Contact Us
An important note about our hours and email policy.
FIRMSconsulting is by design a smaller and focused firm. We manage websites, OTT strategy streaming Apps, podcast channels, a Youtube channel, editing/updating books while working on special projects, editing videos, podcasts, and articles, run our business design studio, managing the start-ups while planning programs with partners and often traveling to shoot the 4K content and programming you see.
We receive lots of emails which were initially all routed to the partners. For the first few years the partners answered almost all the emails. We usually answered emails late at night, early morning and every weekend while doing all on the left. We rarely took time away and never took a full day off, even on weekends. We were famous for our detailed and rapid responses.
As we grew, it became harder responding to emails and managing all the startups and programming we were producing. We started falling behind. And that hurt the entire experience our members had. We luckily changed things.
We brought in a team to help us manage the editing, Apps, subscriptions, customer requests, etc. It’s still a tiny team because we rely on automation. Together, we can get through everything that comes in.
Our support team receives all our emails, no matter whom it is addressed to, but if you see the email signed by myself (Kris) or one of the partner’s, it is really us who are answering. My support team does not pretend to be one of the partners.
Even so, we get a mountain of emails. Therefore, please respect the time and effort it will take to get back to you. In almost all cases it will not be immediate and in the answers, you want will almost certainly be on this site.
HERE ARE SOME ANSWERS TO THE MOST ASKED QUESTIONS WE GET ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES:
I have a question about subscriptions, accessing the Apps, changing my login details, downloading, buffering the videos…?
Everything related to management of your account, across all our websites and Apps, is handled by our support team, and they can be reached at support@FIRMSconsulting.com. Please make sure to give the support team all the information they need to help you:
(1) email address of your account
(2) username
(3) name of the site/App you are trying to access (we have more than one)
(4) phone/tablet/PC/laptop/browser you are using
(5) the exact URL/video you cannot open etc. (very important)
If you write in that you cannot access a video, but do not provide us with all the information above, we will need to write back to collect this information. This will cause further delays that will prevent us from helping you quickly.
How do I become a leader given my profile?
That’s a great question and it’s what our websites/platforms/programs are designed to teach you. It’s also the most common question we receive. Use our guide to help you understand where to start. Use our free iTunes and YouTube channels. They have a lot of information with >450 free episodes. If you feel you are ready, you may subscribe.
How do I know if I can even learn strategy, become a leader and grow a business like the partners on FIRMSconsulting?
This is a common question and a common fear of many members. We are passionate about teaching. That is why we built FIRMSconsulting. Everyone can learn to think creatively, critically, insightfully, and intuitively. Think of mastering strategy and leadership as a series of smaller skills you need to master like defining the problem statement, breaking down the problem, etc. Focus on learning one at a time. Also start thinking of an investment less as a financial decision and more about the operating issues required to unlock value. The good news is we lay this all out for you.
But don’t stop with learning. You have to be implementing what we teach. That is the difference between an analyst and a leader.
Follow the free iTunes podcast channel Strategy Skills and our YouTube channel to follow a strategy study and get a sense of how we teach. It’s also a fun way to be introduced to strategy and managing a career-defining assignment.
We also released Succeeding as a Management Consultant, 2nd Edition. If you are worried about mastering the core problem-solving skills, read this book. It lays out the process step-by-step. The Strategy Journal is an outstanding book explaining step-by-step how to solve complex problems; this is a book you should carry along with you. Competitive Strategy is a great program to understand how CEOs think and arrive at answers, without days and weeks of analyses. So is How to Develop Deep Insights.
If you are an analyst, consultant, or a leader assigned to oversee a detailed study within a corporate structure, follow the online video course A McKinsey, BCG et al., Strategy Engagement aka The Tech M&A Strategy Program, which takes you deeper. You will follow an engagement to learn how consultants would approach structuring a study to arrive at an answer. This is probably the best program on our website to learn the fundamentals. There is nothing like it, even at elite consulting firms.
I have great leadership potential. Can you coach me?
The only coaching, we offer is one where we record the entire experience for our members. You are most welcome to apply.
After releasing The Leadership Program and The Start-up: Launching a Digital Brand we received a lot of requests to launch businesses. We launch businesses only when invited to participate by our most loyal members. We don’t solicit clients, nor do we go out and actively search for businesses to build, and we don’t pitch for the opportunity to invest in a business. It is rare for us to partner with someone who has not been a member for an extended period.
I want to ask questions. Can I email you or post a comment on the websites?
Thank you so much for asking. So that we can help the largest number of people, we don’t offer individual information calls, don’t provide detailed answers via email, and have disabled comments. Before pointing out how we can answer your questions, let us explain why we have this policy.
Responding to emails and comments takes up much time and prevents us from offering useful advice.
We need to read the question.
We must think about what the client is asking if the question is vague.
If the question is not vague, we need to determine if the client is asking the right question to solve their perceived problem.
We usually need to review the video/podcast/article/post to see why the client asked the question.
We must link to other podcasts/videos/articles on our sites that can help answer the question.
We try to type up a response that can be understood by everyone, especially someone missing the context of the question.
Even a simple yes or no question requires significant thought.
Questions arrive at odd times, and we cannot always get to them.
Typing takes longer than speaking so it is harder to write responses.
There is repetition since questions are not in one place and members repeat questions.
Emails have their unique problems since they arrive in an inbox and if that partner is away, no one is going to see that email for a long time.
Many members also send numerous attachments and updates, all of which take time to review.
Members attach complicated ‘rules’ for what can and cannot be disclosed from the attachments.
It takes too much time ensure we are following the ‘rules.’
Members use the comments section as a Q&A feature.
To avoid further confusion, we removed the ability to submit questions as comments.
This was the best way to avoid the impression we were ignoring a question.
The new process fixes the problems above and focuses on the things most of you want.
The best way to get a response is to join our coaching program.
Can I use your emails, articles, podcasts, videos, frameworks, and book excerpts on my website or distribute them internally?
No, you may not copy, reprint, republish, adapt, assimilate and/or recreate any of our content without our explicit written permission. Except where otherwise specified, all content is the copyright of FIRMSconsulting LLC and its assigns.
Using content without permission is not a nice way to become successful and you would not like it if someone did the same thing to you. We work very hard to produce the content and are rigorous about enforcing our copyrights.
You can do better and I am sure you will find the right way to do it.
If you are a member, our terms offer you a non-transferrable license to use the material for your personal use only, provided you are (A) not a competitor and (B) you credit FIRMSconsulting LLC in every instance where our frameworks, insights, ideas, etc., are used.
Can I translate your work into a different language?
We receive many offers to translate our content. Translating requires much more than simply converting words and phrases. We want to ensure the entire customer experience works. That is why this is something we will consider on a case-by-case basis.
Can I get a discount or free access?
We do not offer discounts, for individuals or group, because the effort to support members does not decrease with more members. It increases.
We do, however, feel your pain and respect it. We have many members in emerging markets. We have always distinguished between an expense and an investment. FIRMSconsulting is an investment for members who want to have a big impact in the world.
We want to proudly attach our name to everything we put out. We want to make a difference. All of that requires investment to produce and maintain dedicated Apps, websites and books, not to mention producing so much content. We offer a library of +480 free podcasts alone.
If we lower prices it will lead to little funding to reinvest in the content we want and need to produce and the experience we want you to have, and hope you keep having.
We believe the ROI speaks for itself. It’s a cost-benefit analysis versus cost analysis. We know the impact we have in the lives of our members and the benefits are enormous. Many of our members have been with us since we started, over 10 years ago.