Business, Leadership, Management, Marketing

& Strategy

Consulting, Consultants, Career Guide, Job

Search, Case Interview

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary

Companies ~by Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras

Good to Great: Why Some Companies

Make the Leap and Others Don’t ~by Jim Collins

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing

Improvement~by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Influence: Science and Practice ~by Robert

B. Cialdini

Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose

customers, narrow focus, dominate market ~by M.

Treacy, F.D. Wiersema

The New How: Creating Business Solutions

Through Collaborative Strategy ~by Nilofer

Merchant

World’s Newest Profession: Management

Consulting in the Twentieth Century ~by

Christopher D. McKenna

Dangerous Company: Management

consultants and businesses they save & ruin ~by

James O’Shea, Charles Madigan

Consulting Demons: Inside the

Unscrupulous World of Global Corporate

Consulting ~by Lewis Pinault

The Exceptional Presenter: A Proven

Formula to Open Up and Own the Room ~by

Timothy J. Koegel

The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in

Writing, Thinking, & Problem Solving ~by Barbara

Minto

Say It with Presentations: How to Design

and Deliver Successful Business Presentations ~by

Competing for the Future ~by Gary Hamel,

C.K. Prahalad

The Future of Management ~by Gary

Hamel

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to create

uncontested market space ~by W.C. Kim, R.

Mauborgne

Marketing ~by Roger Kerin, Steven

Hartley, William Rudelius

The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the

Management Gurus ~by John Micklethwait, Adrian

Wooldridge

The Management Myth: Debunking Modern

Business Philosophy ~by Matthew Stewart

Managing ~by Henry Mintzberg

Gene Zelazny

Say It With Charts: The Executive’s Guide

to Visual Communication ~by Gene Zelazny

The Say It With Charts Complete

Toolkit ~by Gene Zelazny

House of Lies: How Management

Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You

the Time ~by Martin Kihn

Flawless Consulting ~by Peter Block

McKinsey’s Marvin Bower: Vision,

Leadership, and Creation of Management

Consulting ~by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim

Case Interview Success ~by Tom Rochtus

Wetfeet Insider Guide: Careers in

Managers Not MBAs: A hard look at soft

practice of management development ~by Henry

Mintzberg

Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through

The Wilds of Strategic Management ~by H.

Mintzberg, J. Lampel, B. Ahlstrand

Outliers: The Story of Success ~by

Malcolm Gladwell

The Lords of Strategy: The Secret

Intellectual History of the New Corporate World ~by

Walter Kiechel

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the

Value of Companies ~by Tim Koller, Marc

Goedhart, David Wessels

McKinsey Engagement: A powerful toolkit

for more efficient and effective team problem

solving~by P.N. Friga

Management Consulting ~by Wetfeet

Wetfeet Insider Guide: Careers in

Investment Banking ~by WetFeet

Wetfeet Insider Guide: Ace Your Case!

Consulting Interviews ~by WetFeet

Vault Career Guide to Consulting ~by Eric

Chung, Vault

Vault Guide to the Case Interview ~by Mark

Asher, Vault

Vault Case Interview Practice Guide ~by

Jim Slepicka, Vault

Vault Career Guide to Investment

Banking ~by Tom Lott, Vault

Vault Guide to Finance Interviews ~by D.

McKinsey Mind: Implementing problem-

solving techniques of top consulting firm ~by E.

Rasiel, P.N. Friga

McKinsey Way: Using techniques of top

strategic consultants to help your business ~by

Ethan Rasiel

Boston Consulting Group on Strategy:

Classic Concepts and New Perspectives ~by Carl

W. Stern, Michael S. Deimler

Competitive Strategy: Techniques for

Analyzing Industries and Competitors ~by Michael

E. Porter

Competitive Advantage: Creating and

Sustaining Superior Performance ~by Michael E.

