After retiring from a long and successful career in financial auditing, Linda McGill looked forward to the prospect of joining a board. She felt the time was right to leverage the breadth of her experience while fulfilling one of her long-term goals. Though somewhat of a stretch, the thought of helping to guide a complex, multinational listed company was particularly exciting, given not only the scale of the responsibility, but also the potential prominence and financial upside it could bring her. At the same time, Linda also considered an invitation to join the board of a midsize, PE-backed family company she had worked closely with in the past. Though appreciative for the offer, she was aware that the company was facing ongoing challenges that might require a serious time commitment from her to address. How would Linda weigh the tradeoffs of her options?
By the early 2010s, Keurig Green Mountain (KGM) had lost the momentum that had made it the name in at-home coffee brewing in North America. Following a series of product missteps, negative media scrutiny, and ongoing challenges to its partner relationships, in late 2015, the company was acquired by JAB Holding Company. Now under private control, new CEO Bob Gamgort led efforts to re-accelerate growth and increase penetration past the Keurig brand's respectable yet plateauing 20 million household mark. In just over a year, he led a successful turnaround, salvaging fractured partner relationships, upping productivity, and reducing costs. He and a handful of key executives thus set their sights on new growth in the Fall of 2017. Four options emerged: 1) take the company public again through an IPO, 2) set out for greater global expansion, 3) combine with another coffee business to become a larger player in North American coffee, and 4) diversify beyond coffee through a "pure play beverage" strategy. Gamgort and his team must decide: what is the right strategy to return Keurig to growth?
Sanjil Shah, Managing Partner of Alignvest Student Housing REIT (ASH), faces the most significant decision thus far in his career: is it the right time to sell the company? Together with his partner Reza Satchu, Shah had developed ASH into the largest student housing platform in Canada in only a few years since its launch. Key to their success was the partners' decision to forego a traditional private equity structure and instead supplement initial investments of their own personal capital with that of high-net-worth individuals and retail investors. Their strategic intuition paid off, helping them emerge strong from the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually, in 2023, receive a buyout offer worth $1.05 billion. The timing was perhaps fortuitous: an increasing housing shortage, a sudden surge in interest rates over market capitalization rates, and brewing restrictions on international students all threatened to curtail further expansion. Factoring in additional pressure from investors, Shah wondered whether it was the right time to exit. And yet, their hypothesis had held strong so far. What if there was still room to grow? What if selling now meant pulling out too early? To sell, or not to sell? That is the question.
Josh Domingues had accomplished what countless young entrepreneurs long to achieve: founding a promising company that aspires to make the world a tangibly better place. Shocked to learn that international food waste cumulatively amounted to the world's third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, he founded Flashfood in April of 2016 as part of a mission to drastically reduce food waste. A once-aspiring professional hockey player with no direct industry or technical experience, Domingues was hardly the top pick to solve the crisis. Nevertheless, he set his sights on grocery stores, figuring them as not only substantial contributors to the food waste epidemic, but also practical sites to produce value for consumers, particularly those most in need. His vision driving him relentlessly onward, by November of that year, he had a working app and had secured a pilot with a specialty grocer in Canada. By mid-November, however, the dream quickly seemed to be slipping into a nightmare. Only partway through the pilot, everything was already in chaos. A lack of in-store coordination, a yet-clunky app, and an increasingly irritated district manager spelled growing disaster for Domingues. Did he pull the trigger too early in launching this venture? Maybe he should have built a more solid financial nest egg? Should he really have done this alone, or was entrepreneurship more of a team sport? To make matters more complicated, Domingues was beginning to see interest-and actual financial investment-from other sectors. Maybe he should switch to the restaurant industry, or even partner with a farmer in developing a direct-to-consumer model, and jettison grocery altogether? Despite his inspirational vision, the road that lay ahead of Domingues remained fraught with uncertainty, if only his commitment could see him through.
For more than fifteen years, successful Canadian entrepreneur and investor Kevin O'Leary had developed his brand into a global powerhouse. Since his first appearance on the Canadian television program Dragons' Den in 2006 and his meteoric rise to stardom through the hit show and cultural phenomenon Shark Tank, O'Leary had become synonymous with his penchant for telling the "cold hard truth," just as much as his investing savvy. A natural storyteller, O'Leary had long recognized the value of a powerful narrative. Now bolstered by network deals and a growing social media presence, the balding businessman had cultivated an audience of millions who eagerly await his advice on personal finance, just as much as they rely on him for entertainment. At the same time, active investments, speaking engagements, book deals, and a foray into politics bolstered his image as a formidable businessperson and thought leader. Within a decade, he had come to realize the vast potential of the virtuous cycle that underlies a successful personal brand. On November 11, 2022, news broke that could spell the end for Mr. Wonderful: FTX, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange firm that O'Leary had supported as an investor and paid spokesperson, declared bankruptcy amid reports of mismanagement of customer funds and a potential investigation by the US government. Sitting in Boston Logan Airport and watching his multimillion-dollar investment drop to zero, his phone suddenly rings: CNBC is running a national story on FTX and O'Leary's involvement, and if he wants to tell his side of the story, he has to go live on air in ten minutes. For O'Leary, the decision is more than whether to face the media. He must decide how to protect his personal brand, defined by honesty and credibility, from associations with potentially massive fraud. How should O'Leary respond? And what direction should he take his brand in the face of potential crisis?
