Leland+ Content Library

Get Into Your Dream School: Writing Powerful MBA Essays Panel

Join top Leland MBA admissions coaches for a candid panel on what it really takes to write essays that break through at M7 and other top programs. They’ll share insider perspectives on choosing the right stories, showcasing impact, avoiding common pitfalls, and bringing your authentic voice forward. You’ll walk away with clear strategies and actionable tips to elevate your essays—so you can put your strongest application in front of the adcom.

8 Steps to an MBA App: 5) Why an MBA? Why now? Your contributions?

Applying to business school can feel overwhelming! You have dozens of moving pieces: essays, short answers, video content, resume, recommendations, outreach, research, and more. This workshop is the fifth of a structured 8-part MBA Identity Mapping series designed to take you from fragmented tasks to a clear plan of action. In this session, you will define exactly what you need from an MBA and articulate the value you will bring to an MBA community, making sure you can answer the questions of why an MBA and why now successfully. These sessions walk you step by step through building one fully aligned MBA application. In every workshop, you will be assigned tasks to complete over the next two weeks, keeping you organized and accountable. By the end, you will have strong, authentic essays and a cohesive narrative that runs consistently through your resume, goals, recommendations, school strategy, and interviews. You are absolutely welcome to watch individual videos if you only need focused help on a specific component(s) of your MBA application. This session moves your MBA application forward by clearly defining why you need an MBA now and what you will contribute to your future program: • Identify the specific skills, experiences, and perspectives you need from an MBA. • Clarify the academic, leadership, and experiential gaps your MBA must fill. • Articulate the perspectives, experiences, and strengths you will contribute to your MBA community. • Ensure your application shows both readiness for the MBA and a clear reason for pursuing it now. This is the phase where your goals and identity connect directly to the MBA itself. Instead of simply saying you want an MBA, you will clearly explain why this step is essential for your growth and how your presence will enrich the classroom and community. The MBA Identity Mapping process has guided 100+ applicants into every M7 program, all other top 20 U.S. programs, and leading international programs, including INSEAD, London Business School, IESE, Esade, Oxford, Cambridge, NUS, and more. Clients consistently describe it as transformative because it replaces scattered effort with forward momentum and strategic clarity. If you are ready to clarify exactly how an MBA fits into your journey and demonstrate both readiness and contribution, this is your next step. Message me to receive a copy of the Why an MBA Why Now Worksheet I mentioned in the video!

HBS Post-Interview Reflection Letter | 2027 Admit Example

Attached is an example of somebody I worked with who got in last cycle and I think did a great job with their HBS interview reflection letter. My core guidance: - Right after your interview, take a few minutes and write everything down. It's going to be helpful for later so that you don't have to rely exclusively on your memory. Then take an hour or two, decompress and get writing. - Short and sweet — grateful-professional is your tone - Directly reference your convo. Nothing generic whatsoever. If it sounds impersonal, delete it. - Don't brag or flex, but do mention a highlight/detail/nuance or two you would've gotten to with 5 more minutes of time. - About two-thirds of a page is right length-wise.  - Make sure if they don't offer, that you get your interviewer's names anyway. That's important. They probably will but just in case. You'll feel silly writing a letter to someone whose name you don't know.

Michigan (Ross) MBA Interview Question Bank

Question bank tailored to Michigan (Ross) MBA interviews

2026-2027 Columbia Essay Brainstorm

The complete brainstorming workbook for Columbia's 2026-2027 essays. Inside: step-by-step exercises for every prompt, from short answers to Essay 1 goals to Essay 2 collaboration stories to Essay 3 "co-create" arguments, with structured charts to help you organize your stories, research, and outlines before you start drafting.

Interviewing Strategies for AI Careers [5/22/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you will know exactly where AI tools accelerate sales performance and where they tend to create a false sense of productivity. Specifically, you will walk away with a clear framework for evaluating AI in your pipeline, an honest look at which sales tasks AI handles well versus where human judgment still wins, and practical guidance on integrating AI into outreach without losing the personal signals that actually close deals. Attending live means you can bring your specific workflow or stack and hear a direct response to your situation, not a generic answer recorded months ago. The coach works inside sales organizations daily and will share the patterns and failure modes they observe firsthand, giving you a slice of how a practitioner actually thinks through these decisions.

