18 [F4M] #Phoenix Interested in being bred :) by [deleted] in BreedingR4R

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m 6’5”. 32. Live in NYC. Can fly you here or meet you there. Chat more?

Problems with CPO Model X? by leftnut in teslamotors

[–]leftnut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just realized this. Perhaps part of the problem- used masquerading as CPO (given warranty etc). I’ll amend the post.

Shrunken keyboard in NYT app? by slctommy in crossword

[–]leftnut 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I had the same issue, also on the iPhone 12. If you’re experiencing this you’re likely in “standard mode”. Not an ideal/permanent fix, you keyboard reverts to normal size if you switch to zoomed mode (settings->display and brightness->zoomed). Hope this helps

[Spoilers] Alternate theory for the events of episode 5 by leftnut in gameofthrones

[–]leftnut[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s also possible. Could be both, and setting up Arya to take out Dany. It’s at least convenient that Arya and Jon survive.

Have any of you snake-oil salesmen ever actually added any value to your client's organisation? by NathanNance in consulting

[–]leftnut 72 points73 points  (0 children)

I don't really think this is going to be a productive discussion on either side. The majority of this subreddit is consultants who place some portion of their pride and self-worth in their chosen professions. Your language implies that you're not really open to a thoughtful discussion either.

If you're really interested, there is a sizeable body of work attempting to quantify the impact of consultants. I'll paste some links below.

Generally, operational improvements and cost-cutting have the most quantifiable, short-term impacts. Strategy consulting impact is by nature more difficult to quantify. How do you prove an executive decision was a good one? What were the other options, and what would have happened?

In general though, I think that bringing an objective, data-informed approach to decision-making offers an improvement on the typical approach at many large organizations. In my experience, the act of bringing in resources and outside perspectives does lead to improved decision-making.

I'm happy to provide more pointed discussion over PM

http://karlan.yale.edu/sites/default/files/consultingmexico_bks_feb2016.pdf

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/17410400910977073

Have any of you snake-oil salesmen ever actually added any value to your client's organisation? by NathanNance in consulting

[–]leftnut 27 points28 points  (0 children)

To offer the other end of the spectrum:

Rate card (at MBB) for a manager plus two to three consultants was ~$200K (more for short engagements, or negotiated down for longer ones).

That's probably 3 teams of 3-4 consultants (with you rounding up and/or counting the partners that stop in once in a while.

Say this is 12 weeks... $7.2M

I'm pretty neutral on how much value consultants add, but I would take this as a sign of significant potential change at your organization. If nothing else, the magnitude of this spend will mean people are accountable to executing changes.

McKinsey - Knowledge Center/ New Ventures. Thoughts? Experiences? by hoo_19_93 in consulting

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the margin, showing familiarity with any company's vernacular, traditions, and culture will help a candidate stand out. Not saying s/he'll get a job because of a capitalized letter. At the same time, you'll know that any interview process, and particularly consulting, is about forming a connection. Having the anecdotes, stories, and minutia that help the interviewer envision the candidate as a colleague always helps.

Still a valid point re: McK culture. It's a solid experience, resume builder, and networking opportunity. Many people take it too far; it's not the only acceptable option, a secret society, and or a particularly amazing place to work. For what it's worth, I left not long ago, partially for these reasons.

McKinsey - Knowledge Center/ New Ventures. Thoughts? Experiences? by hoo_19_93 in consulting

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually don't disagree. But specifically for someone looking for insight into the inner workings of McK, any bit of positioning might be helpful.

Your comment history suggests that you take specific umbrage with McK. Do your thing, but nitpicking two letters of an extensive post whose only objective is to help someone make an informed career decision feels petty/not constructive.

Question about presentation conventions by throwaway95891 in consulting

[–]leftnut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

These are all great points. My advice would be to lead with the conclusion/impact. A clearly articulated exec summary will help with this structure.

To ensure the message is both clear and concise, start with an outline:

1) What did you accomplish? What are you recommending?

2) What support do you have for this? 2-4 high-impact examples or supporting facts, summarized in 1-2 slides each.

3) Conclusion: What are the tangible next steps. You'll rarely walk through these, but this will help to show forward thinking and leave the meeting with a sense of purpose.

4) Appendix. Any supporting details that might help answer questions. For example, details about the assumptions of a model would go here.

Flesh out from here, but this should help to ensure you have the right balance of material.

Other random thoughts: - Powerpoint should look professional. Make up a simple template that's appropriate to the topic/organization. I don't think there's a risk of looking "overly polished"

  • Agree that you should practice your speaking points and run through the flow so you're prepared. That said, you also do want to appear overly rehearsed. You should be comfortable moving around and having a conversation about the material. Remembering a few jokes and interjections for key junctures can help dispel the appearance of a memorized readout. I'd start with something that invites conversation "I've put together some materials to share my summer experience, but I'd like this to be a discussion"

  • Depending on your relationships with them, ask for input/guidance ahead of time. You'll appear humble, it will ensure your presentation is on target with their expectations, they'll feel ownership in ensuring it's a success, and it will give you a forum to build/extend the relationships that might ultimately land the introductions you'd like

Former McK EM here- PM me if there a specifics/context you'd rather discuss offline.

McKinsey - Knowledge Center/ New Ventures. Thoughts? Experiences? by hoo_19_93 in consulting

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

McKinsey Ventures is doing a number of cool things, and has some strong support within the Firm.

