each other.

Life wasn't easy. I stood in long lines for hours to get one stick of margarine, and hoped they wouldn’t run out before my turn. But she was the light of my life.
After she died, I learned a different kind of survival.
The kind where you hide who you are to stay safe.

I changed my name.
I learned to be really quiet.
I literally could say nothing for hours.
I played the piano, taught piano, composed music, and sang at weddings and nightclubs, but never had enough for a taxi home.

Some nights, I didn’t know if I’d make it home at all.
Samara is not a safe place, especially once the sun is down.
But my job required me to return home when it is dark.
I crossed the street to avoid people, especially after I was attacked with a knife on the street, in daylight.

Still, I didn’t give up.
I started over again in a place where I didn’t speak the language.

I had no experience, no business skills, $1,000 of my life savings, and no recognized degree (my music institution wasn’t listed in the Western database).

I made money using all the skills I had:
teaching piano and Russian, doing translations, and working as a voice coach.
I learned to code and coded my first website. I then optimized it for search engines and students started finding me and booking lessons.

In parallel, I spent hours each day applying for every job I could find. After 8 months of applying daily, I finally received an offer: $500/month.
I had been rejected at first for being overqualified.
But the woman who accepted the job died tragically, and they offered the role to me.

I worked like it was my company.
I was the first person in and the last one out. Not just in the office of my company but in the entire office building. It was just me and security.
I cut manufacturing costs by 25% by renegotiating all contracts.
I created marketing catalogs.
I walked to the post office and carried heavy mail because I didn’t have a car.
Some days, I was absolutely starving because I just didn't make enough money to buy sufficient food.

When I wasn’t working, I was studying.
I translated every sentence, word by word, with a pencil in hand.
On top of it, I was still teaching. Still translating. 

Free time was something I understood… just not something I ever got to experience.

I didn’t have fun. I didn’t rest.
I just did what it took.
And it took a lot to work towards reaching the level of contribution, impact, and success I was aiming for.

Eventually, that hard work paid off.

I joined a large consulting firm.

And I earned accelerated promotions.
Because I made myself indispensable.
I solved complex problems. Took full ownership. Delivered.

After that, I pursued my MBA in Canada.
I used all the money I saved during consulting days to pay for it.
At one point, all I had left in my bank account was $76.
Here I was turning 30 and still not having money to buy food.
Why? Because I started over in a new country.
Again.
 

And this is what it took.

I graduated with distinction in every subject.
I refused to be average.
I gave it everything I had.

That opened more doors.
I entered banking and managed a portfolio worth over $1 billion. I was part of a corporate finance division and got promoted to Director within 6 months of joining.

And I never forgot what it felt like to count coins to buy bread.

Then I partnered with someone I deeply respect, and we built a company of our own.
Not with funding. Not with privilege.
With belief. With long hours. With everything we had.

I am very proud of what we accomplished within FIRMSconsulting over the last >15 years.
And I’ve given it everything.
Even when it took too much out of me.
And I will continue to do so.

I’m starting over again this year.

As you may know, in January, I got caught up in a natural disaster.
That day, I left my home and didn’t return.
Since then, I’ve been living out of a suitcase.

This 5th restart has been the hardest of all.

Because this time, I didn’t choose it.

A natural disaster is not something you prepare for.
You just survive it and try to keep going.

But payroll doesn’t pause because you don't have a home to go to.
You still have to deliver for your clients. 
You have to make sure neither your clients nor your business falls behind, given how the world is moving forward at a record speed.
Technology advancements will not pause while you try to rebuild your life.

So I kept moving.
And I’m still rebuilding, piece by piece.

So yes, I’ve started over five times now. I am in the process of rebuilding for the 5th time as we speak.
And here’s what I’ve learned:

Starting over is not the point.

The point is, if you can, build in the right place the first time.
Don’t waste your energy rebuilding over and over.

Most people can’t break out of their orbit even once, in the city where they were born.
Doing it more than once takes a toll on your health.
Doing it in another city is hard. Doing it in another country is brutal.

It drains your time, your energy. It impacts your health.
And it forces you to sacrifice things no one else sees.

And once you build something,
do everything to keep it.

That means choosing what you protect.
It means staying when staying is harder than running.
It means building slowly and not leaving the moment it gets hard.
It means not damaging your reputation, not becoming distracted when you get some success and think you have a luxury now to "be normal" and "live your life."

Because if you run every time it hurts…
If you try to "be normal" when "normal" does not correspond with the results you want, you will fall behind. You will start losing what you have built.
You will get older.
You lose your edge.
People will stop seeing you as the superstar you once were.
And you accumulate regrets.

If you’re in a place of starting again,
I know how hard it is.

But I also know how beautiful life becomes
when you choose to stay.
When you choose to build a worthwhile life.
When you decide not to dial back when it seems like you could coast for a while.

Don't lose momentum. It is very hard to regain it, and many people never regain it once they lose it.

Are You Leading For The World We Have...

...Or The World We Had?

As you know, within StrategyTraining.com, we've been tracking global trends for a long time. And you and I have always known the West wouldn’t hold a lead forever.

But when you spend time on the ground in different parts of the world the shift becomes undeniable.

Regions once considered “developing” now operate with systems, infrastructure, and technology that often surpass what we experience in the West.

It’s visible in how daily life works. Cashless payments, logistics, services, scale. It’s fast, reliable, and integrated.

They are no longer catching up.
 

In many areas, leadership has already changed hands,
most people just don't realize it yet.

Let me share two examples that illustrate what’s happening.

You probably know Xiaomi as a smartphone brand. Recently, they launched their first electric vehicle, the SU7 Ultra. It accelerates from zero to 62 mph in under two seconds and posted one of the fastest lap times for any production EV.

Ferrari purchased it and shipped it to Maranello. To study it.

A tech company that wasn’t in the auto industry five years ago now builds a car Ferrari considers serious enough competitor to analyze.

That’s not catching up.
 

That’s setting the new standard.

Then there’s BYD. They started in battery manufacturing. Today, they are the largest electric vehicle company in the world by volume. Over four million EVs were sold last year. EV revenue over $100 billion.

They don’t only build cars. They produce batteries, semiconductors, public transport systems, an integrated model that’s scaling rapidly.

And this, of course, is happening not only in the automotive industry. 

For years, the West led and the rest followed. That was the accepted dynamic.

It reminds me of a group of boys growing up together.

Early on, one boy is taller, stronger, and naturally becomes the leader. Everyone defers to him. He sets the pace.

But part of the reason he led was timing. The others had just come through a tough period. They were recovering, still finding their footing. So he pulled ahead and for a long time, everyone assumed he’d always be out in front.

But over time, the others grew: taller, stronger, or smarter. They developed their own strengths. They no longer followed. 

And the old dynamic couldn’t last.

After World War II, much of the world was rebuilding. The U.S. emerged from that period stronger, more intact, and took a leading role.

And those circumstances have changed.

The rest of the world recovered. The lead wasn't permanent. And it’s already being challenged.

That’s the situation now.

The West was once the clear leader: economically, technologically, militarily. Many still think that’s the case.

But leadership in key areas has already shifted, or is shifting fast.

When one power rises and another declines, it often creates tension. History has a name for this: Thucydides’ Trap. The term comes from the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who wrote about the war between rising Athens and established Sparta. It describes what happens when an established power is challenged by a rising one. Often, the result is conflict.

Translation:

Often, the result is war.

Sometimes it’s avoided. But it always forces change.

It’s what happened when Athens challenged Sparta, triggering the Peloponnesian War.

It happened again when Germany rose against Britain and France in the early 20th century, leading to two world wars.

And now, many believe we’re seeing a version of this play out again, as China rises and the US faces increasing pressure to maintain its leadership.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re leading a business or managing your career, you need to adapt to this new reality.

The competitive landscape is not what it used to be.

Worse, most people don't have any idea of what the competitive landscape is because they are not paying attention to what is happening outside of the West.

The strategies and benchmarks you’ve relied on may no longer reflect what’s needed to stay ahead.

Many are still acting as if the old dynamic holds. That others are still catching up.
 

That’s a mistake.

The shift already happened.

The question is whether you see it and whether you’re ready to operate at the new level the world now demands.

While we cover these shifts in many programs, the scale of change now calls for a focused, in-depth series. We are introducing a new category of programs with a working title: Leading Through Global Power Shifts. Some programs will be for both Insiders and Legacy members, and some more advanced programs will be for Legacy members. And relevant materials will also be added to the Strategy Control Room Advanced for those members who prefer to have reading materials as well. (Side note: We do not recommend using the SCRA as the only membership. You still need the training from Insider/Legacy. We recommend it as an optional add-on.)

This new series of programs helps executives, leaders, consultants, and business owners understand and respond to the changing global power dynamics, especially the rise of new leaders in innovation, infrastructure, and execution. It’s about how to recognize the real benchmarks, adjust strategy accordingly, and stay competitive in a world where traditional advantages are eroding.

Key Focus Areas For This Series:

1. Recognizing the Shift

   • How global leadership is changing in tech, manufacturing, infrastructure, and finance.

   • What companies like BYD, Xiaomi, and Tencent are doing differently, and why it works.

   • The end of the West’s monopoly on innovation: what this means for your strategy.

2. New Competitive Benchmarks

   • How to redefine “best practice” when leadership comes from new players.

   • Why speed, vertical integration, and ecosystem thinking now matter more than scale alone.

   • Key case studies: China’s EV dominance, India’s fintech acceleration, and more.

3. Strategic Response for Leaders

   • How to build agility into your strategy and operations.

   • Tools for staying informed and responding early, not late.

   • Avoiding complacency: how to lead without relying on legacy positioning.

4. Thucydides’ Trap, AI Arms Race, and Strategic Risk

   • Navigating the risks when global powers shift: from AI to geopolitics.

   • How AI accelerates this transition and how to use it strategically.

   • Scenario planning: how to prepare your organization for multiple possible futures.

5. Personal Career Strategy in a Changing World

   • How to position yourself as a leader when traditional markers of status are losing value.

   • Skills and mindsets that matter in a world where the pace of change is accelerating.

   • Finding and seizing global opportunities others aren’t seeing.

Why This Series Is Being Introduced?

Insiders and Legacy members need to not only understand what’s changing but act now, not later. This series is about staying relevant, staying competitive, and staying ahead, even when the benchmarks for success are shifting rapidly.

If you want to lead at the level today’s world demands, you need more than surface-level insights. You need tools, strategies, and support that reflect the real world, not outdated playbooks. That’s what you’ll find inside StrategyTraining.com.

This is why we created a new series for Insiders, Legacy, and Strategy Control Room Advanced members, leaders who want to navigate global power shifts with clarity and decisiveness, not be caught off guard or left behind.

You need to understand what’s changing and know how to respond regardless of your role or title.

And if you want to operate at a level that reflects where the world is now, not where it used to be, this series will help you do that.

StrategyTraining.com is built for those who want to see the shift early, act on it, and stay ahead, long before others realize what’s changed.

New Releases on StrategyTraining.com

New releases on StrategyTraining.com include a major update to the Strategy Control Room Advanced (Infrastructure Funding Strategy Study/126 SLIDES), alongside new powerful episodes on consulting growth, leadership, and long-term career design.

Each release is a structured system built for immediate application and long-term impact.

Here’s what’s now available for members:

For Strategy Control Room Advanced Members

Another major update: a new 126-slide full study was released.

Infrastructure Funding Strategy Study - A major release. 126 SLIDES.

This release explores the financial strategies and risk management approaches required to fund a national highway upgrade. ​It examines borrowing impact, financing requirements, and bond ratings, while analyzing scenarios ranging from best-case to worst-case economic conditions. ​

With insights into weighted average cost of capital (WACC), peer comparisons, and market appetite for bonds, this study highlights the critical importance of timing, risk mitigation, and debt issuance. It also examines the implications of government guarantees, potential rating changes, and the challenges posed by construction delays and inflation.
​ 
This study is a must-read for consultants seeking to navigate complex infrastructure financing.

For Insider Members

These new training episodes were released.

Why Am I Not Happy? How Can I Be Happy? Episode 14 of 14
Practical insights to help you recognize the patterns that are draining your energy and how to stop them. 
Episode title: Must listen to at the end

The Real Reason You Are Not Being Promoted – Episode 18 of 18
This 18-part Insider program challenges the conventional wisdom of career growth, helping ambitious professionals rethink promotions, leadership roles, and long-term wealth creation.
Episode title: Action Next Step #11

The Bill Matassoni Show, Season 3 (Part 2 - Nicholas Gertler) – Episode 1 of 15
In the initial episodes of Part 2, Bill starts a conversation with Nicholas Gertler, a former colleague of Bill at McKinsey. The discussion centers around the concept of marketing as a pivotal tool for systems redesign, exploring its potential to effect meaningful change. The insights shared are intended to equip you to solve the kind of problems that none of your colleagues can or dare (or are motivated) to solve. The Bill Matassoni Show has quickly gained popularity worldwide, reaching audiences from China to India to England to Canada to Africa to Germany to Japan to the United States and beyond. Hosted by Bill Matassoni, a former senior partner at McKinsey & BCG, and former McKinsey worldwide head of marketing and McKinsey Quarterly, the series offers a fresh take on marketing, steering away from traditional sales and advertising tactics. Through storytelling and practical insights, Bill explores the core of marketing, prompting viewers to rethink their approach to work. The show encourages viewers to expand their perspectives and uncover new opportunities in the market space to create more value for all stakeholders involved.  Shot at the iconic Philip Johnson Glass House, "The Bill Matassoni Show" offers exclusive insights available only on StrategyTraining.com.
Episode title: Systems Redesign

For Legacy Members

In addition to all Insider episodes, Legacy members receive these exclusive episodes:

(New) Segmenting Your Customers - Episode 4 of 5
What happens when the way you earn a living slowly pulls you away from who you really are? This program unpacks how inauthenticity creeps in, why it leads to burnout, and what it takes to rebuild both your brand and your sense of self.
Episode title: Three ways to focus your communication

(New) Resiliency and Scenario Planning - Episode 3 of 5
This is a very important new Legacy program. The real strength of your strategy is not only in getting it right, but in how quickly you can recover when you're wrong. This program challenges conventional planning models and shows why resilience, not perfection, may be the ultimate strategic advantage.
Episode title: Never, ever, make analyses the star

Writing an Article - Episode 2 of 4
Most people who want to write an article approach it with the wrong question: "How do I write something good?" That question is premature. This program starts earlier, at the point where real strategic thinking begins. It dissects what an article is, what it does, and why now may be the critical time for you to master this skill. Before a single word is put to paper, you are asked to examine your runway, your career trajectory, your intellectual property, and your broader life goals. Not in the abstract, but with the clarity and precision we’d demand when shaping a high-stakes market entry or regulatory response. If you’re at a career crossroads, or sensing that something in your positioning must evolve, this is the moment to pause, recalibrate, and chart a deliberate path forward.

Across the program, we open up frameworks that rewire how you think about visibility, trust, and influence, especially in environments where attention is scarce but expectations are high. We don’t begin with formats or templates. We begin with goals, blind spots, and strategy. This program will challenge you to think, not just about what you’re writing, but why the world needs to hear it from you, and why certain channels will amplify or dilute your message. You’ll likely want a pen nearby, because what unfolds is not generic guidance, as is the case with all our programs. It's a method to uncover and shape your message with surgical intent, so that when you do speak, people listen. And when you write, the right people respond.
Episode title: What is your style

Insiders can move to Legacy anytime and back to Insider without losing Insider status. Email us at team@firmsconsulting.com so we can manually restore your Insider status when you move back to Insider (provided there are no gaps in subscription).

Ask Us a Question — Get Tailored Feedback

Legacy members are invited to submit one personal or professional question twice per month. We’ll respond with a custom answer recorded by a partner.

• Deadlines: Submit by the 15th and 30th of each month

• Format: One paragraph emailed to team@firmsconsulting.com

• Include: Context and details so we can provide tailored guidance for your unique situation

• Subject line: Legacy Question

Strategy Skills Podcast (top 5-10 for careers in many countries)

We’ve just released a new episode, now available on iTunes, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms.

Listen in and stay sharp.

Advisor to Microsoft, Google, and Hilton Executives Reveals How Leaders Create High-Performance Cultures Without Sacrificing Employee Joy - with Bree Groff

In this conversation with Bree Groff, author of "Today Was Fun" and who has advised executives at Microsoft, Google, Target, and Hilton through periods of organizational change, shares specific observations about leadership blind spots in large corporations and offers practical frameworks for creating workplace cultures that drive both performance and employee satisfaction.

Key Insights:

The Professional Conformity Trap: Large organizations often mistake formality for competence, creating environments where rigid presentation styles and corporate jargon become proxies for professionalism. This stifles the creativity and authenticity that both employees and customers actually seek. Organizations that are "unapologetically themselves" create magnetic appeal, as demonstrated by early Google's distinctive culture.

The Psychological Safety Framework: Effective leaders implement simple tools to humanize workplace interactions. The "check-in" method, where meeting participants rate their current state on a scale of one to five and briefly explain why, helps establish emotional safety that enables better performance.

The Micro-Change Strategy: Leaders create meaningful cultural shifts through "micro acts of mischief" and connection. These range from rearranging office furniture to facilitate collaboration, to sending brief acknowledgment messages to colleagues. Such small actions compound to create environments where creativity and engagement flourish.

The Joy-Performance Connection: Organizations that measure employee satisfaction with the same rigor they apply to productivity metrics discover that optimizing for workplace enjoyment simultaneously addresses communication gaps, decision-making delays, and other operational inefficiencies. As Groff explains, "to optimize for joy and fun means you're automatically optimizing for all of the other things that make a business successful."

Leadership Characteristics That Drive Culture Change: The most effective leaders demonstrate two key traits: they avoid taking themselves too seriously while thinking expansively about possibilities. Groff cites Melisa Goldie, former Chief Marketing Officer of Calvin Klein, who maintained perspective with phrases like "there's no such thing as a fashion emergency" while pursuing ambitious creative projects.

This discussion provides concrete tools for leaders seeking to create environments where high performance and genuine workplace satisfaction reinforce each other, drawn from real-world applications across major corporate environments.

Listen to the episode here (you can also watch or read the transcript).

Additionally, here are the recent releases on FIRMSconsulting / StrategyTraining.com / Kris Safarova YouTube Channels:

IT Strategy vs. Corporate Strategy: Microsoft - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Build Consulting Storyboards in 3 Weeks (This is How McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte Do It) - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Feel Comfortable on Camera - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

Management Consulting Storyboard | Storyboarding used by McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC et al. - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

McKinsey’s Rise to Prominence Under Marvin Bower - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

The Systems Behind Sustained High Performance with ADHD - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

New Releases on StrategyTraining.com

We’ve just released several powerful new episodes for Insider and Legacy members, plus a major Strategy Control Room Advanced update.

This release includes a 126-slide full study focused on Infrastructure Funding Strategy, a comprehensive system to navigate financing, risk, and economic scenarios for large-scale national projects. If you work with clients on complex capital decisions, this is essential.

Alongside it, new training episodes are now live, designed to help you take deliberate action, elevate your thinking, and solve the problems others can’t. These are battle-tested and highly effective approaches for long-term impact.

Here’s what’s now available for members:

For Strategy Control Room Advanced Members

Another major update: a new 126-slide full study was released.

Infrastructure Funding Strategy Study - A major release. 126 SLIDES.

This release explores the financial strategies and risk management approaches required to fund a national highway upgrade. ​It examines borrowing impact, financing requirements, and bond ratings, while analyzing scenarios ranging from best-case to worst-case economic conditions. ​

With insights into weighted average cost of capital (WACC), peer comparisons, and market appetite for bonds, this study highlights the critical importance of timing, risk mitigation, and debt issuance. It also examines the implications of government guarantees, potential rating changes, and the challenges posed by construction delays and inflation.
​ 
This study is a must-read for consultants seeking to navigate complex infrastructure financing.

For Insider Members

These new training episodes were released.

Why Am I Not a Visionary - Episode 1 of 4
What if doing everything right still isn’t enough to move you forward? This program explores the hidden leap from trusted executor to visionary leader.
Episode title: Long-term member, trusted executor, unsure what leadership wanted

The MasterPlan Advanced – Episode 33 of 4
This program builds on the most transformative career strategy work we have done to date. Drawing on decades of working with senior executives, The MasterPlan Advanced explores what it takes to go from well-off to truly wealthy, across career, relationships, investing, health, and more. And wealth here is not only financial. It’s also about freedom, impact, and alignment. 
Episode title: The identity shift

The Bill Matassoni Show, Season 3 (Part 2 - Nicholas Gertler) – Episode 2 of 15
In this part of Season 3, Bill Matassoni begins a thought-provoking conversation with Nicholas Gertler, a former colleague from McKinsey. Their discussion explores how strategic thinking can be used to redesign systems that create value for all stakeholders. Rather than focusing on traditional advertising or sales tactics, Bill explores how storytelling and influence can be used to reshape industries, organizations, and relationships. These insights are designed to help you solve complex problems that others cannot or will not address. Filmed at the iconic Philip Johnson Glass House, this episode challenges you to rethink how value is created and how your work can drive meaningful, long-term change. The series has reached leaders around the world, from China to Canada, offering practical tools to expand your perspective and uncover opportunities others overlook.
Episode title: Creating win-win systems

For Legacy Members

In addition to all Insider episodes, Legacy members receive these exclusive episodes:

(New) Segmenting Your Customers - Episode 5 of 5
What happens when the way you earn a living slowly pulls you away from who you really are? This episode unpacks how inauthenticity creeps into your work, why it leads to burnout, and how to rebuild both your external brand and internal sense of self. If you’ve ever sensed a growing gap between what your clients need and what you want to offer, this is the roadmap for closing that gap, on your terms.
Episode title: Three ways to engage clients

(New) Resiliency and Scenario Planning - Episode 4 of 5
There’s a problem all companies are facing, but few are truly addressing it. The strength of your strategy is not only in getting it right. It’s also in how quickly you can recover when reality doesn’t go your way. This episode challenges conventional planning models. If your company, or your career, depends too heavily on being “right,” this is your playbook for becoming prepared, adaptive, and hard to knock off course.
Episode title: The problem ALL companies are facing

(New) Writing an Article - Episode 3 of 4
Most people who want to write an article start with the wrong question: How do I write something good? That’s not the right place to begin. This program dissects what an article really is and how to shape a message that serves your broader life and professional goals. Before writing a word, you’ll examine your runway, IP, and trajectory the same way we’d approach a market entry or regulatory challenge. You’ll leave with a method to uncover the one idea the world needs to hear from you and a plan to ensure the right people are listening.
Episode title: There is only one goal in writing

Insiders can move to Legacy anytime and back to Insider without losing Insider status. To move to Legacy, click on a Legacy program while you are logged in, and the system will offer an opportunity to upgrade. When going back to Insider, email us at team@firmsconsulting.com so we can manually restore your Insider status (provided there are no gaps in subscription).

Ask Us a Question — Get Tailored Feedback

Legacy members are invited to submit one personal or professional question twice per month. We’ll respond with a custom answer recorded by a partner.

• Deadlines: Submit by the 15th and 30th of each month

• Format: One paragraph emailed to team@firmsconsulting.com

• Include: Context and details so we can provide tailored guidance for your unique situation

• Subject line: Legacy Question

Strategy Skills Podcast (top 5-10 for careers in many countries)

We’ve just released new episodes, now available on iTunes, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms.

Listen in and stay sharp.

Former Biotech CEO and Harvard Medical School Faculty Member Margaret Moore on the Science of Good Leadership - with Margaret Moore

Margaret Moore, faculty member at Harvard Medical School and former biotech CEO, brings decades of experience at the intersection of science, strategy, and human development. In this episode, she unpacks The Science of Leadership, the forthcoming book she co-authored after reviewing hundreds of meta-analyses and large-scale studies, ultimately synthesizing leadership science into a framework of nine essential capacities.

Moore emphasizes the role of conscious leadership, defined as the ability to “see things clearly” by quieting internal “ego noise”, impatience, and worry that cloud judgment. She highlights the emerging concept of the quiet ego, noting that “you’re still impactful... but with a way of being quiet about it that people can absorb more easily.”

Challenging conventional strength-based approaches, Moore advocates for psychological wholeness, encouraging leaders to access underused capacities such as empathy, creativity, and intuition to become more balanced and mature decision-makers.

She also discusses how intuition, often misunderstood as abstract, is a skill that can be developed through stillness, reflection, and experience: “Creativity is flow, and flow is when you let go of control… It’s the opposite of our main mode.”

The conversation underscores the importance of strategic adaptability. Drawing on research, Moore shares that while humility doesn't improve a leader’s own performance, “other people’s performance is improved if you’re humble. So you don’t do it for yourself, you do it for them.” But she also cautions: in crises, “humility is not what people want. They want strong leaders out in front, in charge.”

Finally, Moore distinguishes between empathy and compassionate leadership, where compassion is “respect and understanding… with action.” 

Listen to the episode here (you can also watch or read the transcript).

Multi-Award-Winning Researcher Vanessa Druskat on Team Emotional Intelligence - with Vanessa Druskat

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. 

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.

Listen to the episode here (you can also watch or read the transcript).