Sarah Reynolds, a Partner at the global Kensington Partners strategy consulting firm, has headed the firm's Telecommunications Group for a few years. Thanks to her stellar track record with clients, she has brought the group, and herself, a range of accolades and recognition. Amid this success, she faces a handful of challenges: a new hybrid work paradigm within client services, mentoring the Vice Presidents and Associates within her group, integrating and utilizing new technical staffs into her existing practice, and more, all while maintaining the same level of results that brought her such responsibilities in the first place. With seemingly not enough hours in the day to tackle everything, Reynolds faces difficult tradeoffs for what to prioritize moving forward.
In this short vignette on ethics in consulting, John Child, a new Associate at a prestigious firm who is eager to impress, decides to use an AI tool to expedite his analysis and craft his presentation due to a short project timeframe. Feeling uneasy about his decision not to inform his team after a successful presentation, he must weigh the tradeoffs of providing late disclosure, whether partial or full, or continuing to withhold his decision from his team and client, and the ethical and career implications those decisions might carry.
In this short vignette on ethics in consulting, Brenda Thompson, a new Associate at a prestigious consulting firm, learns that a fellow Associate is using the firm's meal expense benefits to pocket the difference between the maximum daily allowance and his actual amounts spent in the form of prepaid gift cards. Though this practice was not explicitly said to violate the policy, Brenda feels uneasy about the situation and must decide how to act on her ethical sensibilities.
In this short vignette on ethics in consulting, Daniel Lee, a new Associate assigned to work with an important client executive, must decide whether to report the executive's behavior toward his team. Though the executive's style seems harsh and intimidating toward his staff, Lee questions his responsibility as an outsider. Though a Partner on his team advises him to do nothing, he still feels uneasy about letting the matter go.
A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "Communication as a Trusted Advisor" provides best practices for communicating as an advisor across multiple contexts.
A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "Persuasive Client Presentations" breaks down bad habits and good rules of thumb when preparing and giving client presentations.
A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "Client Interviewing and Data Collection" introduces the essentials of client interviews and provides best practices for early career consultants and advisors.
A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "The Advisor's Approach to Strategy Analysis" introduces the options-led approach to strategy as well as how this valuable piece of an advisor's toolbelt differs from that of an operator.
A module note for the Mastering Consulting and Advisory Skills (MCAS) course, "The Trusted Advisor's Mindset" introduces some of the differences between working as an operator and an advisor.
In August of 2018, Tania Tetlow is inaugurated as President of Loyola University New Orleans, in the midst of turmoil. Prior to her start, the university was given a final warning to land a balanced budget by year's end by its accreditors or risk facing probation. It is now up to Tetlow to see through a transformation already wracked with turmoil, with an eye toward necessary cost-cutting and future growth. How should she steady the ship financially; build trust with the administration, Board, faculty and staff, and student body; manage a group of consultants brought in by her predecessors; and communicate to these groups about the potential reality on the horizon? More fundamentally, how will she see Loyola through the risk of probation just months into her tenure?
In August of 2018, Tania Tetlow is inaugurated as President of Loyola University New Orleans, in the midst of turmoil. Prior to her start, the university was given a final warning to land a balanced budget by year's end by its accreditors or risk facing probation. It is now up to Tetlow to see through a transformation already wracked with turmoil, with an eye toward necessary cost-cutting and future growth. How should she steady the ship financially; build trust with the administration, Board, faculty and staff, and student body; manage a group of consultants brought in by her predecessors; and communicate to these groups about the potential reality on the horizon? More fundamentally, how will she see Loyola through the risk of probation just months into her tenure?
In only his third year at McKinsey, Gregory Davis has been assigned to a select group tasked with advising General Motors (GM), one of the largest companies in the world by revenue, on how to reorganize their entire North American operation. As part of the Sales & Marketing team, Davis has been paired with Claude "Bud" Moore, Buick's assistant zone manager for Chicago. A humble, unassuming man with little corporate experience, as well as the least senior of the GM team liaisons, Moore was generally considered the weakest link within the reorganization engagement. As a result, the Partner leading Davis' team has instructed him to "work around" Moore and dedicate his time to other issues. One day, however, Moore approaches Davis about a presentation he must give to GM's president and senior corporate management team in just ten days' time, a presentation for which he is woefully unprepared. Davis must decide between helping Moore-explicitly ignoring instructions from senior members of his firm-and perhaps knowingly letting Moore, his client, fail.
In only his third year at a Leading Strategy Consulting firm (LSC), Gregory Davis has been assigned to a select group tasked with advising General Motors (GM), one of the largest companies in the world by revenue, on how to reorganize their entire North American operation. As part of the Sales & Marketing team, Davis has been paired with Claude "Bud" Moore, Buick's assistant zone manager for Chicago. A humble, unassuming man with little corporate experience, as well as the least senior of the GM team liaisons, Moore was generally considered the weakest link within the reorganization engagement. As a result, the Partner leading Davis' team has instructed him to "work around" Moore and dedicate his time to other issues. One day, however, Moore approaches Davis about a presentation he must give to GM's president and senior corporate management team in just ten days' time, a presentation for which he is woefully unprepared. Davis must decide between helping Moore-explicitly ignoring instructions from senior members of his firm-and perhaps knowingly letting Moore, his client, fail.
Niya Jones, a Partner at a major management consulting firm, must review the work of two of her mentees--Joseph Park and Elena RamÃrez--for their first end-of-year performance review as new Project Leaders. Both have produced strong results in their new roles, but neither Park nor RamÃrez could be more different in how they went about leading their respective teams. How should Jones evaluate these Project Leaders according to the criteria developed by her firm?