Hi,
There are typically 3 stages of brainstorming potential solutions to a problem during McK interviewer led cases:
1) Prepare a long list of potential solutions to a problem
You need to create a MECE list of relevant ideas, which can solve the problem. Ways to approach:
2) Prepare a shortlist of solutions
You need to select solutions that would be financially adequate, could be achieved in the foreseeable future and do not face any constraints of the client situation.
3) Prioritize solutions
Apply 80/20 rule to select 20% of initiatives that would generate 80% of the upside effect.
Best,
Anton
Hi there,
I would recommend the following steps when you have to brainstorm during a case:
I provided an example below.
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Interviewer. So, generally speaking, how would you decrease the cost of raw materials?
► STEP 1: ASK FOR ONE MINUTE OF TIME
Interviewee. That’s an interesting question. Do you mind if I take 1 minute to think about it?
Interviewer. Please take your time.
► STEP 2: IDENTIFY MECE BUCKETS
Interviewee. Thanks; I believe there are two key areas to decrease the cost of raw material; we may decrease the cost of each unit, or we may decrease the number of units we buy. I would like now to go a bit deeper into these two components.
(Note that even if you are brainstorming, you are first presenting a list of the MECE areas. This is fundamental to brainstorm correctly)
► STEP 3: BRAINSTORM OPTIONS IN EACH AREA
Interviewee. Well, in order to decrease the cost per unit we may do a couple of things, keeping in mind we want to maintain revenues at the same level:
In order to decrease the number of units, we may do the following:
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Best,
Francesco
(editiert)
Hi there, can you give a specific example?
It´d be more insightful for you and all the community.
Cheers!
Think of them like a mini-framekwork: All the same rules apply!
So, be structured, be MECE, remember the objective, have a hypothesis, etc. etc.
Depending on the question/your style, consider either 1) Asking for 10 seconds to jot down your thoughts 2) Buying time for your thoughts by saying "Ok, that's interesting. So, if we're thinking about A, then what we'd need to do is" 3) Writing as you speak 4) Thinking outloud
Hello,
The challenge here is to define a structured approach for the question, to make sure you are MECE.
My advice here not to get lost is to draw the value chain of the industry (or the process flow; it depends on what you need to answer), breaking a big question in smaller pieces. Then, you can do your brainstorming for each piece, using SCAMPER or any other approach you are more used to.
Cheers,
Raphael
There's 2 essential approaches
Let's take an example - you are brainstorming ways to help Airbnb make revenue during the coronavirus
Hope this helps!
Udayan
Hi,
The question that you tried to answer was a typical creativity question. Interviewers can ask you the following questions:
Let's generate 10 ideas how to…
Let's brainstorm…
How will you get this data if you are at the real project…
How will you check the following assumption…
Do you have some ideas how to… Any other ideas?... Tell me more...
etc...
I recommend the following approach to creativity questions:
1) Ask an interview for a minute: "Can I take a minute to structure my thoughts?"
2) Think of several buckets of ideas. Remember to think as big as possible
3) Narrow down to each bucket and generate as many ideas as possible. If the idea is too high-level, you can come up with examples
4) Present the structure (buckets) and then your ideas
5) Generate more ideas within the buckets if required by the interviewer
You may be wondering how to develop creativity?
Although most of the companies would say that you don't need any specific business knowledge, in reality, it is hard to solve a case purely based on common sense. The lack of business knowledge becomes a very common problem, especially among people with non-business backgrounds
Business Acumen is all about building proper industry and functional knowledge. Here is how you can do that:
Practice more cases with the other candidates. Try to start with the most common industries - Retail, Consumer Goods, Airlines, Banking
Study the annual reports of the public companies in each industry. They have a good overview of the company and the industry.
Get the industry information from relevant books, magazines, etc.
Study MBA cases. They have a good industry overview. You can purchase HBS cases here: https://hbr.org/store/case-studies
For each industry, you should understand:
Revenue streams
Cost structure
Average margins
Key Performance Indicators
Industry trends
Best
Hello,
I wouldn't get mad trying to use "prepackaged" techniques. You should always try structure your problem as in a "mini business case". Take your time, write down some ideas and then try to prioritize them.
It could be useful to have some lists of "common answers", for example a list of fixed costs or additional revenues, that you can learn by heart so that you have only to pick up the ones fitting with your case.
Best,
Luca
Dear A,
I really appreciate Francesco structure and examplified answer.
Best,
André
Awesome framework! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks