We just released new episodes of The Bill Matassoni Show, Season II (26 episodes overall).

"One of the things I said in my book... is how important Marvin Bower was to me at McKinsey. A mentor. Such a strong influence. He had an enormous impact on McKinsey because he stood for a set of principles that mattered to him. 

And they were the principles of a professional. Marvin graduated from Harvard Law School. Then he went to Harvard Business School. ... found a management consulting profession that was indeed as professional and as principled as a law firm.

Because before that, there were time and motion consulting firms. There were engineering firms...

But Bower did that, and when he took over leadership of McKinsey in 1953, the first thing he did was hire young graduates from Harvard Busienss School. And he stopped hiring old men who were selling experience.

Marvin built McKinsey on a set of values and principles that, if you were serious about the firm, you didn't violate these things. And there were rules that we followed."

"Then, 20 years after I made partner, I got pushed out of McKinsey...

I joined the Boston Consulting Group...

What I didn't realize was how different BCG was.

Even if every secret I told about McKinsey to them was true and valuable, they couldn't have implemented it.

Their identity, culture were so different..."

- The Bill Matassoni Show. Season II

"As much as I am proud of giving McKinsey its reputation as a leadership factory, about pointing out that we produce all these CEOs, about making that part of our value proposition to clients, I'm more proud of changing the knowledge management system because it took guts and courage.

Getting the right people in place and understanding how important identity is and what it means to how you operate day to day. And how it makes you who you are, rather than what you say you are.

A lot of people get that one confused.

So, the knowledge management project at McKinsey was an eye-opener for me, and when I got to BCG, I was faster to see how different their culture was because I had just made a major change in McKinsey's five years earlier.

And don't get me wrong, BCG was tremendous fun. These guys loved working together, and they were smart as hell—in many cases, I would say smarter than McKinsey. But they had a different culture because of the genetic makeup Bruce Henderson gave it. 

... They would always ask me, Bill, how does McKinsey does this? We want to know how McKinsey does that. And I would say, you don't want to know because you can't execute it..."

- The Bill Matassoni Show. Season II

Bill had the benefit of a wonderfully varied career in marketing (and strategy) for over 50 years. You can imagine what being able to access 50 years of experience as a senior leader in some of the top organizations in the world, including as a senior partner at McKinsey and BCG, can do for you and your business. 

In season II of The Bill Matassoni Show, we're back in this wonderful house. This is the house that Bill and his wife, Pamela, bought about 30 years ago. It's a classic mid-century modern house that Philip Johnson designed. It looks like a Bond house in some ways.

Bill is back to share some of the best marketing and business strategy secrets he picked up along the way.

By far, the biggest theme of Bill's career is how do you sell ephemeral things.

How do you sell the soft stuff? Because Bill’s career, not by plan, has been selling soft stuff. He headed marketing for United Way of America. How do you sell philanthropy? More importantly, how do you sell secondary demand for philanthropy? It's easy enough to get somebody to give. But how do you go after the bigger givers who think seriously about philanthropy?

Bill’s first job out of Harvard Business School was to sell people on treating their high blood pressure. How do you convince people to treat a disease that’s not curable? Treat a disease that requires behavior change (no salt, lose weight, maybe give up some of their favorite foods, all those things), and keep them on that regimen. That's a tough sell. You learn how to sell high blood pressure treatment, you learn how to sell, you learn how to market. 

Bill was worldwide head of marketing and publications (including McKinsey Quarterly), and brand, as a partner at McKinsey for 18 years. And later for six more years at the Boston Consulting Group.

How do you sell top management on strategy consulting?

How do you sell million-dollar engagements? Engagements that cost three, four, or five hundred thousand a month. What are you selling?

And then later on, after Bill retired from McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group, he joined a firm called Tapestry, which really figured out how to use marketing in multi-stakeholder environments. It's one thing to use marketing in somewhat simple markets where there's a company, there's a competitor, and there's a customer. But what happens when you have all sorts of other players, regulatory agencies, government, and patient advocates, all those players are in the system, too. Can marketing work there? Bill thinks it can. And the experiences Bill had in the last part of his career proved that to Bill. 

All of those things, to Bill, are ephemeral things. 

Whether or not you sell blood pressure treatments, if you learn the principles of how to sell ephemeral things, just imagine how much easier it is to sell whatever else you might be offering.

So, Bill had an incredible career, and you can have a front-row seat to learn from him. 

If you are a member, to access the first 26 episodes, click the button below.

The Bill Matassoni Show Season 2 (Insiders & Legacy Members)

If you are not a member yet, to access The Bill Matassoni Show, Season II (plus Season I and other advanced programs), enroll below (scroll down to membership options and select Insider or Legacy).

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Also, if you are a senior leader or running a successful business, you have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to co-author a book with Bill Matassoni. The book is designed to focus on leadership lessons. Anything you accomplished or expertise you have can be highlighted from the perspective of leadership lessons. Learn more here.