MBA Self-Discovery Workbook: Unlock Your Narrative & Write Freely

This is a reflection-focused, 13-section workbook for MBA applicants to uncover and build your story before embarking on the complex, layered process of writing your essays. This resource is informed from my time in Stanford GSB's Interpersonal Dynamics (Touchy Feely), my time helping dozens of other GSB classmates find their voice as the Managing Editor for Stanford GSB's Paper (Nondisclosure), and in helping over 500 MBA applicants self-reflect in a way that feels genuine, personal and clarifying. I wrote this resource with just enough structure (but not too much), and with a practical eye towards covering the ground you'll need for your MBA apps. You'll go deep, but every question has a purpose. I also use this with everyone I work with, and it's something we'll cover at the very beginning of our process. My hope is that this resource, in addition to being a big help, feels like we're in conversation. The goal is just to get to know you a little better, one step at a time, in a way that feels natural, even enjoyable. Even if you're the only one who ever sees it, I've tried to write this in a way that I'd speak about this kind of thing with you. Because I think humans are the best way to help other humans see themselves a little deeper. And trust me, plenty of "coaches" could use more of that too ;) This workbook will cover your background, motivations, short and long-term goals, values, behavioral stories, and more. A PDF is attached here, but there's also a downloadable Word file I recommend using to make things much easier for you to fill out as you go. This took me about 20-30 hours of time to put together, and I suggest putting at least 5-10 into filling this out. Some go at it all at once, but most do it in a few sittings. Long walks are good to interperse between writing sessions, and I actually recommend you reflect and go back to this to update your answers several times throughout your MBA process. Save new versions as you go and you'll be able to see your application pixellate over this monthslong process. If you're reapplying, I'd push you to compare what you end up with here with what you submitted last time. The differences may be revealing. I hope ends up a real tool for you, and that it helps you find answers you might not have found otherwise. It also will give you a glimpse into what coaching together feels like. Don't hesitate to reach out if you feel like sharing this. Working on your writing and applications together is a natural byproduct of the kind of reflection you'll be doing here, and it's my favorite thing to help someone with. Happy writing :) -Ben

Design Beautiful Presentations with Claude [5/19/2026] (Recording)

Build Anything Series · Event 02 · Free · Live Most people use Claude as a writing assistant and stop there. Then they open PowerPoint, fight with templates for two hours, and ship something that looks like every other deck. There's a better way. In this hour, we'll build presentations end-to-end with Claude — from a one-line brief to polished, on-brand slides. No templates, no stock-photo aesthetic, no drag-the-text-box-three-pixels-left. What we'll build live: - Generate a deck from a one-line brief — outline, structure, narrative arc, all in one prompt loop - Iterate without leaving Claude — slide-by-slide refinement using structured prompts (not "make it better") - Export polished, on-brand presentations — color systems, type, layout, rendered cleanly Who it's for: - Coaches, consultants, founders, PMs who present often and hate the deck-building tax - People who've prompted Claude for design work and gotten generic results - Anyone who wants their slides to feel like theirs, not a SaaS template Not a fit if: - You're already a senior visual designer with a tight workflow - You want to learn pure Figma/Keynote craft — this is about directing AI to do most of the work We'll talk about where Claude excels (structure, narrative, copy, layout systems) and where it still needs you (taste, judgment, the final 10% of polish). Bring a real project you'd like to work on — fastest way to learn.

Personal Statement Coaching Session (Stanford Law Student) [5/22/2026] (Recording)

Are you gearing up for law school applications and looking for guidance on crafting a standout personal statement? Join me, Matthew, a current Stanford Law student, for an insightful coaching session focused on application strategy and essay writing. With a background in Cognitive Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis and diverse experiences ranging from legal internships to public speaking at the United Nations and TEDx, I bring a unique perspective to the table. My journey has equipped me with the insight to help students — especially those with diverse or unconventional backgrounds — craft their stories compellingly and cohesively. Don't miss this opportunity to refine your personal statement and strengthen your application. Space is limited, so RSVP now to secure your spot!

Targeting M7 Schools? What It Really Takes [5/20/2026] (Recording)

1YR FREE LELAND+ GIVEAWAY FOR LIVE ATTENDEES ($119 VALUE). After this session, you'll know how to assess whether your profile is genuinely competitive for M7 schools and where the real gaps tend to appear. We'll cover how admissions committees at these programs actually differentiate candidates at the margin, what a strong post-MBA narrative looks like for the most common applicant profiles, and how to decide where to apply given your specific background and goals. Attending live means you can hear how experienced coaches thinks through cases like yours in real time, context a recording simply cannot replicate. These coaches work with M7 applicants daily and will share the patterns that separate candidates who get in from those who fall short at the final round.

Help I'm in the Wrong Job: The Unwritten Rules of Making a Career Pivot

At some point in their careers, most people find themselves wondering where the career path they chose in their 20s is what they want to do for the next few decades. Career pivots are common - especially in a world where technology keeps shifting the job market. But how do you make a career pivot? In this session, we'll explore ways to start moving your career in a new direction -- long before you quit your job. We will have time for prepared topics as well as Q&A - so bring your questions. About Jeff Sigel: Jeff Sigel is an executive and career coach with 20+ years of marketing experience. He has held leadership roles in top Food manufacturing, retail, and restaurant companies - including as VP of Marketing and VP of Corporate Strategy & Business Intelligence. He has made a career pivot of his own into coaching and training emerging leaders.

