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Anonymous A

on Nov 14, 2020

Global

Bain answer first

Hi all,

I know bain appreciates the answer first style of presenting your structure. In a case of market entry i know how to use it: I.e. yes we should enter for xyz reasons.

how would you use for a profitability case?

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Top answer

Clara

Coach

on Nov 15, 2020

McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

I have never agreed with that approach, same as with all the interviewer-interviewee led cases. They get people distracted and eyes off the real ball.

Each case is a business problem, hence don´t try to apply recipies, not even for the communicaiton. Some cases indeed call for a hypothesis, in others it would be a huge mistake.

Hence, play it by ear, is the best way to tailor and shine.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Deleted user

on Nov 14, 2020

Answer First at Bain consists of two different concepts, both are useful to use in a case environment:

Answer First to plan your work: This means you should be hypothesis-driven to structure your work. Start the case with a clear hypothesis for the answer and use your framework to plan an analysis that tests for the hypothesis to either confirm or refine it.
Answer First to communicate: Use a top down structure for your communication, especially for your summary. State the result of your case clearly and then provide 2-3 supporting arguments and then lastly next steps.

I hope this helps!

2 comments

Anonymous A

on Nov 14, 2020

Thanks that helps. Would be also great to know how one might approach a profitability case with this style? I.e clients profits are down, they’d like to know why + how to increase. Would you start by saying “yes, client can increase profits for xyz reasons” or something else?

Deleted user

Coach

on Nov 15, 2020

You can go with the hypothesis that you can increase profit but increasing revenue and decreasing costs. Then you look into both and refine the hypothesis with your findings.

Ian

Coach

on Nov 15, 2020

Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

Moreso, you need to be articulating your approach and signposting.

So, for market entry, it's along the lines of "In determining whether we should enter the market, we need to first determine whether the market is big/attractive, then we need to determine if it's attractive for us (will we win in it), and if both hold true, we need to figure out how to enter".

It's not "Yes, we should enter" because you have no information yet!