Strategy Simplified

S24E23: 3 Case Interview Math Mistakes That Cost You the McKinsey Offer

Send us Fan Mail Midway through a practice case, one of George Cary's clients did the math and said 90,000 when he meant 900,000. George didn't care. After 5

S24E22: Ex-McKinsey Coach Says This Case Passes Round 1

Send us Fan Mail Divya spent 8 years at McKinsey. She sat down with Sanya, a senior at Penn, and ran a case with her, live. Divya told her afterward it would've pa

S24E21: Why Consulting Demand Is Outpacing Every Firm's Hiring Plan

Send us Fan Mail Over half the firms in our latest consulting industry survey said demand is outpacing their ability to hire and deliver. Healthcare, energy, PE – the sa

S24E20: Case Competition Applications Close Sunday at Midnight

Send us Fan Mail Applications for the Case Competition World Cup close this Sunday, September 13, at 11:59pm PT.  APPLY NOW More information: Undergraduate Track, pre

S24E19: Why BCG Is Racing to Hire Forward Deployed Engineers

Send us Fan Mail BCG is racing to hire forward deployed engineers – and the application window closes September 17. This year's pay range for campus hires is $110,

S24E18: Deloitte, PwC, and 4,500 Firms Can't Find Adobe Talent

Send us Fan Mail Deloitte, PwC, IBM, and 4,500 other companies use Adobe Experience Cloud products. And they can't find enough people who know how to implement the

S24E17: 3 Weeks Before McKinsey and BCG – How Not to Burn Out

Send us Fan Mail Langston got callbacks from McKinsey and BCG. His first instinct: 10 hours a day of studying for three weeks straight, a fast route to burnout. He&apos

S24E16: AI Took the Grunt Work – Consultants Are Getting Promoted Faster

Send us Fan Mail Paul Edwards has led more than 1,000 private equity deals. AI took the grunt work, and now Stax consultants are getting promoted faster. He leads the P

S24E15: McKinsey's Cases Are Interviewer-Led – Most Candidates Practice the Wrong Way

Send us Fan Mail Most consulting interviews let you drive the case. McKinsey doesn't. McKinsey is one of the only firms that runs interviewer-led cases – the inter

S24E14: Why McKinsey Asks up to 25 Follow-Up Questions in the PEI

Send us Fan Mail Most candidates prep for the McKinsey PEI like a regular behavioral interview. McKinsey built it to do more than that. One story, and up to 25 follow-u

S24E13: The AI Hire Every Consulting Firm Is Struggling to Find

Send us Fan Mail Every firm on our new 2027 Top Enterprise AI Consulting Firms ranking wants to hire the same person right now. And none of them can find them.  Namaan

S24E12: A McKinsey Coach's Playbook for Winning Case Competitions

Send us Fan Mail Last year, 500 students on 100 teams competed in the Case Competition World Cup. Before they saw the case, coach Divya – 8 years at McKinsey – taught th

S24E11: Inside Private Equity Consulting: AI Bets, Harder Exits, and Real Diligence

Send us Fan Mail A private equity firm bought a paint company. Turned out their sales reps were handing out 50% discounts to any contractor who asked nicely. That'

S24E10: The Toothbrush Test: Why Most Case Frameworks Fail at MBB

Send us Fan Mail If your case framework doesn't pass the toothbrush test, it's too generic for McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. Ex-Bain coach Abi Chen walks through t

S24E9: Inside a Bates White Economic Consulting Case Interview

Send us Fan Mail Bates White let us inside a real economic consulting case interview. Annie Olecki, a senior consultant in Bates White's antitrust practice, ran a

S24E8: Private Equity Consulting Firms Have a Sameness Problem

Send us Fan Mail Namaan talked to dozens of PE practice leaders for our 2026 ranking. Almost every one said the same three things: 1) Cross-practice integration. 2) Stra

S24E7: MBA Case Prep in 2–4 Weeks: An Ex-Bain Interviewer's Plan

Send us Fan Mail Most 2nd-year MBA candidates have 2 to 4 weeks to get case interview-ready this cycle, not the usual 6 to 8. More cases won't close that gap for M

S24E6: McKinsey Solve Game 2026: What It Is and How to Prepare

Send us Fan Mail McKinsey screens candidates with a video game – McKinsey Solve – before they ever see a case interview. Most candidates either try to copy other people&

S24E5: McKinsey Case Interview Example: Electric Truck Market Entry

Send us Fan Mail George Cary spent five years as a McKinsey EM. In this live case, he coaches candidate Harvey through a real McKinsey market entry study: should a diese

S24E4: She Bombed MBB Her First Try – Then Landed 2 Offers the Next Time

Send us Fan Mail Sharon had everything going for her. Top-tier MBA. MBB interview invites across the board.  She'd done 50–60 cases – but didn't make it past