Practical consulting skills programs (not just case prep)?

Sharing another one from BCG here that might be of interest. Besides these programs, you can also consider remotely volunteering with pro-bono consulting organisations that work on real client projects (often smaller firms or non-profits). 

Hi,

I'd be happy to help, been an Associate Partner at McKinsey (based out of Brussels office) until two months ago, spent 7 years at the Firm. Happy to help you develop the skillsets that make for distinctive-rated consultants at the Firm. Personally, I spent a lot of time coaching new hires and later in committees that evaluate their performance.

To summarize, I'd say the following are the most critical skillsets, often referred to as the "Associate toolkit" at the Firm:

1. Top-down communication - Easily one of the single most important skillsets you should master. No one has time, be quick, be precise, be "answer-first". As an AP, I would run a coaching series for our new hires, it was called "Slide Karaoke" - you get 30 seconds to look at a completely new slide on an arbitrary topic, them you need to present it like you would, to an C-suite audience!

2. Structured problem solving - Clients will be all over the place. Can you absorb, structure and synthesize, cutting through the noise

3. Problem Solving - Take the lead. Have a hypothesis. Prepare your first answer and then show up. No one shows up in consulting without a first answer. In every single meeting.

4. Think in terms of slides -  If every conversation is visually a slide in your mind, you are getting closer to being a true blue consultant. The glory isn't in the slides itself, it is in the fundamentals that need to fall in place in your head to be able to think in slides (aka, structuring, problem solving and top-down communication)

5. Story lining: Master the basics of story lining. Decisions get made when the audience can follow your story. Simple skill, but brutally effective. If the story doesn't flow, everyone will jump all over you!

Would be happy to shape your journey if you're really eager to master this! Irrespective of whether you'd eventually go into consulting or not, I'd argue that these are business skills that are worth mastering! :)

Happy to connect, good luck!

Hi there,

Haven't personally run through any of the programs you've listed other than Highbridge Academy, so I can't vouch for the others directly.

I personally love Highbridge (and the founder!). They're great. Feel free to message me as I believe I still have a discount code for them. 

What I'll say generally: the real consulting toolkit is learned on the job, not in a program. The best firms spend millions on training... and it still takes 6 to 12 months before most people feel comfortable. No 9 week virtual course fully replicates that.

That said, the underlying skills... structuring problems, hypothesis driven thinking, synthesizing upward, stakeholder communication... are absolutely learnable outside a job. If that's the goal:

1. Read consulting outputs regularly. BCG Insights, McKinsey Global Institute. Note how they structure an argument and take you through a story. Check out the Consulting Offer Blueprint for additional learnings.
2. Find real problems to practice on. A friend's business, a charity, your own workplace. Apply the thinking and seek feedback.
3. If you want personalized feedback on how you actually think and communicate, a coaching session will get you further faster than any structured program. I can hear how you communicate and tell you exactly where you're losing your audience: Book a session here

I also wrote a survival guide on what makes someone thrive once inside a consulting firm... worth reading before you invest time and money in external programs: Consulting Survival Guide

Feel free to shoot me a message too!

Most of these programs teach you consulting vocabulary, not consulting skills. There is a difference.

The real consulting toolkit, structured thinking, hypothesis-driven communication, slide writing, client management, is best learned by doing actual work with real feedback. Most programs struggle to replicate that.

That said, here is how I would think about your options:

• StrategyU is solid for structured thinking fundamentals. Self-paced works if you are disciplined.
• Harvard DCE at two days is too short to move the needle meaningfully. Good for exposure, not skill building.
• I do not have enough direct visibility on Consulting Launchpad or High Bridge to give you a confident view.

What actually builds on-the-job consulting skills faster than any program:

• Pick a real business problem, yours or someone else's, and solve it using consulting tools. Structure the problem, build a hypothesis, make a recommendation in a clear one pager.
• Find a mentor who has done the work and will give you honest feedback on your output.
• Read and deconstruct real McKinsey, BCG, and Bain published work. Understand why they structured it the way they did.

If you are preparing for an actual consulting role, the program matters less than the quality of feedback you get on real work. Look for that above everything else.

Hi there,

If you're thinking about one-on-one support, I work with multiple current consultants or professionals in corporate roles, coaching them on consulting skills. Some of them are former candidates of mine, while others have approached me directly for this support.

Typically, the skills we focus on include document and presentation storytelling, structured problem-solving (such as McKinsey's 7 steps to problem solving), how to handle feedback, and ways to increase your chances of a promotion.

If there's something specific you want to concentrate on, drop me a line, and we can see if I might be able to support you.

Best,
Cristian