Hey guys
Recently joined a consulting firm and was wondering if any of you have any tips on how to improve speed to output?
thanks
Hey guys
Recently joined a consulting firm and was wondering if any of you have any tips on how to improve speed to output?
thanks
One thing I found super helpful was shortcuts
1. For PPT - I arranged my quick access bar to have the most frequently used functions there and learned the shortcuts to access these
2. For excel - install any sort of tracker that tells you your most commonly used functions and then learn the shortcuts for these. It saves a LOT of time
Hi Anonymous,
You can optimize each single action step throughout your day - even if it might be only a few seconds here and there it also adds up to a lot of time.
If I would choose one single aspect that I see most new hires wasting a lot of time on ... it's executing before having it thought through completely from start to end (and here we don't talk about seconds, but usually more like hours...). So always make sure you understand the big picture and how your work needs to be integrate into that ... before you start execution!
Hope this helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!
Robert
20/80 principal. What are the smallest number of key activities which will drive the greatest impact? In other words, what are the highest leverage actions/opportunities and what is the goal? With a clear goal and intention of the desired goal, reverse engineering in order to understand the most effective process is something which I have found to be effective. I would also like to know what has helped others too.
Hi there,
The general appraoch you need to have is to
(1) think first on paper - draw up the slide skeleton and identify the key message(s)
[this is a good backup to use for discussion in case you final PPT isn't ready by the deadline]
(2) Take you time thinking - but execute fast (here, having a customized toolbar helps a lot)
(3) Pomodoro technique + start with the toughest parts to get them out of the way
(4) Stay organized: don't have too many tabs open - do have your information all over the place - keep your folders and files well archived to quick access
I hope this helps
Khaled
Hello!
Altough is not very usefull as a tip, practice is what helps most.
On top, you can invest some time into some efficency trick:
Cheers,
Clara
Dear A,
Alwya remember the 80/20 principle, that will help to stream your efforts and raise you KPI
Also, for candidates like you, I have designed a program "Get ready for the first 100 days " as well as long-term career planning. This program touches all the important aspects: the mindset, the skills, knowledge, networking and ,managing yourself as well, your bosses and clients - everything that is important in your successful career.
In fact, I'm sharing my knowledge of 6 years career experience in consulting, where I was able to land on the fast track promotion and to be promoted from consultant to a project manager just within 3 years, which is extremely fast.
Happy to share these insights with you, feel free to reach out directly to me.
Good luck,
André
Hi,
I would soon publish a PrepLounge product on the first 100 days as a new consultant.
Please find below the framework I used to build this "survival guide".
Feel free to come in PM to further discuss it
Best
1) Less is more - realize what's needed and what isn't. If you focus on just what's needed, well, there's less to do. Amount of stuff divided by time = speed to output...
2) Plan - What are you going to create? Write it out. Evaluate. What steps can you remove, accelerate, shorten, etc.?
3) Sketch and wireframe - draw what your slides might look like. Create a shell deck with titles only. Only create the key bullets in your email first. Etc. etc.
4) Learn tricks/shortcuts - voraciously learn any hotkeys, built-in macros/tools etc. There's the obvious excel, but I found that learning BCG's built-in powerpoint macros saved me hours and hours (that left/right/upper align/centre macro as well as the resizing one were lifesavers!)
Hi,
PowerPoint: collect as many Templates as possible, try creating your own algorithms for creating slides, use big screen, use mouse vs touchpad, USE SAVE BUTTON
Excel: use buttons vs mouse, build the structure of the file before proceeding, USE SAVE BUTTON, master shortcuts
Best,
Anton