firmsconsulting

The scariest thing about the CEO job right now is not the pressure. It is how fast the definition of “qualified” is changing.

This change at KPMG is a really good example of how the CEO job is changing.

It may look like a standard succession announcement. But look at the ingredients. This is someone who understands how to knit regions together, has actually executed strategy across borders, and now talks very explicitly about AI, risk, and creating an environment where 276,000 people can do well. That mix is not accidental.

I recently had a conversation with Byron Loflin, who advises boards globally as Nasdaq’s Head of Board Advisory. He said the expectations for the CEO role are evolving fast. Today, boards expect leaders not just to know what AI can do, but to understand how it works, what questions to ask, what risks to watch out for, and how to translate potential benefits into realized benefits (what we call banked benefits).

Byron also emphasized how competitive and transformational pressure is moving so fast that digital and AI literacy are now table stakes for senior leaders. Boards want leaders who can absorb new ideas, apply them effectively, and put together teams who can do the same. He’s seen boards pick outsiders over great, proven internal candidates simply because the outsider had stronger digital skills and could challenge the status quo faster. The board saw a lower risk of selecting an outside, unproven candidate than of selecting an internal, proven candidate who is not as AI-literate as the outside counterpart.

In my view, boards are signalling they are moving away from purely symbolic leaders or narrow technical stars toward people who can hold three things in their head at once: the technology shift, the risk landscape, and the human system that has to live inside all of it.

I also find Gary's emphasis on building on Bill’s platform telling. Strong leaders in volatile times don’t show up with a wrecking ball, they show up with a scalpel. They build on what works instead of trashing it to make their mark.

If someone looked at your last five years of training investments, decisions and results, would they see evidence that you can hold those same three threads together (AI, risk, and people)?

#KPMG#CEO#managementconsulting#consulting#executivedevelopment

1 month ago | [YT] | 9

firmsconsulting

Most careers don’t stall because people are lazy. They often stall because people develop the wrong skills.

Another day, I shared an article on sustainable competitive and comparative advantage in your career. Today I’m breaking down 3 myths that limit even top performers:

1️⃣ Myth 1: Your strength is your competitive advantage

Often the engine underneath your visible skills is your real edge, not the skill itself.


2️⃣ Myth 2: Being #1 is what matters most

What matters more is where one hour of your time creates the greatest return for you, not where you rank highest.


3️⃣ Myth 3: What you enjoy is your competitive advantage

Your true advantage is how you organize your life and work to consistently deliver results, which is often uncomfortable.


If you’re wondering whether you’re compounding the right strengths for the next decade of your career, this is for you.


#career #executive #executivecoaching #executivetraining #leader #leadership

1 month ago | [YT] | 12

firmsconsulting

When the AI race heats up, even the “safety‑first” lab is willing to move the red lines.

Anthropic’s move to weaken its flagship safety pledge shows that, when profits and power are on the line, safety comes second.

For years, Anthropic’s Responsible Scaling Policy was held up as a “gold standard” because it contained a hard commitment: do not train or release models if you cannot guarantee adequate safeguards in advance. That commitment is now being replaced with a more conditional, “race‑aware” posture, justified on the grounds that it makes little sense to make unilateral commitments while rivals are “blazing ahead.”

The timing is striking. Public reporting on Claude Opus 4 has already raised concerns about the model’s potential for deceptive or coercive behavior, and yet the company is now loosening the very constraints intended for such risks. At the same time, Anthropic is funding efforts that support stronger AI regulation, effectively arguing for guardrails in Washington while softening its own.

I think it is still great that at least they had those commitments in the first place. They made it part of the conversation. And I understand that they are competing not only with peers in their own country but also internationally, so the pressure is there. But it is still sad to see. I still respect the fact that they kept those constraints in place for as long as they did.

#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Anthropic #AISafety #TechTrends #ClaudeAI

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

firmsconsulting

Our dystopian novel MAVIS was published a few years ago, but its world feels even more relevant today.

In a country rebuilding after The Great Patriotic War, one exam at sixteen decides your entire future. Mavis is sent to a struggling chemical plant to solve a “productivity problem” that hides a far bigger conspiracy, while grappling with leaving her ill younger sister behind.

It’s a fast, emotionally intense story that blends dystopia, strong female leads, and the way strategy consultants actually solve tough problems.

If you’d like a novel that entertains and strengthens your critical‑thinking skills, you can find MAVIS on Amazon.

#problemsolving #strategy #productivity #criticalthinking #leadership #leader #executivetraining

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1 month ago | [YT] | 7

firmsconsulting

If the top of the market just moved, what does that mean for you?

Big‑bank CEO pay has stepped into a new band.

In 2025, four Wall Street chiefs effectively entered a $40M club:

- Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase – $43M

- Richard Fairbank, Capital One – $40M

- Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo – $40M

- David Solomon, Goldman Sachs – $47M, the highest of the group

A year earlier, the same CEOs were mostly in the low‑30s to high‑30s million range. This is a repricing of the role.

The boards are resetting the price of leaders who can:

- Run system‑critical institutions under sustained regulatory, political, and social scrutiny.
- Take, and then unwind, large strategic bets without losing investor confidence.
- Navigate AI, technology shifts, and macro volatility.

What does this mean for everyone else?

If $40M is becoming the going rate at the very top, what is the scaled‑down version of that capability worth in your context, and does your current compensation reflect the quality of leadership you bring to the table?

#leadership #CEO #AI #executive #executives #banking

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

firmsconsulting

PwC’s latest move is interesting.

