(Part 2) Top products from r/consulting

Not OP but here are some great books I've read that are either directly or tangentially related. Can't seem to get hyperlinks to work right now for some reason so bear with me on the long links.

Day 1 Reading: Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarians_at_the_Gate:_The_Fall_of_RJR_Nabisco

Understanding Mergers and Acquisitions in the 21st Century: A Multidisciplinary Approach

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Mergers-Acquisitions-Century-Multidisciplinary/dp/0230336663?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Creating Value: Mergers and Acquisitions Challenges

http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Value-Mergers-Acquisitions-Challenges/dp/0201721503?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

1000+ page book good for reference, not reading: The Art of M&A

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/art-of-m-a-fourth-edition-stanley-foster-reed/1101371415/2672747763289?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Textbooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP20456&k_clickid=3x20456

Really good, technical, about valuation: Art of M&A Valuation and Modeling: A Guide to Corporate Valuation

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=HsSiCgAAQBAJ&source=productsearch&utm_source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=PLA&pcampaignid=MKTAD0930BO1&gl=US&gclid=CKuJk8qM-8wCFWObMgod5qUJ2g&gclsrc=ds

If you want ones that come with CDs and Excel workbooks, I've heard really good things (but have not read myself) about the following books:

This one is way too finance-y: Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers and

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=investment%20banking%20valuation%20leveraged%20buyouts%20and%20mergers%20and%20acquisitions

Applied mergers and acquisitions:

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-047139534X.html

The Trusted Advisor is probably the best that I've read as far as general consulting is concerned. But, to be honest, any popular consulting book that you find is going to be 98% junk (fortunately, they're typically quick, if insipid and boring reads).

If you haven't read any strategy books, I'd start with Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy. There's such a love for Porter that even mentioning him in some circles earns you respect.

I might also recommend Crossing the Chasm, too. It's a book about innovation and market adoption which might not seem important if you're not doing startup strategy. However, whenever you're engaged in any effort to do anything (You're either providing a new product, new service, or making people change) you'll have to consider adoption down the road. This will help you segment your targeted audience and understand how and why they're responding the way they do.

Personally I've found there to be few helpful books which directly relate to management consulting / business strategy. The only one that I've found really helpful is:

• Winning - an overall look on business strategies and philosophies used by Jack Welch (former CEO of GE)
  
  But here are some books that are very helpful in developing people / soft skills essential to effective consultants:
  
  
• Getting to Yes - an incredible book on negotating skills.
  
• How to Argue and Win Every Time - not as argumentative as it sounds, this is a great book which is hugely helpful on how to present your positions and how to get the best outcome for everyone in a situation.
  
• Influence - brilliant book on the ways in which we are influenced to do things.
  
• The 48 Laws of Power - a very Machiavellian put pragmatic look on the ways in which personal power is gained / lost.
  
• Vital Lies, Simple Truths - how to recognise self deception that we're all prone to and how to overcome its limitations
  
• The Blank Slate - a mindblowing book on human psychology and what we're naturally predisposed to be. Helps you to better understand people and their motivations in not just business but all aspects of life. Read from Part 2 onwards.

I'd recommend reading The Effective Manager or maybe start with their podcasts to see if you like the advise. Manger Tools While it wasn't mind blowing for me, it was at least a starting point when I was starting from zero. In the book they do get into giving feedback that will produce results and it's been very helpful for me. Concentrate on positive feedback and use it to lead into things you would like to see changed/improved. Don't just hit them with negative feedback all the time. Avoid the shit sandwich though; positive feedback-negative feedback-positive feedback, people catch on to this quick.

One-on-one meetings with your direct reports are crucial. These meetings are not about you, they are about your direct. They allow you to establish a rapport with your direct.

Good how-to books on management are hard to come by. Sometimes you just need to listen/read other content and pull some useful tidbits from it. I just finished The Hard Thing About Hard Things and was able to pull some useful things out of it.

Last but not least, be a human being.