Additionally, here are the recent releases on FIRMSconsulting / StrategyTraining.com / Kris Safarova YouTube Channels:

IT Strategy vs. Corporate Strategy: Microsoft - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Build Consulting Storyboards in 3 Weeks (This is How McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte Do It) - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Feel Comfortable on Camera - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

Management Consulting Storyboard | Storyboarding used by McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC et al. - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

McKinsey’s Rise to Prominence Under Marvin Bower - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

The Systems Behind Sustained High Performance with ADHD - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Enroll in Insider, Legacy or Strategy Control Room Advanced:

You can enroll at any time. Enrollments are currently open. Simply visit StrategyTraining.com and select your membership tier.

If you are already an Insider and want to move to Legacy, click on any Legacy program while logged in, and the system will prompt you to upgrade.

Insiders can move back from Legacy to Insider without losing Insider status. When you are ready to switch back, email us at team@firmsconsulting.com, and we will handle the transition.

You can also enroll in Strategy Control Room Advanced (our huge reading library with full studies, proposals, centers of excellence, and books) here. If you prefer to start with a monthly SCR membership, you can request an upgrade to Advanced status by emailing team@firmsconsulting.com when your 7th month begins.

There is always another level of impact. We are here to help you reach it.

Some Days, You Look in the Mirror…
...and See a Billion-Dollar Gremlin Staring Back.

This is going to be a mega post because I have a lot to share with you today. It wouldn’t make sense to break it up. If you're short on time, I recommend reading it in parts, because what’s inside could genuinely shift how you think, lead, and make decisions.

Let's start...

Since the firestorm that devastated parts of Los Angeles, including my own neighborhood, I’ve been living out of a suitcase. For now, I’m traveling through Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, continuing to work, think, and reflect from the road.

Here’s a photo of me at the Hong Kong airport, and another of the night sky on the way to my hotel. My home won’t be safe to return to until at least December or January. But something else happened at the time of the fire. It had nothing to do with the house. Something that broke my heart, broke my soul, when I thought I had been through so much in my life that my heart, my soul could no longer be broken. 

What followed was the dark night of the soul. And I am sure you have seen it from the podcast episodes recorded during those periods. But I still showed up for our clients and members. And I think we did exceptional work during that period.

And eventually, I was able to find enough strength to move forward. And I learned a lot from those dark weeks and months. If you’re going through your own dark night of the soul, I hope these photos remind you that it will pass. I can again smile, and my heart is in one piece, even though the cracks will never go away. You’re not alone, and you’re stronger than you think.

But what I want to talk to you about today… is a doll.

Not just any doll.

A troll-looking, up-to-2-foot-tall character named Labubu, that helped elevate a fast-growing Chinese collectibles brand into a $44 billion giant.

So, how did this happen?

And what can we learn from it?

Pop Mart, the company behind Labubu, started as a small designer shop in Beijing in 2010. They sold "blind boxes," you don’t know which collectible you’ll get until you open it. It grew. By 2019, they had 300 stores and 2,000 vending machines.

Then, in 2023, everything changed.

Rihanna was spotted with a pink Labubu keychain on her Louis Vuitton bag as she was stepping into an airport terminal.

At the same time, in Thailand, these dolls started being seen as spiritual guardians.

A member of K-pop phenomenon Blackpink, Lisa, discovered them while visiting a friend in Thailand. Her friend wanted to go buy one of those dolls. At first, Lisa wasn't interested in getting one. But when her friend was told that Labubu could not be purchased, she decided she wanted one. And started collecting them to cope with the stress of being a K-pop star, and then posted about it.

That single Instagram story was the spark that lit the fire.

Since then, Labubu has been clipped to the bags of Kim Kardashian, David Beckham, and countless others. Some editions now sell for over $100,000. The dolls generated $700 million last year alone, nearly half of Pop Mart’s revenue.

And the stock is up 7x. In one year.

But before we go deeper, I want to pause and acknowledge something important.

Labubu wasn’t created by Pop Mart’s marketing team or some global toy conglomerate.

It came from the heart of one person.

A young Chinese artist named Kasing Lung began sketching a world of strange, expressive creatures that didn’t fit the mold. They weren’t traditionally cute. They had sharp teeth. Blank stares. Strange outfits. They were what some people call “ugly-cute.” Kind of like me during the day of the mega LA fire and the weeks and months after.

They were also deeply expressive.

They made you feel something. Even if you weren’t sure what.

Back in 2015, long before the hype, Kasing Lung created an entire world, a trilogy of picture books inspired by Nordic mythology. He filled them with magical characters, both good and evil, and called the collection The Monsters.

Among them was a small creature with high, pointed ears and serrated teeth.

His name was Labubu.

Despite the mischievous grin, Labubu was kind-hearted. He always meant to help, but often accidentally made things worse.

The kind of character you root for.

Because many of us have been there.

For years, nothing happened. Just a small community that loved his art. His style (emotive, melancholic, "ugly-cute") was well-regarded in the underground art toy world. But then, in 2019, he partnered with Pop Mart.

The machine met the soul.

And the world eventually caught on.

That’s the part we often forget when we talk about viral trends and billion-dollar outcomes.

It didn’t start with funding or strategy decks or influencer campaigns.

It started with someone following a spark in their heart and putting love into creating something based on it, long before anyone was watching.

If you pause and look deeper, this strange, viral, “ugly-cute” doll for adults offers an important lesson about success and about what matters in the work we choose to do.

Let’s take a closer look, because what made this doll succeed has everything to do with how meaningful work connects with people.

Why did Labubu become a phenomenon?

It wasn’t just luck. Or branding. Or even celebrity influence.

It was psychology:

Here are just some of the things that are going on here:

1) The status anchor: Clipped onto a $5,000 bag, even a $25 doll becomes aspirational.

2) The mimetic desire: A term popularized by philosopher René Girard. It means we imitate the desires of others, especially those we admire or see as high-status. 

3) The lipstick effect: In recessions or hard times, consumers buy smaller luxury goods (like lipstick or small collectibles) as affordable indulgences.

4) The nostalgia factor: Adults seeking comfort in childlike things during uncertain times.

5) The portability factor: It wasn’t a toy you left at home. It was a keychain. You carried it with you. That made it more likely to appear in street photos, on luxury bags, in airport terminals, and across social media. And because it traveled with you, it became part of your look: an accessory that signaled taste, individuality, and status. That portability turned it from a collectible into a personal brand statement, and that helped fuel the phenomenon.

