I’ve done about 15 cases so far, and I’m hitting a wall with structuring. I find that relying on standard frameworks makes me struggle whenever I face an atypical or 'wildcard' case. I want to stop reciting templates and start building structures that are truly tailored to the specific business model and the prompt's nuances.
How do you train to become strong at structuring? Any specific exercises to develop that "business intuition" instead of just memorizing categories?
Hello,
You’re at the exact point where real improvement starts.
The biggest shift from “template user” to strong structurer is this:
Great structures start with great clarification.
If you don’t deeply understand:
… your brain defaults to generic frameworks.
Before structuring, always clarify:
If you skip this, your structure will be generic.
Rule: If your structure would stay the same for 5 different companies, it’s too generic.
Instead of thinking:
“Which framework fits?”
Think:
“What would have to be true for this objective to be achieved?”
Example:
Build from logic, not categories.
Take solved cases and:
This trains pattern recognition.
Read:
Business intuition is exposure + repetition.
You don’t need more frameworks.
You need better problem understanding before structuring.
That’s the unlock.
As a coach, I’m here to help you — we can train tailored structuring drills, sharpen your clarification discipline, and build the business intuition that separates average candidates from top performers.
Hi there,
It is a great question, and honestly, hitting this wall after 15 cases is a good sign. It means you are starting to outgrow templates.
Here is the key shift:
Case-specific structuring is not about creativity. It is about first principles.
Most candidates struggle because they try to replace generic frameworks with “more advanced frameworks.” That’s the wrong move.
Instead, train this muscle:
1. Start from the objective, not a framework
Before thinking of buckets, ask:
What exactly needs to be true for this objective to be achieved?
Examples:
Structure should be a logical breakdown of the goal — not a memorized template.
2. Practice “driver trees” instead of frameworks
Take any business metric (profit, revenue, utilization, market share) and break it down mathematically.
For example:
Revenue
→ Price × Volume
→ (Price per unit) × (Number of customers × Frequency × Basket size)
Do this repeatedly for different industries. This builds real intuition because you are understanding how businesses actually work.
3. Force industry translation exercises
Take a random company (Spotify, a hospital, an airline, a SaaS startup) and ask:
No case prompt needed. This builds business instinct.
4. Do “structure-only drills”
Instead of full cases:
Do 10 of these in a row.
This isolates the exact skill you want to improve.
5. Aim for logic + relevance, not originality
A strong structure is:
It does NOT need to be fancy.
Final mindset shift
Templates are training wheels.
First principles are the engine.
Once you consistently ask:
“What must drive this outcome in this specific business?”
You’ll stop reciting frameworks — and start thinking like a consultant.
If you’d like, happy to run a few structure-only drills together and push this skill specifically.
