Welcome to the next podcast on the Corporate Strategy & Transformation study. Many of you following this study, and Firmsconsulting’s numerous other initiatives, routinely write to us about how you are impressed about our stamina and ask us to provide some guidance on how to be productive and fight fatigue.

Besides having a very capable team of fellow partners, I do have 5 tips that I want to share that helps me fight fatigue. These are the things I do to remain focused on what matters so I can get important work done and avoid distractions. It is not that I am never distracted. However, these 5 tips help me keep my life on track. In other words, this is how I remain very productive.

Consistent and severe fatigue is an occupational hazard for every management consultant. The nature of the work requires consistent peak performance, constantly managing multiple priorities, dealing with high stakes, working and “competing” with highly driven and capable collegues and consistent mental pressure not to make mistakes. In fact, it is not uncommon for consultants to leave because “no one can work like that their entire life.”

It took me years of trial and error to find effective ways to fight fatigue. And it really comes down to brutal prioritizing, keeping priorities in front of me at all times so I don’t get distracted, building a highly capable team and focusing on work that is exciting enough to inspire me to keep on going.

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Hi Michael. Really nice podcast. The first three strategies really focus on time management. I just want to understand did automating also mean automating certain behaviors? For Example, routinizing few things such as frequency of checking mails, reading style, etc. When it comes to inspiring, could you please tell me how a person in the corporate function role such as B2B marketing / sales can inspire himself to deliver much more than expected?