6) The “ugly-cute” effect: Imperfect but makes you feel something, even if you are not sure what. It becomes lovable. We can relate to this character. There were days in our lives when we looked a little bit like this.

And some days, we relate to Labubu more than we’d like to admit.

This is me. Cozy coat, slightly wide-eyed, trying to hold it all together (and this photo was from before the fire, so imagine what I looked like after).

There’s something about Labubu’s look, especially the eyes, that just says:
 

"I’ve seen things. I’ve survived."

That’s probably why we connect to these little creatures.

Not because they’re perfect… but because we see ourselves in them.

And Pop Mart? They executed with excellence. They combined artistry, scarcity, a strong IP model, physical retail + vending, and a gacha (surprise box) mechanic that hooks the collector instinct.

But here’s the catch.

The founders and analysts know it won’t last. Like Beanie Babies, Pokémon, Cabbage Patch Kids, this will peak and crash.

And yet it was and still is a wild success.

So, what does this mean for you?

You’re probably not trying to create the next Labubu.

But you are trying to build something you can be proud of. Something meaningful. Work that sustains your family, challenges you to grow, and contributes real value to the world.

- Maybe you're climbing the ranks at Amazon, Microsoft, or Google.
- Maybe you're rising through McKinsey, Deloitte, PwC, or KPMG.
- Maybe you're leading global teams at a major bank, or working on life-saving breakthroughs at a pharmaceutical company.
- Maybe you're building a business, leading a team, or writing a book.

Whatever path you’re on, if you’ve ever wondered whether your work can break through the noise, this story should encourage you.

Labubu didn’t succeed by being logical, perfect, or designed for the masses.

It broke through because it was honest, emotional, and real.

It succeeded because it was created from the heart, from the soul.

Unapologetically odd.

Full of emotion.

Backed by an artist who was ok with being judged.

Imagine a conversation during a family dinner. The kind where expectations are served alongside the rice, back when those dolls were just drawings.

– What are you working on?
– I’m creating a series of illustrated books.
– For children?
– Not exactly. It’s based on Nordic myths. 
– And it pays?
– Not really. Not yet.
– [A long pause.]
– You know your cousin just finished med school.
– I know.
– And your brother just got promoted at the bank.
– I know.
[He hesitates, then turns his phone toward her, showing a sketch.] 
- What’s that?
– One of my characters. Labubu. He looks mischievous, but he’s kind. Always tries to help. Usually messes it up.
– And who’s that for?
– People who’ve felt out of place.
– Hm. This is not good. Don't you realize, talent is fine, but life isn’t a fairytale.
– No. But stories can still matter.

The key to the success of these dolls was the love he put into his work.

And that is what cuts through.

In fact, I believe success is always the product of this simple formula:
 

(Knowledge/Skills + Effort + Execution + Time) x Love

(Knowledge/Skills = Subject-Matter Expertise + Business Judgement + Ability to Speak + Write + Think + Lead)

- Without knowledge/skills you just don't have a long enough life to figure out everything on your own.
- Without effort (consistent, focused hard work), talent remains unused.
- Without execution, nothing gets done.
- Without time, nothing compounds.
- Without love, the work doesn’t resonate. Love gives your work soul.

We teach each component of this formula within our memberships on StrategyTraining.com and in our coaching programs.

That’s why when we created the Win When It’s Hard book, our latest bestselling book co-authored by members of our own community, the reviews praised the raw honesty people brought to their chapters. You can feel how much heart was in it.

The chapters were meaningful. Thank you for your very kind words in reviews, by the way. It means a lot.

My life has been turned upside down by the fire this year. Not because I was afraid to die. Not because I was afraid to lose all my things or my house. There are some other things that happened surrounding the fire events that knocked me to my knees. And it took tremendous effort to keep holding it all together for everyone, completing my obligations to our community, our team, to myself, while getting myself out of that hole. 

But, I see more clearly than ever now and am able to help clients even in more difficult circumstances than before.

I can leverage those dark nights of the soul, those weeks and months, to create even more value for people in our community.

You must create the thing that only you can create.

When you follow your heart, money tends to follow you, not the other way around.

What moves people is not perfection. It’s work done from your heart and soul that leverages all your experiences and knowledge. It’s care. It’s something real.

Something that only you could create.

So I want to leave you with this:

In a world chasing trends and quick wins, choose to build something that only you can build. Something created with love. Even if you've forgotten how to feel, life has beaten you up too much. When it comes to life's work, you have to go within. See what you care about. And do that work leveraging all your knowledge and experience. And do it with the best intentions for the world.

That’s how you create something that will deliver outsized value to people.

That’s how careers turn into legacies.

That is all for today. Hope you have an amazing week ahead, and please don’t hesitate to reach out. The entire FC team, including Michael and me, cares deeply about your success and happiness. You can see it in everything we do, even during the hardest times.

There’s a Japanese proverb I love: “Adversity reveals one’s true nature.” And this year, both as a company and personally, we were tested.

We didn’t slow down. We didn't deprioritize our commitments to clients and members.

We pressed harder on the gas pedal because our mission means, you mean, that much to us.

May 5–May 11, 2025 releases on StrategyTraining.com

Finding the Root Cause: Start at the Source

When diagnosing complex problems, most professionals begin too far downstream.

The visible metrics (declining revenue, missed targets, stalled progress) are merely symptoms. The actual issues typically reside several layers deeper in the organization. Without tracing problems to their origin, we are trying to fix symptoms rather than implement a solution that will remove the root cause of the problem.

During my time in consulting, I witnessed this pattern repeatedly. For example, when I joined the research division, there was no formal path to client work or partnership. But I found out that an important study was going on, helping a crown jewel client enter an Eastern European market.

I asked the partner in charge if I could help in my free time (nights, weekends, and public holidays). He said yes. The study was not going very well. The fundamental issue was in the baseline assumptions. The team lacked critical context: sufficient understanding of the local market and regulatory guidelines, as well as cultural nuances that had to influence decision-making.

I studied key materials like government guidelines for market entry and explained cultural nuances. This shift in perspective redirected the entire study and led to my transition into the consulting team just a few weeks later.

The key was identifying where the thinking first broke down and rebuilding from there.

This approach should be used not only for problem solving but also for positioning yourself within your organization. When your colleagues get lost trying to fix symptoms, you can make yourself more valuable and harder to replace if you focus on diagnosing and fixing the root causes.

This week's releases, like all our programs, continue to focus on developing this essential skill: systematically tracing problems to their source, disentangling flawed logic, and constructing solutions founded on solid first principles.

