Hi Ben,

This topic is so key, it has been discussed multiple times on this forum. So you will definetly find excellent answers from experts in previous Q&As.

To answer your question here, applying a standard framework is not a best practice. A unique client issue requires a unique solution, and the framework are the opposite since their purpose is to standardise the thinking. Learning them from the books is a good starting point, since its exhaustive and give a first idea of the different sub topics to cover in a given situation, but in the real case interview, you will always have to taylor your approach to only focus on the relevant topics given the current context of your case.

So in a nutshell, your common sens is your best ally :

1. Identifying all the topics : put yourself in your client shoes and think about what issue should be discussed for your to make a reasonable decision

2. Focusing on key topics only : for each topic you want to cover, ask yourself weither it will bring a usefull element for the final recomandation if your spend time on it. If not, drop it

3. Clusturing related topics in macro categories : this will facilitate your communication instead of listing randomly several ideas (which could be good by the way)

I hope this will help and can provide tailored exercise if needed by mp.

Best
Benjamin

(editiert)

I think you will find the coaches here will roughly fall in two different camps:

- First, the hardworking ones who like Ben suggest you learn a ton a various frameworks and hope you have the right now available in your backpocket / back of your head

- Second, the lazier ones like myself (I'd call ourselves 'pragmatic'), who suggest starting from a couple of tried-and-true frameworks that work in 95-99% of the cases: broadly, the business framework and the profitability framework

Where we meet again is that everyone will agree you still need to update to fit the actual case. In other words, everyone agrees you can't learn every single framework, and you will still need to adjust and think.

Look, here's what I strongly suggest: Learn the business and profitability frameworks really well, so you always have available in a bind. Everyone agrees you need to learn these ones. Then, go back and practice cases with coaches and fellow candidates as you normally would. If you feels like it, keep learning about additional frameworks on the side. No matter whether you are on the more pragmatic camp or not, you will still have to adjust the framework in nearly every instance. This is where being MECE and following the 80/20 rule will serve you well.

At the end of the day, you will need to practice a lot regardless - there are no shortcuts.

Hope this helps, good luck in your prep

Hi Ben,

This is a common issue, I should say. My colleagues have already shared their opinions but I would like to get a word in.

I have to agree that learning a dozen frameworks might difficult and even impossible in a short time because you need the quality, not the quantity, first of all.

I would recommend, as Guennael said, to start with the one that fits most of the cases and then gradually increase the number of frameworks you could use for a specific situation. You also have to learn to adjust the most suitable framework for a particular case.

Hop this helps.

André