Harvard Extension School

Management Consulting (MGMT E-5700)

Fall 2022

Wednesdays 8:10PM – 10:10PM (Eastern Time)

Professor Shawn P. O’Connor (spoconnornh@gmail.com, 603-660-7292)

Harvard MBA & JD, Former McKinsey & Co. Consultant, Successful Serial Entrepreneur Zoom

Office Hours: Wednesdays 7:00PM-8:00PM Eastern Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87006682002

(Please note this link is only for office hours! The link for class is in Canvas!)

Teaching Assistant: Luke Albertson (albertsonluke@gmail.com, 860-710-9516)

Introduction

Welcome to Management Consulting!

Who Will Benefit from this Course

While we will examine the history and future of the management consulting industry, this course is
designed to be relevant not only for those with experience in or a desire to pursue a career in
management consulting but also for executives, managers, non-profit/educational leaders, and
finance/accounting professionals who can all learn a great deal from the knowledge leadership of
management consulting and who will likely partner with management consultants a number of times
during their career. We will learn the robust advanced strategic frameworks developed by management
consultants that can be used to effectively structure and solve the toughest problems in management. In
addition, we will explore project management and how to communicate your recommendations to drive
the successful execution of your strategy.

Theory Immediately Put into Practice

During the first half of the course, in each class meeting, we will learn about one or more of the essential
components of management consulting and then practically apply said component(s) in a highly relevant
case study discussion. Each class’s case study can only be fully explored by leveraging your newfound
learning from the week’s theoretical reading/articles which outline key strategic frameworks and models
as well as industry dynamics and firm differentiators.

During the second half of the course, you will have the opportunity to apply and reinforce the advanced
theoretical concepts learned during the course through a very realistic group management consulting
project which you will complete and present to your classmates and me.

Given my many years as a strategy and management consultant working with/serving on the boards of
leading domestic and global organizations, I am confident that, by the end of the course, you will be
extremely well-prepared to leverage the strategies and tactics taught in this course to dramatically
enhance the organizations of which you are a part and/or which you serve as clients including
management consulting firms, Fortune 500 (or similar large for profit) companies, non-profit,
governmental, or educational organizations, and entrepreneurial endeavors.

While we will work hard throughout the semester, I know that we will also very much enjoy our time
together dissecting successful (and not so successful) strategies across industries and geographies.

About Me

I absolutely love teaching at Harvard (and I will confess that the advanced strategic nature of this course
makes it one of my favorites)!

This is my sixth year teaching at Harvard, and I feel very fortunate that for each of my courses over the
last five years I have been recognized for achieving exceptional (top 5-10%) student ratings. I strive to
always be available for my students outside of class hours to review challenging concepts, reinforce your
learning, provide career advice, review a business plan, or help you in any other way that I can. Also, I
offer live make up classes if you miss class for an excused reason (illness, work travel, etc.) so that you
can earn your participation points even if something comes up. Please note that, in coordination with
Harvard policies, you are only allowed one live makeup class during the semester (any additional
absences will result in zeroes for class participation). Please plan accordingly. Also, please note that live
makeups will not be offered during the second half of the class when other students are presenting.

Throughout this course, I value the opportunity to not only watch you flourish academically but also
hopefully build a lifelong mentorship relationship with each of you that continues long after the end of
the semester. I have provided my personal email and phone so that you can reach me any time after the
semester is over, and I am always happy to provide recommendations/references, review business
plans, discuss your career choices, and connect you to members of my extensive LinkedIn network.

I am passionate about the capacity of thoughtfully-developed strategies to drive long-term, sustainable

success. I have personally witnessed how well-crafted strategies can dramatically grow a business’s top
and bottom line as well as enhance the experiences of clients and employees. A well-developed,
adaptable, global, and entrepreneurial strategy proved indispensable in my successfully growing an
educational startup from just myself to a diverse, international team of ~100 and then, after a decade of
growth, selling that company, which improved the lives of thousands of students each year, to a private
equity firm. I have also leveraged the strategies that we will learn this semester to, for example, help
two of the nation’s largest banks successfully merge, streamline the processes of a top consumer
packaged goods (CPG) company throughout Latin America, and reevaluate the route systems and focus
of a leading airline.