As you probably know, we refresh the library weekly. New training episodes and resources are now live and available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, and ROKU.

Strategy Control Room Advanced (SCRA) members gain access to our internal knowledge management system, including studies, proposals, Centers of Excellence, advanced books not available anywhere else, flip charts, slides from video programs, notes from The Consulting Offer, and more.

Insider membership is designed for long-term clients who want to deliver meaningful impact while accelerating their careers.

Legacy members receive everything in Insider, plus access to additional advanced programs and personalized guidance.

Here is what is new this week:

For Strategy Control Room Advanced Members

You’ll receive this exclusive update:

Sunday
New IT, Digital, AI, and Cloud Center-of-Excellence – Update 5 (102 SLIDES) of TBD

For Insider Members

These powerful new episodes are being released this week.

Friday
The MasterPlan Advanced – Episode 28 of TBD
The MasterPlan Advanced builds on the most transformative career strategy work we’ve done to date. Based on Michael’s and Kris’s personal experiences and decades of coaching senior executives, it covers how to move from well-off to wealthy, across career, relationships, investing, health, and more. This is the next step for members who are working toward building a richer, more fulfilling life, not only a career that looks successful to people around.
Episode title: M&A Does Not Happen in a Spreadsheet

Saturday
The Real Reason You Are Not Being Promoted – Episode 10 of 18
This 18-part Insider program challenges the conventional wisdom of career growth, helping ambitious professionals rethink promotions, leadership roles, and long-term wealth creation.
Episode title: Action Next Step #7

Sunday
(New) Why Am I Not Happy? How Can I Be Happy? – Episode 5 of 14
Practical insights to help you recognize the patterns that are draining your energy and how to stop them. Members can submit questions for the next 2 weeks to shape future episodes/related programs.
Episode title: The Trap of Grand Generalizations

For Legacy Members

In addition to all Insider episodes, Legacy members receive these exclusive episodes:

Friday
A Mid-Life Strategy Update – Episode 42 of TBD
What if your health, relationships, wealth, and life’s work all demanded urgent attention at the same time? In this real-time program, Michael shares the exact strategies he’s using to rebuild every major area of his life. It’s rare to get this level of access. Even rarer to see it in real time.
Episode title: A Powerful Lens to Understand Phobias, Depression, Disorders, etc.

Saturday
The Existential Mistake Made When Immigrating – Episode 11 of 11
This 11-part program helps you think through relocation the same way top investors assess risk. The cost of getting it wrong is rarely visible until it’s too late.
Episode title: Your Calculations are Way Off, Ignoring the Risk Premiums

Sunday
(New) I Don't Know If This Is What I Want to Do - Episode 2 of 7
Many clients are not certain that the work they are currently doing, or the industry they are currently in, is in fact the space where they want to continue building their career. If this is your situation, what is the way to decide a way forward?
Episode title: The Fantasia of Bambi...is a Bomb

Insiders can move to Legacy anytime and back to Insider without losing Insider status. Just email us at team@firmsconsulting.com so we can manually restore your Insider status.

Ask Us a Question — Get Tailored Feedback

Legacy members are invited to submit one personal or professional question twice per month. We’ll respond with a custom answer recorded by a partner.

• Deadlines: Submit by the 15th and 30th of each month

• Format: One paragraph emailed to team@firmsconsulting.com

• Include: Context and details so we can provide tailored guidance for your unique situation

• Subject line: Legacy Question

We also released these free resources:

Strategy Skills Podcast (top 5-10 for careers in many countries)

Monday
Over $10B in Assets Under Management: Experiencing The American Dream with Mark Matson

What if the financial advice you trust is actually hurting your future?

Mark Matson believes it is, and he has the data to prove it.

In this episode, I sit down with Mark Matson, founder of Matson Money with over $10 billion in assets under management. But Mark didn’t start in finance. In fact, he nearly gave up on the entire industry until a few key realizations reshaped his approach to wealth entirely.

Listen to the episode here (you can also watch or read the transcript).

Wednesday
Anesthesiologist and Reality TV Star on How to Stop Chasing Perfection – with Dr. Tiffany Moon

In this episode, Dr. Tiffany Moon, board-certified anesthesiologist, founder of Aromasthesia, and former cast member of Bravo’s Real Housewives, opens up about what she learned from balancing ambition, motherhood, entrepreneurship, and public scrutiny.

This is an honest, unfiltered conversation about self-awareness, hard work and the courage to define success on your own terms. 

Listen to the episode here (you can also watch or read the transcript).

Additionally, here are the recent releases on FIRMSconsulting / StrategyTraining.com / Kris Safarova YouTube Channels:

The Systems Behind Sustained High Performance with ADHD - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

IT Strategy vs. Corporate Strategy: Microsoft - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Build Consulting Storyboards in 3 Weeks (This is How McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte Do It) - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

How to Feel Comfortable on Camera - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

Management Consulting Storyboard | Storyboarding used by McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC et al. - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

McKinsey’s Rise to Prominence Under Marvin Bower - with Kris Safarova
Access here.

Ready to begin?

Log in to StrategyTraining.com to access new episodes, resources, and keep moving forward.

New Releases on StrategyTraining.com

New releases include a major update to the Strategy Control Room Advanced (Business Management Process Best Practice Guide, 156 SLIDES), alongside advanced new episodes on consulting growth, leadership, and long-term career design.

Each release is a structured system built for immediate application and long-term impact.

Here’s what’s now available for members on StrategyTraining.com:
 

For Strategy Control Room Advanced Members

Another major update: a new comprehensive 156 slides best practice guide was released.

Business Management Process Best Practice Guide - A major release on BMP best practices. 156 SLIDES.

This new guide documents how to design and run a Business Management Process (BMP) that drives performance across an organization. It walks through the full governance cycle, key templates, meeting rhythms, and escalation protocols used in high-performing enterprises. You'll see how to implement BMP using both Balanced ScoreCard (BSC) and Plan-Do-Review (PDR) frameworks, designed to translate strategy into operational traction.

For Insider Members

These new training episodes were released.

The Real Reason You Are Not Being Promoted – Episode 16 of 18
This 18-part Insider program challenges the conventional wisdom of career growth, helping ambitious professionals rethink promotions, leadership roles, and long-term wealth creation.
Episode title: Action Next Step #10

Building a Consulting Practice. Level II – Episode 6 of TBD
Building a Consulting Practice (Level 2) picks up where Building a Consulting Practice (Level 1) left off. While Level 1 lays the foundational principles of setting up or rebuilding a consulting business, whether as an independent firm or as a practice within a major consulting firm, Level 2 takes you into the advanced art of turning routine client work into an engine for long-term growth.