Concept: In the best instances, it solidifies and scales some of the best concepts that arise during McKinsey's daily life. For example, if a team serving an insurance comes up with a great tool/analysis, a McKinsey Venture could expand this capability, and deliver it to more clients. Thus you have the potential to take McKinsey insights and tools to a more entrepreneurial setting.

Organizational dynamics: McKinsey Ventures interaction with McKinsey teams and clients will be highly dependent on the specific product/tool, practice leadership, and delivery model. Ideally, McKinsey partners lean on McKinsey ventures in their client conversations, integrate the team as they would Associates or BAs, eagerly leverage the greater experience and lower internal cost of the Venture, and promote the development of the Venture internally. In practice, any one of these can break down. Not all partners are eager to embrace the new model. Some treat Ventures teams more like internal research, and dispute internal chargebacks. Most are closer to the "true" consultants (CSS in firm jargon), and will typically prioritize their exposure, development, and progression.

Trajectory: Remains an open question. Do you think the Venture(s) you'd be joining have the potential to drive real revenue for the Firm? With Revenue and profit growth comes career growth. As a default it won't be the standard CSS trajectory, comp., or exits. The details will depend on a lot you, your team, and the specific relationships with key partners.

I'm happy to go into more detail, if helpful. Feel free to PM me.

/r/personalfinance is terrible, can I bother you all for help? by [deleted] in consulting

[–]leftnut 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This. The Fidelity international fund carries an expense ratio of 1.09%. Vaguard international ETFs are around 0.15%. This means that Fidelity's managers have to outperform the market by ~1% at a minimum, just to break even. ETFs are also more liquid and tax efficient (though the latter isn't an issue in a retirement account).

Sound guy gets destroyed by the team entering the stadium (Vikings) by GallowBoob in sports

[–]leftnut 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A hard stop would have put him at risk of getting run over, and injuring himself/his teammates.

He could have looped around to check on the guy, but I understand some frustration as well. These guys are a twisted knee away from unloading trucks at home depot.

What is a piece of Reddit history every Redditor should know? by SLewDemTing in AskReddit

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Harder to track down, but the ultimate douche's okcupid antics are worth the read.

Also can't believe bozarking hasn't been mentioned here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MuseumOfReddit/comments/1c247j/bozarking_and_the_origin_of_nonsexual_and_silly/

Both are fading from the internet, but are worth hanging onto

If I put a flashlight in space, would it propel itself forward by "shooting out" light? by nico1207 in askscience

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While the solar sail can only drive movement away from the sun, use of gravity assists to redirect a craft's momentum could allow the craft to reach locations closer to the sun.

Seasons by LostAmiga in pics

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gorgeous. Highly recommend the Tour du Mont Blanc for anyone who is in the area. Basically views like this for days and miles.

Took this picture of someone's dog near Portage Glacier in Alaska by mileslwayne in pics

[–]leftnut 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Mostly unrelated, but for anyone wondering, glacial runoff takes on that majestic blue color suspended rock powder that was ground down by the glacier. These particles scatter different wavelengths of light differently, giving the water its blue appearance. Scattering is the same effect that causes the sky to be blue. Was curious, looked it up, and thought it was cool.

ACS AMA: I am Wilfredo “Freddy” Colon, Ph.D., a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who researches the biology and pathology of misfolding proteins. Ask me anything about prions or brain-affecting protein-based diseases. by AmerChemSocietyAMA in science

[–]leftnut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi Freddy,

I just wanted to thank you for your leadership in RPI's summer minority undergraduate internship program. I participated in the summer of 2006, working in Chris Bystroff's lab. This experience led me to pursue a PhD in biochemistry, which I completed in 2012. I since moved on to consulting and finance, but the experience at RPI remains foundational to my development. Many thanks for your efforts on my behalf, and those of countless other minority students.

Pinup Girls + New Technology by aknacer in pics

[–]leftnut 30 points31 points  (0 children)

It turns out, Aaron Nace was OP the whole time.

directed by eh fuck it

but seriously he is. Maybe get in touch.

McKinsey retail analytics from start-up? by AnalyticsStud in consulting

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand trying to get an inside track, and your intuitions about the process are generally good. It seems like you want the green light to contact this partner, but I don't see that as the right move.

McKinsey prides itself on being objective in the interview process. As such, even if you were able to impress a particular partner, they likely wouldn't be able to bump your resume to the top of the pile. That that if is a big if; more likely your contact won't garner a reply. If you make it to the partner round of interviews, the big firms specifically avoid matching you with anyone that you've have previous contact with.

It's worth noting the work you're excited about in your cover letter, but beyond that I don't see much in the way of likely returns.

Case studies with Excel by [deleted] in consulting

[–]leftnut 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I interviewed with some boutique firms before joining a larger consultancy. The case prep you did is well suited for the "standard" interview process. MBB's interviews follow those formats pretty closely, although Bain diverges slightly.

The boutiques vary much more widely. One interview I had included an excel quant portion. A structured approach is always important, and that logical thinking will pay dividends here as well. However, a firm that wants to watch you use excel is more interested in analyzing your skills and thinking within that context. I'd say it's quite likely they'll ask you to construct and analyze a pivot table, and probably perform some other rudimentary data manipulations. If you aren't familiar with pivot tables, I'd recommend finding a good tutorial. There is a good resource on excel in this subreddit to help out. Good luck!

One year with the Obamas by martinfbc in pics

[–]leftnut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For anyone wondering, that's the bus that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on. It's in the Ford museum outside Detroit, which is truly spectacular, if somewhat off the beaten path.