As an entrepreneur and management consultant, I have served and collaboratively built multinational
companies and have been featured in Forbes, Inc., U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal,
The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek as well as on television and radio.

I know that the advanced strategic management strategies and tactics that we will explore in
Management Consulting can have a similar or even greater impact on your professional success.
What You Can Find in this Syllabus

Below, you will find:

• The texts that we will use (each week the assigned books will be supplemented by the classic
and some of the newest and most innovative articles on management consulting and advanced
strategy as well as a Harvard Business School case on the pertinent topic – please note that
these articles and case studies are available in an HBR digital case packet)
• The dates and times that our class will meet as well as the topic(s) to be covered in each class
and the required reading from the assigned texts
• The course objectives
• The grading criteria and key due dates
• The assignment to prepare before the first class
• Some other important notes and policies

Texts

• Cracked It! How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions like Top Strategy Consultants, by
Bernard Garrette, Corey Phelps, Olivier Sibony, 2018
• Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big Moves to Beat the Odds, by
Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt, Sven Smit of McKinsey & Co., 2018
• HBR Guide to Project Management, Harvard Business School Press, 2013
• A Harvard Business Review course packet with weekly case studies and supplemental articles.
Please purchase the discounted pack at the following link:
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/957332

Meeting Dates & Times, Class Topics, Textbook Readings

Class 1 - Wednesday, August 31st 8:10PM-10:10PM – Overview of the Management Consulting Industry,
Problem Solving and the 4S Method
• Please read Chapters 1-3 in Cracked It! How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions like Top
Strategy Consultants
• Please read the “McKinsey & Company” case
• Please read “Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption” by Clayton Christensen, Dina Wang, and
Derek van Bever
• Please read “McKinsey’s Three Horizons Model Defined Innovation. Here’s Why It No Longer
Applies” by Steve Blank

Class 2 - Wednesday, September 7th 8:10PM-10:10PM – State and Structure the Problem; The TOSCA
Framework
• Please read Chapters 4-6 in Cracked It! How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions like Top
Strategy Consultants
• Please read the “Alexa: A Pandora’s Box of Risks” case
 • Please read “Bain & Company Chairman Orit Gadiesh on the Importance of Curiosity” by Orit
Gadiesh and Daisy Wademan Dolwing
• Please read “Frameworks for General Management and Operations Consulting” by Elliott Weiss

Class 3 - Wednesday, September 14th 8:10-10:10PM – Solve the Problem

• Please read Chapters 7-9 Cracked It! How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions like Top
Strategy Consultants
• Please read the “Reinventing Best Buy” case
• Please read “Simple Rules for a Complex World” by Donald Sull and Kathleen Eisenhardt
• Please read “Learning to Live with Complexity” by Gokce Sargut and Rita Gunther McGrath

Wednesday, September 21st 8:10-10:10PM – No Class

Class 4 - Wednesday, September 28th 8:10-10:10PM –When and How to Leverage Design Thinking; Selling
Your Solution; Telling the Story and Effectively Delivering Your Recommendations
• Please read Chapters 10-11 in Cracked It! How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions like Top
Strategy Consultants
• Please read the “IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design” case
• Please read “Why Design Thinking Works” by Jeanne M. Liedtka
• Please read “Design Thinking is Fundamentally Conservative and Preserves the Status Quo” by
Natasha Iskander
• Please read “How Children’s Health System of Texas Is Improving Care with Design Thinking” by
Jeanne M. Liedtka Eli MacLaren
• Please read “Design Thinking Comes of Age” by Jon Kolko

