The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving Titelbild

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

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 CEOs and business leaders, management consulting senior partners, ground-breaking professors, thought-provoking writers and journalists, record-setting athletes and coaches, and award-winning actors and celebrities discuss the key issues facing the business world and broader society. Get free access to our newsletter, Monday Morning at 8 am, along with sample episodes from our training programs on www.strategytraining.com. Go to https://www.firmsconsulting.com/promo.© COPYRIGHT 2010 - 2019 THE STRATEGY MEDIA GROUP LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Erfolg im Beruf Management & Leadership Ökonomie
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  • 629: Ashley Herd, Former Head of HR North America at McKinsey, on What Effective Managers Actually Do

    629: Ashley Herd, Former Head of HR North America at McKinsey, on What Effective Managers Actually Do
    Feb 18 2026

    Ashley Herd, former Head of HR North America at McKinsey, joins this episode to discuss what effective leadership looks like in practice, especially in environments defined by speed, pressure, and increasing expectations around AI.

    Drawing on her experience training more than 250,000 managers, she introduces a simple but rigorous framework: pause, consider, act. In fast-moving organizations, leaders often default to speed over reflection. Herd argues that the brief pause before responding to a mistake, delivering feedback, or making a decision materially changes outcomes. It allows leaders to ask: What result am I trying to achieve? How would I want to be treated in this situation? What will the ripple effect of this action be?

    Several practical insights stand out:

    First, performance feedback remains one of the most persistent leadership failures. The issue is not usually saying the wrong thing, but saying nothing at all. Delayed or avoided feedback creates confusion, resentment, and surprises in annual reviews. Timely, specific recognition is equally important; a simple acknowledgment can shape engagement far beyond the moment.

    Second, leadership style often oscillates between two extremes. Herd describes "tight jeans" leadership as micromanagement that restricts autonomy, and "oversized sweatpants" leadership as excessive hands-off behavior that leaves teams without direction. The effective middle ground is structured autonomy: clear expectations combined with room to operate.

    Third, leaders underestimate the degree to which they influence their teams' well-being. Research shows a manager's effect on employee health rivals that of a spouse. Everyday behaviors whether following up, acknowledging effort, or setting realistic expectations, have consequences that extend beyond the workplace.

    Fourth, organizations face a growing gap between executive narratives about AI and what teams are actually doing. Leaders often declare proficiency while employees experiment quietly, sometimes without clarity on what is expected, allowed, or rewarded. Clear standards around AI usage, what good looks like, what is permitted, and how it will be evaluated, are now a management responsibility, not a technical one.

    Finally, Herd emphasizes upstream problem solving. Instead of repeatedly "cleaning up" issues after they escalate, leaders should invest in conversations, manager training, and clear norms that prevent recurring failures. This requires time, but it reduces long-term friction.

    For senior leaders, the message is direct: results and humanity are not opposing goals. Deliberate communication, consistent one-on-ones, and realistic workload expectations are operational disciplines, not soft considerations. For managers at any level, the framework is simple but demanding. Pause before reacting, consider the broader impact, then act with clarity.

    Get Ashley's book, The Manager Method, here: https://www.managermethod.com/book

    Claim your free gift:

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    McKinsey & BCG winning resume
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    57 Min.
  • 628: Northwestern Law Professor John McGinnis on Constitutional Stability in the Age of AI

