Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional
581 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 71 ratingsUnleashed explores how to thrive as an independent professional.
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Episodes
31. Alexander Petersen on getting known in your industry
September 12, 2017 21:10 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBOur guest today is Alexander Petersen. He is a McKinsey alum and a successful entrepreneur, having started a pet care business called Wagly. After starting Wagly, he was able to attract private equity funding to grow the company and hire a strong full time leadership team. He is now the owner of a boutique consulting firm focused on animal health, which I learned in this episode is a $50 billion dollar industry. Alexander has built a thriving firm by tightly focusing on an industry where...
30. Larry Oglesby on the importance of speed in lean transformations
September 04, 2017 09:00 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBLarry Oglesby has been a close friend and mentor of mine for over a decade. I first got to know Larry when he was my Engagement Manager at McKinsey on a manufacturing lean operations project back in 2005, and we bonded over our shared service in the U.S. submarine force. Larry is a deep expert on operational transformation – after spending time in the Ops practice at McKinsey he joined the George Group – a boutique consulting firm focused on operations. After the George Group was purchas...
29. Mike Figliuolo on running a successful training firm
August 28, 2017 09:00 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBOur guest today is Mike Figliuolo, a McKinsey alum and West Point graduate. Mike is the founder and Managing Director of ThoughtLeadersLLC, which provides training to corporations that is inspired by the types of internal training that consultants receive at McKinsey and other top firms. He is also the author of three books One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership The Elegant Pitch: Create a Compelling Recommendation, Build Broad Support, and Get it A...
28. Ravi Rao on customer experience
August 21, 2017 09:00 - 53 minutes - 49.5 MBOur guest today is Ravi Rao, a McKinsey alum and neuroscientist who is the author of Emotional Business. Ravi has led sessions at several professional development events for consultants that I’ve organized, and he always gets fantastic reviews. Ravi was my guest on the second episode of this show, and it remains one of the most downloaded episodes, so if you like this episode, go back and check out Episode 2. In this episode, we talk about one really creative framework that Ravi has dev...
27. Vivek Soman on tech industry due diligence
August 14, 2017 09:00 - 51 minutes - 47.7 MBOur guest today is Vivek Soman, a former McKinsey Engagement Manager who is the founder and Managing Director of The Ananya Group, which has completed over 300 projects since it was founded in 2008. Ananya is a Bengali word meaning “unparalled.” Vivek’s firm has a very clear focus: the client focus is large $1 billion revenue and up tech, media, telecom, and professional services companies The service offering includes three types of projects: 1) competitive intelligence 2) customer...
26. Lauren Cole on media and entertainment consulting
August 07, 2017 09:00 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBLauren Cole runs a boutique consulting firm specializing in strategy and operations for media-related businesses. Lauren got her start in consulting at Bain & Co. After getting her MBA at Stanford she entered the world of media and entertainment with a strategy role at Warner Brothers, where she worked for Umbrex member Steven Koltai, who has also been a guest on this show. She had an impressive career in the media world, which included launching, investing in, and/or overseeing 35 cabl...
25. Josh Spodek on leadership step by step
July 31, 2017 09:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBOur guest today is Josh Spodek, the author of Leadership Step by Step. Josh is an independent professional who coaches individual clients teaches leadership and entrepreneurship as an adjunct professor at NYU does speaking engagements runs online courses in leadership and entrepreneurship on SpodekAcademy.com For the show we met at Josh’s apartment in Greenwich Village, and in the first part of our conversation we discuss the blackboard in his room and the new course he is current...
24. Esther Kim on social sector consulting
July 24, 2017 09:00 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBOur guest today is Esther Kim, an independent consultant based in San Francisco who focuses on serving clients in the social sector, including non-profits, philanthropies, and social enterprises. After getting her Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from MIT, Esther got her start in consulting at McKinsey, where she worked with energy, industrial, and nonprofit clients. She then spent nine years at REDF, a venture philanthropy firm based in San Francisco. In 2014, Esther set up h...
23. Steven Koltai on international development projects
July 17, 2017 06:00 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBOur guest today is Steven Koltai, the author of "Peace through Entrepreneurship: Investing in a Startup Culture for Security and Development" Steven has had multiple careers. he has been a management consultant at McKinsey, the head of strategy at Warner Bros for ten years, and a successful entrepreneur. His most recent career began as a senior advisor to the US Department of State under Secretary Hilary Clinton, where Steven conceived and launched the Global Entrepreneurship Program, ba...