Michael opens the door to rarely discussed skills: how to reframe client conversations away from low-value, transactional tasks and into high-impact, strategic engagements. How to uncover hidden opportunities even when no obvious “problem” exists, and how to position yourself as a trusted partner invited into the most critical issues, not as a vendor chasing projects.

Through the lens of a real-world operations strategy study, you will see how an unglamorous project became the seedbed for a completely new consulting practice. You’ll learn how to apply sharp strategic thinking in operational contexts, how to triangulate discussions toward your strengths, and how to scale a practice that thrives beyond any single engagement.

Level 1 teaches you the business of consulting. Level 2 shows you how to expand that business into a powerhouse. Together, in addition to a few other programs on StrategyTraining.com, such as Partnership. Memoir, Rebuilding a Consulting Practice, and How to Build an Innovation Division, these programs provide a roadmap for consultants at every stage who are ready to master not just delivery but sustainable, long-term growth.
Episode title: Fourth meeting, and surprising engagement

Why Am I Not Happy? How Can I Be Happy? Episode 12 of 14
Practical insights to help you recognize the patterns that are draining your energy and how to stop them. 
Episode title: Must listen to at the end

For Legacy Members

In addition to all Insider episodes, Legacy members receive these exclusive episodes:

Why You're Unlikely to Get the Sponsor You Really Need - Episode 4 of 4
It is important to find the right sponsor, but the real power lies in becoming someone worth sponsoring. This program shows you how the path to sponsorship begins not with who you know but with how visibly you create value.
Episode title: Therapist vs coach vs mentor vs sponsor

(New) Segmenting Your Customers - Episode 2 of 5
What happens when the way you earn a living slowly pulls you away from who you really are? This program unpacks how inauthenticity creeps in, why it leads to burnout, and what it takes to rebuild both your brand and your sense of self.
Episode title: Your newsletter is your investor relations

(New) Resiliency and Scenario Planning - Episode 1 of 5
This is a very important new Legacy program. The real strength of your strategy is not only in getting it right, but in how quickly you can recover when you're wrong. This program challenges conventional planning models and shows why resilience, not perfection, may be the ultimate strategic advantage.
Episode title: Resiliency and uncertainty

Insiders can move to Legacy anytime and back to Insider without losing Insider status. Email us at team@firmsconsulting.com so we can manually restore your Insider status when you move back to Insider (provided there are no gaps in subscription).

SCRA New: (249 SLIDES) Sales Force Effectiveness Study for an Industrial Concern

We released another significant update: Sales Force Effectiveness Study for an Industrial Concern (249 slides). It is accessible within the Strategy Control Room, Advanced Level.

These internal strategy documents were developed from actual executive-led projects and are now shared to support consultants, executives, and business leaders working to strengthen commercial performance under pressure.

Each document provides a structured analysis of how large sales organizations adapted their models, redefined customer engagement, and recalibrated coverage to maintain competitiveness during periods of market volatility. Readers will gain a grounded, detailed understanding of what drives sustainable sales productivity across business units, geographies, and industries.

Inside these materials, we’ll explore:

• A systems approach to diagnosing sales underperformance, how one team improved quota attainment by 9% without increasing headcount simply by correcting coaching protocols, KPIs, and incentive clarity.

• A method for re-segmenting strategic accounts using behavioral data rather than revenue tiers, which led to a 3x increase in conversion rates.

• A “red zone” diagnostic framework for analyzing pipeline delays, enabling teams to support lagging reps rather than replace them, resulting in a 17% increase in sales velocity.

• A dynamic coverage model where territories are reassigned quarterly based on demand and product priorities, improving both efficiency and frontline engagement.

• Enablement strategies that tie directly to field scenarios, replacing generic training with sales simulations based on current commercial obstacles.

By reviewing this study, you will learn how to:

• Identify and close systemic performance gaps in your sales organization

• Refine customer segmentation strategies to improve resource allocation

• Design diagnostic tools to inform coaching, not just reporting

• Shift to agile coverage models that reflect real-time priorities

• Equip teams with relevant tools and training that drive adoption and results

Whether your focus is revenue stabilization, accelerated growth, or operational clarity, this series offers rigorously tested frameworks that can be adapted to your environment.

HOW TO FIND SALES FORCE EFFECTIVENESS STUDY FOR AN INDUSTRIAL CONCERN:

1. Log in to The Strategy Control Room, Advanced Level, membership area.
2. See the "Full Engagements" dropdown. 
3. Select "14 Sales Force Effectiveness Study for an Industrial Concern (249 SLIDES)"

If you are The Strategy Control Room, Advanced Level, member, here is the direct link to this particular update.

If you joined an Advanced Level of the Strategy Control Room today, you would find the most powerful strategy, problem-solving, consulting, and results-oriented leadership reading library in the world. The resources include:

• Michael's explanation slides for selected programs on StrategyTraining.com

• 14 full engagements

• Change Management Influence & Persuasion Center of Excellence 

• Detailed Business Case Methodology Center of Excellence 

• Encyclopedia of Strategy Analyses Center of Excellence 

• Corporate Training Center of Excellence

• One-Week Immersion: Consulting Onboarding/Consulting Mastery Center of Excellence

• 36 proposals

• Flipcharts

• Layout guides

• 17 strategy and problem-solving books which we do not make available anywhere else

• 2 brand new strategy and problem-solving books just released and not available anywhere else

• 11 book drafts never before available and not available anywhere else

• Case interview materials for Felix, Rafik, Samantha, and Sanjeev, case interview exhibits, case interview solutions

• The evolution of corporate strategy

• The business case toolkit

• Implementation and operation toolkit

• Corporate strategy toolkit

• Strategy maps

• And more 

Enroll as a Strategy Control Room Advanced Member

And if you are not yet an Insider or Legacy member and want to gain access to video and audio advanced programs on StrategyTraining.com, we invite you to explore membership options (scroll down). We recommend to start with Insider or Legacy membership as a base membership and add the Strategy Control Room (Advanced Level) as an add-on when the time is right for you.

Take this opportunity to invest in yourself and your future. StrategyTraining.com resources can be transformative for your career, but it's up to you to make time to study the resources and focus on quick integration. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at team@firmsconsulting.com.