Class 5 - Wednesday, October 5th 8:10-10:10PM – The Human Side of Advanced Strategy and the
Prevalence of Bias in Problem Solving
• Please read Chapters 1-2 in Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big
Moves to Beat the Odds
• Please read “GROW: Using Artificial Intelligence to Screen Human Intelligence” case
• Please read “Take the Bias Out of Strategy Decisions” by Freek Vermeulen
• Please read “How to Reduce Personal Bias When Hiring” by Ruchika Tulshyan
• Please read “Outsmart Your Own Biases” by Jack Soll, Katherine L. Milkman, and John W.
Payne Please read “Designing a Bias-Free Organization” by Iris Bohnet and Gardiner Morse

Class 6 - Wednesday, October 12th 8:10-10:10PM – Assessing Realities, Probabilities, and the Potential
Futures
• Please read Chapters 3-5 in Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big
Moves to Beat the Odds
• Please read “Innovation at the Boston Consulting Group” case
• Please read “Apple Watch: Managing Innovation Resistance” case
• Please read “Finding a Lower-Risk Path to High-Impact Innovations” by Joseph V. Sinfield and
Freddy Solis Please read “Know Your Customers’ ‘Jobs to Be Done’” by Clayton M. Christensen,
Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon, and David Duncan
 • Please read “The Hard Truth about Business Model Innovation” by Clayton M. Christensen,
Thomas Bartman, and Derek C.M. van Bever

Class 7 - Wednesday, October 19th 8:10-10:10PM – The Importance of Considering and Making Big
Changes; Shifting Thinking for Successful Strategy,
• Please read Chapters 6-8 in Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big
Moves to Beat the Odds
• Please read “Transformation at Eli Lilly & Co. (A)” case
• Please read “The Top 20 Business Transformations of the Last Decade” by Scott Anthony,
Alasdair Trotter, and Evan Schwartz
• Please read “4 Tips for Managerial Change” by Greg Satell

Class 8 – Wednesday, October 26th 8:10-10:10PM – Project Management

• Please Read Chapters 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 16, 17, 19, 20 in HBR Guide to Project Management
• Please read “Implementing LEAN Operations at Caesars Casinos” case
• Please read “Hypothesis-Driven Entrepreneurship: The Lean Startup” by Thomas R. Eisenmann,
Eric Ries, and Sarah Dillard
• Please read “Four supply change management systems: From supply change strategies to human
resource management” by Mahesh Srinivasan, Maria Hamdani, and Siqi Ma

Class 9 – Wednesday, November 2nd 8:10-10:10PM – Review of Mock Final, Questions Regarding Group
Project

Class 10 – Wednesday, November 9th – Optional Class on Finding a Job in Management Consulting (No
Graded Class Participation)

Wednesday, November 16th – Optional Class on Launching Your Own Management Consulting Practice
(No Graded Class Participation)

Class 11 – Wednesday, November 23rd 8:10-10:10PM – No Class – Groups Work on Projects, Teaching
Assistant Available to Meet with Groups

Class 12 – Wednesday, November 30th 8:10-11:10PM – Class Presentations

Class 13 – Wednesday, December 7th 8:10-11:10PM – Class Presentations

Class 14 – Wednesday, December 14th 8:10-11:10PM – Class Presentations

Course Objectives

My goal for this class is not to simply teach you about consulting industry dynamics and advanced strategy
in Management Consulting but to encourage you to creatively apply these principles to as many real-world
situations as possible during our class and far beyond so that this class has a dramatic impact on your
career immediately. The class is ideal for aspiring executives, consultants, project managers, marketers,
entrepreneurs, technologists, and finance/accounting professionals. In each of these professions,
collaboration with management consultants and an understanding of advanced strategy is indispensable
to your success and your organization’s success.

Grading Criteria and Grading Rubric

• 33.3% Participation in Class Discussions of Each Class’s Case and Reading Materials (1 st 9 Classes)
Excellent Participation will apply the theoretical learning from the text and articles assigned for
each class to that class’s case. I run my classes using the HBS case study method, but I provide the
text and readings to help you more expeditiously learn new concepts. Participation by speaking
during the video conference, contributing to the online chat during class, and commenting on the
Canvas Discussions board all receive credit. I strongly suggest that whenever possible you please
participate through all three channels each week.