22. Chris Fox on strategy projects
July 10, 2017 09:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBChris Fox, an alum of McKinsey and Marakon, has held executive leadership roles at Xerox and MeadWestvaco. Since 2014 he has been operating his own consulting practice, Meridian Strategic Consulting, based in Richmond, Virginia. In this episode, we discuss the range of Chris's practice, with a particular focus on strategy and due diligence assignments. Read more about Chris on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/chrisjfox
21. Ron Hubsher, author of Closing Time
July 03, 2017 09:30 - 42 minutes - 39.4 MBOur guest today is Ron Hubsher, the Managing Director of the Sales Optimization Group and the author of Closing Time: the 7 Immutable Laws of Sales negotiation.” Ron’s book is in print but not available on Amazon – he explains what happens when you buy his book from his website., and why he doesn’t sell his book anywhere else. Ron has a multifaceted business – he does consulting projects to sales organizations, he provides training programs, he gives keynote speeches. In some cases he ...
20. Mike Bendit on building a referral network
June 26, 2017 09:00 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBOur guest today is Michael Bendit, an independent professional based in NYC who started his consulting career as a principal at Booz & Co. Michael has two sides to his practice He runs a consulting practice, with a particular focus on strategy and pricing He also represents multiple software development shops, primarily focused on digital marketing agencies Michael has created a referral network in NYC that has been meeting every two weeks for several years. His group includes a range ...
19. Martin Pergler on risk management
June 22, 2017 01:35 - 49 minutes - 45.8 MBMartin Pergler is Founder and Principal at Balanced Risk Strategies, Ltd., in Ottawa, Canada. Previously, he was Senior Expert in Risk at McKinsey, where he was a leader in their Corporate Risk and ERM service lines, based at various times in their Chicago, Prague, Singapore, and Montréal office.
18. Soyini Coke on creating a radio show
June 13, 2017 23:03 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBSoyini Coke is a McKinsey alum and independent consultant based in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also the host of CEO Exclusive, a radio show in which she interviews a mid-market CEO every week. In this episode we discuss how she has invested time to build her visibility and thought leadership, such that she now has CEOs reaching out to her to get on her show. You can learn more about Soyini's firm on her website: http://annonaenterprises.com/ And you can listen to her show at http://ceoexclusi...
17. David Burnie on building a boutique firm
June 13, 2017 22:57 - 36 minutes - 34 MBDavid Burnie is a McKinsey alum and the founder of The Burnie Group, a boutique consulting firm based in Toronto. We discuss how we started as an independent professional and then proceeded to build a firm and how he has partnered with software firms to offer robotic automation. You can sign up for his firm's newsletter and read more about The Burnie Group at www.burniegroup.com
16. Julie Gupta on pro bono consulting
June 07, 2017 11:28 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBOur guest today is my friend Julie Gupta, who has a Masters in Material Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Julie started her consulting career at Bain & Company, and after a series of roles in the tech industry she started her own practice, Gupta Consulting, in 2006 – so she has been a successful independent professional for 11 years. In our discussion, we focus on Julie’s pro bono work, which I find incredibly inspiring. She has done pro bono consulting work a...
15. Will Bachman on 27 steps to set up your firm
June 05, 2017 16:21 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBIn this in-between-isode, Will Bachman offers suggestions on 27 action items to consider as you set up your firm.
14. Will Bachman on establishing the strategy for your practice
June 05, 2017 16:17 - 14 minutes - 13.9 MBIn this in-between-isode, Will Bachman offers a perspective on the questions you should answer to create a strategy for your practice, namely: What is your definition of success? Or in other words, What is winning? Where do you play? How do you win on the battlefields where you have chosen to play?
13. Mike Feiner on High Performance Leadership
May 31, 2017 16:52 - 54 minutes - 50 MBOur guest today is Mike Feiner, who has been an influential figure in my own life since I took his class High Performance Leadership at Columbia Business School. Mike is now on his fourth career. He was the Worldwide Chief People Officer at Pepsi – so the head of HR and the top advisor on all people matters to the CEO. Here is a factoid: in the last three years, according to The New CEO Report by Feigen Advisors, 81 individuals have ascended to the CEO role. in the Fortune 250. Of tho...
12. Matt Weill on contracts
May 31, 2017 16:44 - 50 minutes - 46.9 MBOur guest today is Matt Weill, who is my attorney as well as a good friend. Matt began his legal career as an Associate at Skadden Arps and then he became a partner at the firm of Golenbock, Eiseman, Assor Bell & Peskoe. His legal practice is primarily focused on business and transactional matters for a wide range of clients, including private equity and venture/growth capital funds and their related portfolio companies and investments. Matt routinely counsels entrepreneurs, startup a...
11. Dorene Stockman on business insurance for independent professionals
May 22, 2017 17:43 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBOur guest today is Dorene Stockman, an insurance agent with the Owens Group, an independent agency. Dorene helped me get my own insurance policy, and I thought she was very knowledgeable and a helpful advisor on that process, so I asked her to be on the show to share her advice for independent professionals on the types of coverage we need to consider getting. In our conversation we discuss the types of coverage that are applicable to most independent professionals, namely: Business own...