    628: Northwestern Law Professor John McGinnis on Constitutional Stability in the Age of AI
    Feb 16 2026
    John McGinnis, law professor at Northwestern University and author of Why Democracy Needs the Rich, examines constitutional design, democratic stability, and the accelerating force of artificial intelligence. Drawing on the Federalist Papers, Tocqueville, and public choice theory, he argues that a realistic understanding of politics is essential to preserving both liberty and effective state capacity. McGinnis traces his intellectual formation to a "hard-headed realism" learned early in life and later reinforced by the American founding. At the center of his thinking is a practical constitutional question: how to build sufficient state capacity while preventing its abuse. He emphasizes the importance of an entrenched constitution that is difficult to amend, arguing that stability enables long-term planning and protects society from short-term political passions. Several themes shape the discussion: Public choice and political incentives. Politics does not operate in a purely public-spirited way; concentrated interests often organize more effectively than diffuse ones. Understanding this dynamic is essential for evaluating policy debates. Historical perspective as stabilizer. Many contemporary political phenomena appear unprecedented but are not. From Andrew Jackson to the present, democratic politics has repeatedly unsettled elites while preserving constitutional continuity. Technology as the dominant variable. McGinnis argues that AI will overshadow most current political disputes. As a general cognitive tool, it will be embedded across sectors, reshaping law, education, national security, and economic organization. Comparative advantage in an AI world. As machines assume cognitive tasks, human value will shift toward persuasion, judgment, and relational skills. Professionals must rethink where they add distinctive value. Education under acceleration. The coexistence of AI-enabled and AI-restricted learning may become necessary to preserve independent thinking while leveraging technological capability. The civic role of the wealthy. In Why Democracy Needs the Rich, McGinnis contends that wealthy individuals diversify democratic discourse, counterbalance concentrated interests, support minority rights movements, and fund public goods such as universities and museums. Their independence allows them to take risks others cannot. The episode also addresses rising student anxiety, the erosion of historical literacy, and the long-term question of meaning in a world where work may change substantially. McGinnis maintains that constitutional stability, plural centers of influence, and technological leadership remain central to American resilience. This conversation offers a grounded framework for thinking about democracy, incentives, and technological acceleration. It situates current debates within a longer historical arc while identifying AI as the structural force most likely to define the next decade. Get John's new book, Why Democracy Needs the Rich, here: https://tinyurl.com/msk9fd4k Claim your free gift: Free gift #1 McKinsey & BCG winning resume www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF Free gift #2 Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts www.FIRMSconsulting.com/decisions Free gift #3 Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody www.FIRMSconsulting.com/owntheroom Free gift #4 Access episode 1 from Build a Consulting Firm, Level 1 www.FIRMSconsulting.com/build Free gift #5 The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies www.FIRMSconsulting.com/OverallApproach Free gift #6 Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Action, a book we co-authored with some of our clients: www.FIRMSconsulting.com/gift
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    59 Min.
  • 627: How Overworked Leaders Can Find Peace Again (with Dr. Guy Winch)

    627: How Overworked Leaders Can Find Peace Again (with Dr. Guy Winch)
    Feb 11 2026
    Dr. Guy Winch explains why we must treat emotional injuries with the same urgency as physical ones. "We ruminate, we beat ourselves up, we criticize ourselves, we think we're weak… and we end up compounding the emotional injury." He introduces the idea of "emotional first aid" and why we need a psychological toolbox to stop that downward spiral. Guy breaks down the difference between how we respond to physical pain versus emotional pain. "We go to the medicine cabinet for a physical injury, but we have no cabinet for emotional injuries." He explains why we must learn emotional hygiene: "The injuries don't just go away." We also discuss how emotional neglect works and the long-term consequences of unacknowledged wounds. "The mind does not heal itself. The mind broods." Finally, Guy offers a new model for how to respond when people open up to you emotionally. "Start with compassion. You can offer logic later." Key Insights: Insight 1: "We ruminate, we beat ourselves up, we criticize ourselves, we think we're weak… and we end up compounding the emotional injury." This explains why emotional pain often intensifies over time without care — because we engage in harmful self-dialogue instead of healing practices. Insight 2: "The mind does not heal itself. The mind broods." Guy challenges the myth that emotional wounds naturally heal. Without intervention, the mind tends to replay and deepen the pain. Insight 3: "We go to the medicine cabinet for a physical injury, but we have no cabinet for emotional injuries." He contrasts our well-established responses to physical pain with the absence of tools for emotional distress — and why this gap needs to be closed. Insight 4: "Emotional hygiene is about treating those injuries when they occur and trying to prevent them in the first place." He introduces emotional hygiene as a proactive and reactive strategy, just like physical hygiene protects against illness and injury. Insight 5: "Start with compassion. You can offer logic later." This is a clear framework for responding to others in distress — showing why empathy should precede problem-solving. Action Items: "Start with compassion. You can offer logic later." Use this sequence when someone shares emotional pain. "The first step is to recognize the injury for what it is." Acknowledge when you've been emotionally hurt. Label it. "Would I say this to a friend? If the answer is no, then don't say it to yourself." A reframe technique to interrupt self-criticism. "You don't take one antibiotic and stop. You have to do the course. It's the same with emotional first aid." Practice emotional tools consistently, not just once. "Rumination is like a psychological infection. And so what you need to do is stop the infection from spreading." Interrupt rumination cycles early. "You have to override your own instinct." Emotionally healthy responses often require pushing against our natural urges to withdraw or self-blame. Get Mind Over Grind, here: https://tinyurl.com/49mshdmv Claim your free gift: Free gift #1 McKinsey & BCG winning resume www.FIRMSconsulting.com/resumePDF Free gift #2 Breakthrough Decisions Guide with 25 AI Prompts www.FIRMSconsulting.com/decisions Free gift #3 Five Reasons Why People Ignore Somebody www.FIRMSconsulting.com/owntheroom Free gift #4 Access episode 1 from Build a Consulting Firm, Level 1 www.FIRMSconsulting.com/build Free gift #5 The Overall Approach used in well-managed strategy studies www.FIRMSconsulting.com/OverallApproach Free gift #6 Get a copy of Nine Leaders in Action, a book we co-authored with some of our clients: www.FIRMSconsulting.com/gift
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    52 Min.
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