Marc Baaij was one of our most influential professors when we studied at Rotterdam School of Management. His book is an absolute must-have if you are interested in consulting. The book combines academic literature with practical examples, which results in a strong foundation for candidates interested in / applying for consulting positions. The author puts special emphasis on formulating and executing business strategies in today's volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environment.
If you are thinking about applying for one of the leading consulting firms, it is worth checking out our summary on the key differences between MBB, Tier2 and implementation firms. If you have already picked your target consulting firm, you may be interested in their selection process we detailed in this article. If you are practicing for the interviews, but want to have the valuable insights of a professional, we highly encourage you to take a look on our service below:
Our world is shifting into a direction where digital customer service is becoming an increasingly critical factor for success. Although demand from customers have appeared, incumbent businesses have yet to design an effortless, seamless and effective digital customer experiences. Rick and Dan advocate that customers' interactions should occur through their mobile or computer device, replacing human-to-human conversations. While this digital transformation creates an excellent customer experience and loyalty (hence increasing revenues), reducing the cost of customer service also drives profitability.
Liz is a New York Times best-selling author and an expert on management practices and team dynamism. Having exposure to more than 170 leaders and much more managers, she developed and tested hypotheses on becoming the most influential professionals. Her book summarizes her 5-pillar model to support the reader in becoming an impactful player, which includes:
Figuring out the real job to be done
Stepping up and lead
Moving things across the finish line
Learning and adapting to change
Making heavy demands feel lighter
Another New York Times bestseller, Ray Dalio elaborates on his principle in the business world. He shares practical tips-and-tricks that work for most businesses. The book offers a straightforward approach to help professionals in setting their own principles and making better, more consistent decisions. The book's hundreds of practical lessons cover a wide range of topics, such as management, economics and investing, as well as how these topics can be systemized into a set of rules and principles.
Decades of organizational and psychological researches have been conducted in silos on how organizations (should) take series of actions in shifting environments. Gary Vaynerchuk explores a dozen of emotional skills that are critical elements of leaders' triumph. Although emotional ingredients cannot be quantified and measured, the author explains how soft capabilities, like self-awareness and curiosity, have led to his confidence, satisfaction and success. Readers should expect a guide in this book to refine and enhance their leadership skills. Eventually, business can benefit by retaining core employees, building a loyal customer base and frog-leaping their competitors.
Competition is one the most important factors businesses need to monitor and take into account before taking a step ahead. One of business leaders' most important tasks is to protect their customers from competitors, while they acquire rivals' customers. NPS (Net Promoter Score) is to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty, two critical components during this endeavor. Fred's new book is about NPS 3.0, which demonstrates that the sole purpose of a business is "treat customers the way you would want a loved one to be treated". Why? Because they will come back and bring their friends as well. Needless to say, Reichheld supports his arguments with statistics and empirical proof to conclude: companies with high NPS scores outperform laggards.