10. Will Bachman on Why and How to Start a Podcast
May 16, 2017 00:52 - 20 minutes - 19.3 MBFour reasons why an independent professional might want to start a podcast, and 17 tips on how to get started.
9. Rick Condon on his firm Inside Consulting
May 16, 2017 00:49 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBOur guest today is Rick Condon, a former submarine officer and a former Engagement Manager at McKinsey. He has been running his own consulting practice since 2004. The majority of Rick’s clients are privately held mid-market companies and he works on a range of topics including preparing companies for sale; turn-around efforts, and jump-starting growth. You can read about Rick’s firm Inside Consulting at insideconsulting.net
8. Amanda Setili on Strategic Agility
May 16, 2017 00:40 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBOur guest today is my friend Amanda Setili, the author of two books: The Agility Advantage: How to Identify and Act on Opportunities in a Fast-Changing World, was published in 2014. Her latest book is coming out in the fall of 2017, Fearless Growth:The New Rules to Stay Competitive, Foster Innovation, and Dominate your markets. Amanda has an MBA from Harvard and started her consulting career at McKinsey & Co. She has been running her own successful consulting firm, Setili & Associates,...
7. Valia Glytsis - The Paradox of Leadership
May 09, 2017 12:58 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBOur guest today is Valia Glytsis, who runs The Paradox of Leadership, a leadership education firm based in New York and San Francisco. Valia works with leaders and organizations that yearn for a more meaningful and impactful way of working, communicating, and leading. She’s got a blue-chip list of clients that includes HBO, McKinsey & Company, Digitas, Kiehl’s, Soul Cycle, Edelman, New York City Economic Development Corporation, New York University (Stern), Georgetown University. In ...
6. Robbie Kellman Baxter on the Membership Economy
May 08, 2017 16:54 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MBRobbie Kellman Baxter served as a consultant to Netflix when all they did was mail out DVDs. That experience got Robbie thinking deeply about a new emerging business model. She developed these ideas over a period of nine years before publishing in 2015 her book The Membership Economy: Find Your Superusers, Master the Forever Transaction, and Build Recurring Revenue. In our discussion, Robbie goes into some detail of how the book came about, how she promoted the book, and how it transforme...
5. Srikumar Rao - Creativity and Personal Mastery
May 03, 2017 00:01 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBSeveral years ago, Srikumar Rao left a comfortable tenured position to set out as an independent professional. He now gives keynote speeches and offers his course to corporations and the general public around the world. His TED talk has been viewed nearly a million times. Learn more about Srikumar at https://theraoinstitute.com/ Srikumar created one of the most popular courses ever at Columbia Business School: Creativity and Personal Mastery. It is the only business school course that ha...
4. Lilly Minkove - Luxury retail expert
May 02, 2017 23:50 - 52 minutes - 48.5 MBLilly Liu Minkove is an expert in the luxury retail sector. She focused on the luxury retail industry as an investment banker at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. Then she gained experience in industry as a Director of Strategy at Coach and as a Director of Stores for Louis Vuitton. Presently she is a partner at ArtLogica Strategy Group which she co-founded with fellow McKinsey alum Jessica Zhu. ArtLogica is a marketing and strategy consultancy fo...
3. Susan Hamilton - Brand Identity Strategist
May 01, 2017 15:17 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBSusan Hamilton is a brand identity strategist and a member of Umbrex. She is an alum of Harvard Business School and Boston Consulting Group, and her firm, sh.BRAND, is based in New York City. We talk about what a brand identity is and how Susan helps firms define their brand identity. To learn more about Susan, check out her website at http://sh-brand.com/
2. Ravi Rao, Author of Emotional Business
April 24, 2017 09:30 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBKnown for his wit, wisdom, and formerly purple hair, McKinsey alum, author and independent management consultant Ravi Rao reveals how we can improve the performance of individuals within the corporate culture through emotional intelligence. As a young man, Ravi wanted to be an actor but ended up in neuroscience. With a keen interest in the function and development of the brain, he obtained a PhD in neuroscience, became a resident physician in neurosurgery at Harvard, where he studied the ...
1. David Fields on winning clients
April 16, 2017 13:03 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBDavid Fields is the author of The Irresistible Consultant's Guide to Winning Clients: 6 Steps to Unlimited Clients & Financial Freedom, one of the best books available on business development for independent professionals. David runs a consulting consortium and serves as an advisor to independent consultants and boutique firms. In this episode, we dive into some of his key pieces of advice for client development, including right-side-up thinking, defining your firm's impact, building your...