What are interviewers looking for when you answer brainstorming questions during cases?

Brainstorming questions are not about idea quantity. They are about how you think under ambiguity.

What interviewers are actually testing

• Can you impose structure when none is given
• Can you prioritize instead of listing
• Can you connect ideas to the case economics
• Can you be creative within constraints

What a great answer looks like

1. Set a clear structure first
   • eg. revenue vs cost, short term vs long term, customer vs operations
   • This shows control before creativity
2. Anchor ideas to value
   • Explain why each idea could move the P&L
   • Rough sizing beats clever wording
3. Go deep on a few ideas
   • 3–5 strong, distinct levers
   • Not 10 shallow ones
4. Show judgment
   • Call out which ideas you would test first and why
   • Mention feasibility, risk, or time to value

What weak answers do

• Jump straight into lists with no structure
• Give generic ideas that fit any case
• Never prioritise
• Treat it like a creativity contest

Bottom line
A great brainstorming answer shows you can:

• Create order from ambiguity
• Think commercially
• Make decisions, not just suggestions

AKA: no laundry lists 

Brainstorming questions look simple but they're actually testing a lot.

Here's what I look for when I ask these:

Structure, even in creativity. Don't just throw out random ideas. Group them. If I ask for ways to improve profitability, I want to hear "on the revenue side... on the cost side..." or "short-term quick wins... longer-term initiatives..." Show me you can think in buckets even when brainstorming.

Breadth and depth. Give me a range of ideas across different categories, but also go one level deeper on each. Don't just say "increase prices." Say "increase prices on premium products where customers are less price-sensitive." That shows you're thinking, not just listing.

Relevance to the case. Your ideas should connect to what we've discussed. If we just spent 20 minutes figuring out that the client's costs are high because of supply chain issues, your brainstorm should reflect that. Generic ideas that could apply to any company feel lazy.

Practicality. I'm not looking for crazy moonshot ideas. I want things the client could actually do. Bonus points if you acknowledge trade-offs or implementation challenges.

Prioritization. After listing a few ideas, tell me which ones you'd focus on and why. This shows business judgment. Anyone can list ten ideas. Knowing which two matter most is what consultants actually do.

What a great response looks like:

"I'd think about this in three buckets: revenue, costs, and operational efficiency. On revenue, we could look at pricing adjustments for the premium segment where we saw less price sensitivity, or cross-selling to existing customers since acquisition costs are high. On costs, given the supply chain issues we identified, renegotiating supplier contracts or consolidating vendors could help. On efficiency, automating the manual processes we discussed could reduce overhead. If I had to prioritize, I'd start with the supplier renegotiation since that's where we saw the biggest cost gap and it's relatively quick to act on."

That's structured, relevant, specific, and shows judgment.

Hi there,

Interviewers are not looking for a long list of random ideas. They are assessing how you think under ambiguity.

A great brainstorming answer shows three things:

1. First, a clear structure upfront. You group ideas into a few logical buckets instead of listing them one by one.
2. Second, business judgment. You prioritize the most impactful ideas and briefly explain why they matter.
3. Third, breadth with control. Enough ideas to show creativity, but not so many that it feels unfiltered.

If brainstorming feels hard, that is normal. It is a separate skill from frameworks and math. Crafting Cases has dedicated brainstorming courses and drills that are very good for this, because they teach you how to build idea trees, prioritize on the fly, and avoid sounding generic. Many candidates underestimate this part and lose points there.

So aim for structured, prioritized, and business-relevant thinking, not idea volume.