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

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. Career Success Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • 617: Inc 5000 fastest growing company on Psychology behind leadership influence and human behavior (with MichaelAaron Flicker)

    617: Inc 5000 fastest growing company on Psychology behind leadership influence and human behavior (with MichaelAaron Flicker)
    Jan 7 2026
    Michael explains that people often struggle because "adding and adding must be more effective," yet humans are "more confident when just one advantage is presented." He shares that Five Guys succeeded because they "only do burgers and fries" and that "if you say you are best at one thing most of all, they're more likely to believe that." He emphasizes that "buyers…have a top force-ranked prioritization of the most important thing," and focusing on the thing you are "best in the world at" is "more believable and more memorable." On pricing, he notes that "thinking is to humans like swimming is to cats. They can do it. They just prefer not to," and the brain "uses twenty percent of the calories in your body." He explains that humans rely on shortcuts and that price is "a relativity game." He describes how Red Bull "broke the comparison" by avoiding the soda can format and launched at "two dollars and fifty cents" instead of one dollar. He explains left-digit bias: "Forty-nine ninety-nine is going to be a much more attractive price than fifty dollars," and that ending in a seven "feels much more specific." He describes how indulgent framing changed behavior: "sweet sizzling plant-based beans and crispy shallots" increased selection "twenty-five percent more," while "light and low carb" suppressed it. He states that appealing to the emotional side "will always feel more indulgent and will always be more appealing," and that consulting services should focus on "what does the buyer really want" and how to communicate emotionally, not only rationally. On scarcity, he shows that breaking enjoyment boosts desire. Pumpkin Spice Latte sells because "they decided to make it for a limited time only," and the shorter deadline in a voucher study produced a "four and a half times increase." He warns that in professional services "you have to be careful that it's still believable." Time scarcity rarely works; instead, "we only have three seats left in this class" or "we only have room for two more clients to onboard this quarter." Michael explains that nostalgia reduces price sensitivity, noting people were willing to pay "three times more" when feeling nostalgic. He says social connectedness lowers price concerns: "there will be less pricing sensitivity when there's higher social connectedness." He points out that many consultants think this is about likability, but "that's not actually what the science says is happening." He introduces the publicity principle — "if someone revealed what you were doing, would you be ashamed or embarrassed by it?" — and the grandma principle: "if you had to tell your grandmother the way you landed that big account," would you feel proud? On humor, he explains that humor creates "higher attention," "higher positive emotions," and "higher purchase intent," but jokes must reinforce the brand or they become "the vampire effect." He shares the pratfall effect: a small blunder "makes you even more likable," showing that "a little bit of a blunder can make you a little bit more likable." He highlights powerful examples such as "good things come to those who wait," "we're number two so we have to try harder," and "the taste you hate twice a day." He explains that concrete ideas outperform abstract ones. People remembered "rusty engine" and "white horse" far more than "impossible amount" or "subtle fault." He says consultants should avoid abstract language and "draw a picture in people's minds" so ideas are "much more easily remembered." Michael emphasizes that "every word matters." He shares how Patagonian tooth fish became Chilean sea bass and saw a "thirty fold increase," and how one verb changed perceived car-crash speed from "forty point five miles per hour" to "thirty one point eight." He notes buyers are "light users of our industry" and that consultants may be "choosing words that leave a totally different impression." He explains the illusion of effort: showing effort raises perceived quality. Participants rated a poem higher when told it took "eighteen hours" instead of four. He warns consultants that AI can lower perceived effort unless they "show your effort that went into using AI." Get MichaelAaron's book, Hacking the Human Mind, here: https://shorturl.at/zV3HW 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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    54 mins
  • 616: NYU Stern's Prof on How AI Is Rewriting the Future of Work (with Ben Zweig)

    616: NYU Stern's Prof on How AI Is Rewriting the Future of Work (with Ben Zweig)
    Jan 5 2026

    When most executives discuss AI, they focus on automation.
    Dr. Ben Zweig, NYU Stern professor and CEO of Revelio Labs, explains why the real disruption isn't machines replacing people, it's our failure to rethink how work is structured.