The Mental Habits of High Performers [5/19/2026] (Recording)

Your thoughts, interpretations, and mental patterns have a direct impact on how you perform at work. Many high-performing professionals experience patterns like overthinking, perfectionism, fear of failure, self-doubt, or harsh self-criticism, often without realizing how much these patterns influence decision-making, confidence, communication, and performance. In this session, we’ll explore how the mind works, how thoughts shape performance, and practical tools to build more intentional and supportive mental habits in high-pressure professional environments. We’ll cover: • How thoughts influence emotions, behaviors, and performance outcomes • Common mental patterns experienced by high performers • Why the mind is wired to detect risk, pressure, and potential failure • A practical framework for questioning and reframing unhelpful thoughts • How awareness creates more intentional responses under pressure • Practical mindset shifts and habits that support stronger mental performance over time You’ll leave with practical tools to better manage your internal dialogue, improve resilience and decision-making, and approach your work with greater clarity, confidence, and intentionality. This session is designed for professionals who want to strengthen their mindset, improve performance, and build a healthier relationship with pressure, growth, and high expectations.

Build Your Personal Brand & Thought Leadership System with Claude + Notion [5/20/2026] (Recording)

Personal branding is your ticket to excelling in the AI age. Most professionals know they should be creating content yet almost none of us do it consistently. Not because we lack ideas, but because we have no system to enable consistency. In this session, we'll build one. Using the network analysis from last week, we'll use Claude to generate a content calendar built around your actual expertise, then turn each idea into multiple formats: a LinkedIn post, a story hook, a networking pitch, and more. Everything lives in a pre-built Notion template you duplicate at the start of the session, so you spend the full session generating content, not building infrastructure. Outcome for attendees: A content calendar tailored to their specific network audience and a reusable Claude + Notion workflow they can run every month independently Session pre-requisites: Claude account & Notion account — free is fine 🙂

How to Write an MBA Goals Essay

A complete framework for writing the goals essay that nearly every MBA program requires. Learn the winning formula, then use fillable tables to map your goals, select supporting past experiences, and connect to opportunities at up to four target schools. At the end, you'll have everything you need to draft a focused goals essay.

The Resume Formula That Gets MBB Interviews

Learn how top candidates structure bullets, quantify impact, and position experience to pass the brutal MBB resume screen. This document is part 5 of a broader 9-part consulting interview resource kit. Please visit my page for the other templates and guides.

Product Requirements Document Template

Stop reinventing the wheel every time you kick off a new product. This battle-tested PRD template walks you through everything from TL;DR overviews and user flows to system requirements, metrics, and launch planning, so your team stays aligned and nothing falls through the cracks. Whether you're a first-time PM or a seasoned lead, this is the structure that keeps stakeholders happy and engineers unblocked.

Successful Booth Application Essays (with career goals)

Successful Booth application essays for consultants, non-traditional / non-trad applicants, social enterprise, healthcare, dual degree, joint degree, policy, startup, entrepreneurship

How to Break into MBB Consulting [5/27/2026] (Recording)

Many candidates aim for MBB but fall short because they don’t fully understand how to navigate the process from the inside out. This session is for those looking to break into McKinsey, BCG, or Bain with a more informed and intentional approach. You’ll learn how to differentiate your background, build meaningful connections during recruiting, and approach interviews in a way that reflects how top firms assess potential. Join live to hear from a panel of experts with MBB backgrounds and ask your questions about breaking into consulting. The panelists have firsthand experience both interviewing and coaching candidates and will share the patterns they see across those who successfully land offers. Expect candid insights and practical advice similar to what’s discussed in 1:1 coaching conversations.

Beyond the Deal: How Private Equity Actually Creates Value [5/27/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you will understand how PE firms actually measure and drive value creation after an acquisition, not just how they talk about it in interviews. We will cover the operational levers that matter most in a typical hold period, how value creation plans get built and stress-tested, and what separates firms that consistently hit their return targets from those that struggle. Attending live means you can bring your specific questions, whether you are trying to understand a firm's portfolio strategy or preparing to discuss value creation in an interview, and get a direct answer grounded in how these situations actually play out. The coach works inside this world regularly, and this session is a chance to hear how a practitioner frames problems that most candidates only encounter in case studies.

The BCG Offer Blueprint

The unfiltered insider playbook on how BCG actually evaluates candidates — from interviews to promotions to what separates offers from rejections. Written by a former BCG Partner. This document is part 1 of a 9 part Consulting Interview Resource kit.