• 33.3% Group Presentations - Students will be grouped by current industry/industry of interest

based on a survey after Class 2 (after Add/Drop). The students in each group will be provided a
consulting engagement to structure, solve, and present to the rest of the class. Each group will
develop a presentation for each engagement using the frameworks provided in the course.
Following the in-class presentations, each group will have the opportunity to edit their
presentation prior to final submission. The group’s grade will be equally divided between the CEO
interview (20%), the in-class presentation (40%), and the final written presentation (40%).
Individual questions and comments during the presentations by other teams will also be factored
into each student’s grade for this component of the course. During the student group
presentations, top participation marks will be awarded to those who demonstrate inquisitiveness
and a willingness to provide thoughtful and helpful feedback to the group presenting. The
finalized presentation documents are due by Saturday, December 17th at 11:59PM Eastern Time

• 33.3% Individual Open-Book Final Essay Exam - The Final Exam will be an analysis of an
unpublished case written by the professor which will require the application of a variety of the
frameworks learned during the class. A Mock Final Exam will be provided in advance and will be
analyzed during Class 9. The Final Exam is due by Saturday, December 17th at 11:59PM Eastern
Time

Important Note Regarding Class Participation

Each week’s class participation is graded on a 1 to 5 scale (using .25 increments) with 5 being exceptionally
insightful contributions and 1 being no participation in the class. Credit for the Canvas Discussions is given
for starting a new thread, responding to an existing thread, asking or answering a question, and/or posting
a link to an article or news story along with a comment connecting the article/news story to the course
content. Students can participate verbally during class, in the live chat during class, and in the Canvas
discussion after each class. A student’s participation grade for the week will be the average of the highest
two of these three scores. We will drop each student’s lowest weekly participation grade when calculating
participation for the semester.
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 63-66
D- 60-62
F below 60

Important Notes Regarding Grades

Please note that Harvard Extension School strictly prohibit students from telling a professor or teaching
assistant that he or she needs a particular grade (in order to graduate or to keep their GPA at a certain
level). I sincerely request that you observe this policy as I must report any such communications to the
administration.

Please know that I want each of my students to do his or her very best in my course and earn the highest
grade possible. So, if you ever want additional feedback or want to know how you are doing in the
course, please just reach out and I am happy to share with you where you stand, and if necessary, how
you can improve.

Communications Policy

I teach because I love interacting with students. So, I will endeavor to respond to emails within 24 hours
or less Monday to Friday and as soon as feasible over the weekends. Please note that I occasionally travel
for professional engagements which may very infrequently and very slightly delay my response time. I
encourage you to reach out directly to me at any time with any questions or concerns that you may have.
I am always here to help!

Accessibility

Harvard Extension School and I are committed to providing an accessible academic environment. The
Accessibility Office offers a variety of accommodations to students with disabilities. Please review the
following link for additional information:
https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resourcespolicies/accessibility-student-services
Academic Integrity

Please be sure that you understand the Harvard Extension School’s policies regarding academic integrity
and how to use sources in a proper fashion as Harvard takes very seriously plagiarism and other violations
of academic integrity. I am required to report all violations to the administration. You can find more
information using this link: https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academic-integrity

Assignment for the First Class

• Please Read Chapters 1-3 in Cracked It! How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions like Top
Strategy Consultants
• Please Read “McKinsey & Company” a 2013 HBS case by Jay Lorsch and Kathleen Durante (will
be available in HBR class packet)
• Please Read “Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption” by Clayton Christensen, Dina Wang, and
Derek van Bever (will be available in HBR class packet)
• Please Read “McKinsey’s Three Horizons Model Defined Innovation. Here’s Why It No Longer
Applies” by Steve Blank (will be available in HBR class packet)