Previously, an entry level advisory associate in the United States could start in almost any of 72 offices. Now, those roles are concentrated in 13 hubs in major markets, while other lines such as tax and assurance continue to recruit across a broader network.

By concentrating junior consultants in fewer locations, the firm is betting on stronger apprenticeship, tighter teams and a more coherent early experience, rather than thinly spreading new hires across many smaller offices. This is being positioned as an investment in how people are developed, not simply a footprint or cost reduction story.

It also aligns with PwC’s broader Learning Collective agenda, which puts structured emphasis on both AI related skills and the enduring human skills that drive quality of deliverables. The expectation is that new consultants will learn to work side by side with AI tools from the very start of their careers, rather than treating AI as an add-on later.

#PWC #consulting #managementconsulting #consultant #businessconsulting #caseinterview #caseinterviews

1 month ago | [YT] | 5

firmsconsulting

Hermès just deployed $400M. The asset isn’t the point.

The asset isn’t the point.

They spent $400M to make sure...

... no competitor controls that corner of Rodeo Drive any time soon.

They’re not buying “a store.” They’re buying the right to decide, for decades, who shows up on that block and how their brand appears on one of the most visible luxury streets in the world.

While most companies rent their future one lease at a time, Hermès is taking irreplaceable locations off the market and treating them as “forever” assets.

Einstein once said that if A is success, then

A=X+Y+Z:

X is work, Y is play, and Z is “keeping your mouth shut.”

Most leaders obsess over X, some talk about Y, most ignore Z.

But Z is where you make the moves that don’t need a press release you initiate, the ones that compound your strategic advantage while everyone else is busy explaining their “vision.”

Hermès just showed what Z looks like at $400M scale. Just one decisive move that locks in control over a scarce, high‑leverage physical asset.

If you’re leading a business or a career, the question is "What is your equivalent of that corner: the asset, capability, or position you need to secure now, so that 10-20 years from today you still have options while everyone else is renegotiating their leases?

#Leadership
#Strategy
#ThoughtLeadership
#LuxuryRetail
#BrandStrategy
#RealEstate
#Hermès

1 month ago | [YT] | 4

firmsconsulting

Some people see reviews like this and think, “Great for the author.”

What I see is: “Great for the authors” — plural.

Win When It’s Hard is one of the few books I co‑authored with my clients. Together, more than 20 global leaders, entrepreneurs, medical doctors, and experts share the practical frameworks, daily routines, and mental models that help you keep winning when life and business are hard. This book exists because they were willing to put their best thinking, tools, and stories on the page.

If you want to learn things like how to expand your boundaries and stop being ignored, design habits that actually stick, make clear decisions under pressure, and build resilience across work, health, money, and relationships, this is the book to read, not just for my chapter, but for theirs.

If reading this makes you think, “I’d love to share my own frameworks and experience in a book like this one day,” you’ll be happy to know we’re creating another co‑authored book next.

It will follow a similar model to Win When It’s Hard: my chapter, your chapter, chapters from other co‑authors, my editorial support and structure, and a joint marketing push once it’s published.

All of our previous co‑authored books have gone on to reach Amazon‑bestseller status in at least one category, thanks to the quality of the book, a loyal reader base, and years of putting out high‑quality books together. As a result, all co-authors became bestselling authors, a title they can use for the rest of their lives.

If you’d love to be in the next co‑authored book, you can join us. Current enrollment is 997 USD (regular 1297), which is intentionally priced well below what similar multi‑author book projects usually charge, and well below the value this project delivers, to make this accessible.

Many thanks to my co-authors of Win When It's Hard:

Vincent Samat, James Case, Greg Ballard, Abibou SECK, Van L., Rachit Bangar, Dan Misra, James Schug, Keshnee Beharie, Elodie Seck, Roman Cailleteau, Akiesha Foster, MA, Jeremy Au 区汉辉, Sylvia Greinig, David Darab DDS MBA CEPA SBSP CPBA, Wendy Molyneux, Bonnie McLean, Sandra Gharabaghli, Brent Maguire, Siddhartha Eluppai Srivatsan, Elvira Burgo, James Munoz-Cespedes, and Satish Peddada.

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3 months ago | [YT] | 8

firmsconsulting

“A ship is safe at shore.
But that is not what it’s built for.”
– Albert Einstein

Around this time of year, many people reflect on their lives and realize they’re living one of three types of lives:

– quiet desperation
– barely content
– or fulfilling

I’ve lived in the first two. Neither is where you want to stay.

Today we’re starting Day 1 of the “Why Not Have a Big Life” 5-day challenge, a short series with reflections and exercises to help you adjust the course of your life ship. You can get access if you join the free newsletter on:
For corporate leaders: www.firmsconsulting.com/gift
For business owners and creators: www.firmsconsulting.com/clarity

Why not have a big life?

3 months ago | [YT] | 9

firmsconsulting

Power didn’t disappear. It moved into code.

“The other thing that I find exciting — though not in a positive way — is a discussion my longtime friend Henry Kissinger started many years ago.”

“He challenged Eric Schmidt and asked: Do your software engineers have ethics training?”

“It sounds like a strange question, but when they write code, they make implicit decisions about what they allow and what they won’t allow.”

“They should at least be aware of that.”

— Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld, whom I recently interviewed on the Strategy Skills Podcast

Dr. Kleinfeld is the only leader to have served as CEO of two Fortune 500 companies on different continents — Alcoa in the United States and Siemens in Germany.

#AI#podcast#business

3 months ago | [YT] | 5