Porter

On Competition ~by Michael E. Porter

Bhatawedekhar, Vault

Case in Point: Complete Case Interview

Preparation ~by Marc P. Cosentino

How to Get Into the Top Consulting Firms:

A Surefire Case Interview Method ~by Tim Darling

Case Interview Secrets ~by Victor Cheng

Crack the Case System: Complete Case

Interview Prep ~by David Ohrvall

Mastering the Case Interview: The

Complete Guide to Interviewing With the Top

Consulting Companies ~by Alexander Chernev

How to Interview Like a Top MBA: job-

winning strategies from headhunters, recruiters, &

career counselors ~by Shel Leanne

Process Consultation Revisited: Building

the Helping Relationship ~by Edgar H. Schein

The 24-Hour Customer: New rules for

winning in a time-starved, always-connected

economy ~by Adrian C. Ott

The Fast Track: Insider’s guide to winning

jobs in management consulting, investment banking

& securities trading ~by Mariam Naficy

Mick Cope: The Seven Cs of Consulting

 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas KuhnThe fact that it is origin of the completely over and misused term “Paradigm shift” might cause you to drop this book like a hot potato, but don’t.  This book gets at what truly great consultants strive for—where do true breakthrough ideas come from?

2) The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward TufteEvery day I am reminded of one thing I learned at BCG – how you present information is critical to get people to understand your ideas and take action.

1. The McKinsey Way

While this book is focused on a specific firm, the insights and recommendations from it

are applicable across the entire industry. The book doesn’t go very deep into specific

frameworks or methods and instead focuses on how to survive at “The Firm” and some

of the cultural considerations of working and succeeding in consulting. It’s a good read

for those just getting into the industry who want to understand more about the mindset

and day-to-day work of consultants.

Check Out Jobs at McKinsey

2. HBR'S 10 Must Reads: The Essentials

It’s important to have at least a basic understanding of major theories and academic

thought within the business field, and for this, HBR’s 10 Must Reads is a great place to

start. This book compiles the top 10 articles on management and covers topics such as

innovation, strategy, analytics, and managing change. Once you finish the essentials,

HBR also offers Top 10 reads on specific topics, like strategy or change management,

to deepen your knowledge. 

3. Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies

This tome is an essential read from a technical standpoint and also aids in

understanding the underlying drivers of major corporations. If you are new to how

organizations are valued, it will walk you through tactics on how to approach it. If you

just want an overview on how financial statements tie to the share price and the

decision making process of organizations, you’ll get a great overview. And if you’ve

been asked to value a company or to gain a deeper financial understanding of

organizations, this book is the ultimate reference.

4. Key Management Models: The 60+ Models Every Manager Needs to Know

Because consulting is all about structured problem-solving, it’s important to become

familiar with tools that you can use to help solve your clients’ problems. The book

covers a range of models, from strategic to operational, and provides information on

how and when to use each of them. I use it as a quick reference guide when faced with

a new client problem or question.

5. Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing and Thinking

I’ve talked about the Pyramid Principle before, as it is one of the most quoted and

widely used frameworks for structuring communications in consulting. It essentially

explains that, in any communication, you should start with your recommendation,

arrange supporting ideas into groups, and then provide detailed evidence in order to

effectively support your story. If you have read the Cole’s notes on the framework and

want to go deeper into how to apply it, then I would recommend diving into the full book.

6. The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

In the day-to-day work of a consultant, you will participate in a number of meetings,

planning sessions, and workshops that require you to explain complex ideas or

processes simply. This book gives you tools to do that with the help of of graphics and

pictures. I love it as a reference guide when planning a meeting or presentation. 

7. Case Interview Secrets: A Former McKinsey Interviewer Reveals How to Get Multiple Job Offers in Consulting

If you haven’t heard of Victor Chang yet, he’s a case interview guru who has helped

many people secure prime consulting offers. In his book, he outlines how to approach

case interviews and provides tips and tricks on what interviewers look for—as well as

common mistakes that candidates make. It’s a must-read for anyone going through the

interview process.

8. The Consultant With Pink Hair

This story about the management of a struggling consulting practice provides an

entertaining look at the lives of consultants—working late nights, struggling with client

management, and managing competition. While it’s technically fictional, it’s very based

in truth, and there is a lot of real learning you can get out of it