Brainstorming Questions

Great that you've already looked into what you should be focusing on. 

I wouldn't recommend a particular case book. Typically, the examples from most business school case books are not great.

You might find the following guide useful:

• • Expert Guide: Mastering Structuring & Brainstorming

You might also want to get expert support on how you are currently approaching brainstorming. That's likely to have the biggest impact.

Best,
Cristian

To effectively brainstorm during a case, you need to ensure 3 things:

• Structure your ideas – Group your thoughts into 2–4 clear categories to stay organized
• Develop sub-ideas – Break each category into specific, actionable points to show depth
• Work under time pressure – Practice generating structured ideas quickly, prioritizing clarity and impact over quantity

This approach keeps your thinking organized, practical, and confident, even when the question comes unexpectedly. 

Many people make the mistake of not structuring responses to brainstorming/creative questions. It is also important to realise that even follow-up questions asking for more detail can be a test of your brainstorming skills.

Good luck for the interview! 

That's a really common question, and it's smart to tailor your prep when you know a firm leans into a specific type of question. You're right that "brainstorming questions" can feel a bit different from a full-blown market entry or profitability case.

Here's the reality: there isn't a single case book that's the go-to for just brainstorming questions. That's because these aren't really about finding a specific framework; they're designed to test your structured creativity and how you think on your feet, especially when the problem is ambiguous. Firms, particularly non-MBB, often use these to quickly assess if you can logically decompose a problem, generate diverse ideas, and communicate them clearly, all under pressure. They're looking past just the quantity of ideas to the quality of your thought process.

My best advice: Rather than chasing a specific book, focus on developing a systematic approach to any open-ended problem. Practice by taking everyday scenarios – like "how would you improve the waiting time at a coffee shop?" or "how could a local gym increase its membership?" – and brainstorming solutions. Force yourself to categorize your ideas (e.g., into buckets like customer experience, operations, marketing, new offerings, technology) and explain why each idea is relevant or what benefit it would bring. This isn't about having the "right" answer, but about demonstrating a logical, comprehensive thought process that moves beyond just a simple list.

All the best with your interview!

Hey there :)

For brainstorming heavy interviews, the exact case book matters less than practicing structured ideation. Many people use Case in Point, Victor Cheng, or MBA case books, but the key is to practice generating ideas in clear buckets rather than listing random thoughts. A good approach is to take common prompts like growth, cost reduction, risks, or market entry and train yourself to quickly structure ideas into 3 to 4 logical categories before brainstorming within each. Practicing with partners helps a lot because you get used to speaking your ideas clearly and expanding them on the spot.

Hope this helps and feel free to reach out if you have more questions.

Best,
Alessa :)

Hi,

Thanks for your question.

While I am not aware of any specific books, consider creating structures and buckets for brainstorming questions,. They are testing for your creativity and approach to solving any problem.

For the creativity piece, reading business articles to broaden your knowledge around different industries is a good practice. If you don't know anything about a specific topic, then try to look for analogs/proxies and using those to brainstorm.

All the best for your interview.

Soh

Good brainstorming prep material is genuinely hard to find. Here is what actually works:

• Take any business problem and give yourself 60 seconds to generate as many ideas as possible, then organize them into logical groups
• Do this daily with different topics. The topic does not matter. The habit of generating and organizing quickly does

What impresses interviewers is not the number of ideas but how cleanly you group them. Practice generating ideas in MECE buckets as you go, not just listing things randomly.