Look up these two books:

• "McKinsey Way";
  
  
• "McKinsey Mind".
  
  Both are reminiscences written by a former McKinsey consultant and I suppose they are exactly what you are looking for. Lots, lots of interesting insights inside, especially for a newcomer.
  
  After you grasp the idea of consulting from these volumes, and remain eager to read more, you might want to move to books focused on so-called "case interviews". "Crack the Case" and "Case in Point" are good examples to start IMO.

There's a very good Korean drama called Misaeng: Incomplete Life, which is about a Korean trading company. There are a lot of good examples of the Korean business culture in and out of the office. When I was working private sector in Korea, I worked for companies in exactly this industry, so the show resonates a lot with me (minus the hyper-inflated tv drama). The show is streaming on Netflix too!

Also, the book Seoul Man by Frank Ahrens, is a good read on Korean business/life culture. Frank was the highest ranking non-Korean executive at Hyundai (and arguably Korea at the time). I've met with Frank a few times and occasionally chat with him from time to time. He's a good guy.

The Mind of a Strategist, by Kenichi Ohmae (An ex-McKinsey consultant that founded the firm's Strategic Management practice) is the best publicly available book on management consulting. It details the methodology thats required to derive factual, well-thought out strategic insights and it isn't too bogged down with a specific function of a business (e.g. Marketing, PR, finance).

Very few authors or individuals can concisely present to us how the analytical world, strategic world and the competitive world converge. Very few authors can highlight to people, what type of insights are possible.

I will re-read this book over and over again and find something new applicable to the business world from it.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Mind-Of-Strategist-Japanese/dp/0070479046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393970749&sr=8-1&keywords=mind+of+a+strategist

In my experience, the best books on the subject:

http://hauteluxe.net/the-book/

https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Prestige-Branding-Secrets-Ueber-Brands/dp/0749470038/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M0XRA0TNNAQXTJVDF83J

https://www.amazon.com/Kapferer-Luxury-Brands-Grow-Remain/dp/074947436X/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M0XRA0TNNAQXTJVDF83J

https://www.amazon.com/Luxury-Essentials-Essential-Insights-Strategies/dp/069236126X/ref=pd_sim_14_66?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M0XRA0TNNAQXTJVDF83J

https://www.amazon.com/Meta-Luxury-Culture-Excellence-M-Ricca/dp/0230293573/ref=pd_sim_14_24?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P57W41NY374A29M852WP

https://www.amazon.com/Luxury-Strategy-Break-Marketing-Brands/dp/0749464917/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KYS1K5Z8RVH14TC4QH9S&dpID=41kAvjId7eL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=detail

I think this read is a must:

"The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World" by Daniel Yergin

https://www.amazon.com/Quest-Energy-Security-Remaking-Modern/dp/0143121944

This book focuses on shareholder activism and is an entertaining read

I picked up one of the new GaN 61W PD USB-C jobs.


Its much smaller than the stock power adapter(2"x2"x1").

Picked up a nice 6 foot USB-C cable to go with it.


Stock power adapter stays at home, new little guy lives in my cord bag

I only carry USB-C chargers/cables and got little adapters for the three items I travel with that are micro-usb.

Mouse(MX Anywhere 2) stays with the computer.

There is a book I highly recommend called Say it with Charts that was written by McKinsey's Director of Visual Communication, Gene Zelazny. It is, IMHO, the bible on how to display information in presentations.

Becoming the Evidence Based Manager by Gary Latham

Leadership BS by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Dying for a Paycheck by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Evidence Based Management by Denise Rousseau and Eric Barends

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

Work Rules by Laszlo Bock (of course)

​

And more that are actually based on solid evidence, not stories (sorry, I mean case studies. Same thing).

A combination of using old decks as well as content from this book: https://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-4th/dp/0133966151/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486226887&sr=8-1&keywords=Graphics+Design+for+Non+Designers

Depends on what type of consulting, but I found this book to shape my thinking when talking to C-Level folks about strategy. And no, I do not know the author, so pure recommendation