    "Labor markets are not as sophisticated as capital markets," Ben explains. "We allocate capital efficiently, but not labor. That's a huge weakness in how our economy operates."

    In this conversation, we explore:

    • Why every company must learn job architecture, seeing jobs not as titles, but as bundles of tasks that must constantly evolve.

    • The three factors that determine whether AI causes unemployment:

      1. How quickly firms adopt new tech

      2. How individuals adapt their skills

      3. How flexibly jobs can transform

    • Why middle managers now sit at the center of organizational adaptation.
      "The top can't really affect this meaningfully, it happens through line managers."

    Zweig challenges the old idea of "delegation."
    Instead, he calls for reconfiguration, a manager's ability to reshape work as technology shifts.

    "Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what needs to be done, and they'll surprise you with their ingenuity."
    - General Patton, quoted by Ben Zweig

    We also discuss the human skills that will rise in value: empathy, coordination, and the uniquely human ability to orchestrate complex systems.

    "AI can execute tasks, but it doesn't yet coordinate them," he says. "That orchestration, what we call management, is still deeply human."

    For young professionals, his advice is both practical and hopeful:

    "Manage a project from start to finish. Build something end-to-end. That's how you train orchestration."

    Ben also shares how Revelio Labs uses large language models to build a scientific understanding of labor markets, and why "AI is only called AI until you understand it, then it's just math."

    Get Ben's book here: https://shorturl.at/qSspC

    Job Architecture: Building a Language for Workforce Intelligence.

    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
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    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 mins
  • 615: $12B Investment Firm CEO on Saving the American Dream (with Mark Matson)

    615: $12B Investment Firm CEO on Saving the American Dream (with Mark Matson)
    Dec 31 2025

    In this conversation, Mark explains that "we often build our lives on things we are certain about that simply are not true." He describes how "we don't actually see the world… we see screens of how we think the world is." He explains that these screens create "a double paradox" shaping what we think is safe, what we think is risky, and how we choose to act.

    Mark describes the difference between someone who sees a large employer as stability versus an entrepreneur who sees it as danger, saying "which screen is right? Well, it depends on which screen is going to give you more power in life." He talks about choosing the entrepreneurial screen because "I detested the idea of being a piece of a cog in a major machine."

    He explains how a "victim type screen" once took over his thinking when he was diagnosed with osteonecrosis: "I was catastrophizing… I went into a very negative spiral." He recalls seeing children receiving chemotherapy and realizing "Mark, you are really self-absorbed… You don't get to live a life without pain and challenge." That shift, "Why me?" to "Why not me?", transformed everything for him.

    Mark also talks about the mindset required to reinvent yourself: "No matter what I succeeded in in the past entitles me to win in the future." He shares that he must "redo it every three years or reimagine it and transform it," because "if I'm not transforming my business, other people are going to be working to transform my business out of it."

    He discusses fear and avoidance: "You can be afraid of having the conversation… but what you cannot do is ignore it." He explains how ignoring problems is the beginning of decline.

    Mark then explores how his business model evolved when he realized that people with millions of dollars were still "miserable, always afraid… always complaining" while others with far less were happy. This led him to see that money alone is not the source of well-being.

    He dismantles the three ideas he was taught early in his career: "stock picking," "market timing," and "track record investing", calling them "completely bankrupt." He explains that "the market is very efficient, very random," and that "stock picking, market timing and track record investing didn't work."

    Mark describes how identity and mission changed for him over time, how screens shape action, and how transformation requires confronting fear, discarding false certainty, and letting go of entitlement.

    He closes by saying he hopes never to retire because "stopping is one of the worst things you can do for your future." He explains that purpose, planning, and creating are what allow people to thrive.

    Get Mark's book here: https://rb.gy/h4brr0

    Experiencing The American Dream: How to Invest Your Time, Energy, and Money to Create an Extraordinary Life

    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
    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
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