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Freaking out about frameworks

Hi all, 

I guess I'm a little lost and kind of anxious about building frameworks. I have been practicing for a few weeks and I had researched this for enough time to become familiar with the mistake of memorizing frameworks. Because of this, I have relied on my common sense to build frameworks for every case. 

Now I'm starting to doubt my approach. Especially when others do have the knowledge of other frameworks and their uses and it feels like I'm completely out of the loop in discussions like that. I'm tempted to go and look at a set of frameworks now. 

What do I do? Remain "creative" and risk missing out on some very basic discussions if they arrise or go learn frameworks which could perhaps make me a bit more robotic which I can't even bare the thought of. 

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Top answer
Deleted user
on Dec 05, 2020

Hey, nah dont get disheartened. Very common what you are experiencing:

1. Use the frameworks to give you a head start but dont get bogged down by them. Use them as required. Structured thinking + common sense + asking right questions/assumptions gets you to the solution. If you read the case properly & intently half the answer is generally always in the case

2. stating the obvious- practic practice practice more

3. perhaps time to engage a good coach to help you break the loop you might be stuck in

4. work on cases that belong to your passion/interest areas e.g product launch, m&a- you know what these area. Now see whether solving such cases comes to your more naturally

5. take regular breaks, celebrate small success. Reward yourself to unlock your energies otherwise you get stuck in a thinking-feeling loop 

Please feel free to send me direct message if you want to discuss further. 

20
Anonymous A
on Dec 05, 2020
What a good way to put it. A thinking-feeling loop. Thanks for the advice!
Gaurav
Coach
on Dec 05, 2020
#1 MBB Coach(Placed 750+ in MBBs & 1250+ in Tier2)| The Only 360° coach(Ex-McKinsey+Certified Coach+Active recruiter)

Hello, there!

Practicing for a few weeks doesn't really speak of anything, as it's just the beginning.
And the fact that you notice why you are stuck is already something you should be proud of!

Neither of the variants you have mentioned would make you a good "case cracker", as some cases require another approach, so try to be flexible.

Here is what you could do to improve your case-solving:

  • read Cosentino's Case in Point to get some basics
  • use PrepLounge's Case Library to practice more and more cases, choosing Beginner level
  • find a coach that would guide you through the whole case-solving process

If you need any further help, feel free to contact me.

GB

Ian
Coach
on Dec 05, 2020
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

First, what you're experiencing is completely normal. Don't be disheartened!

You are still in the "expansion" phase of learning. There's so much information flying around and your brain is trying to make sense of it all. Take breaks, reflect, keep practicing, and you'll get there!

Shoot me a message as well...I specialize in these mindset shifts. I'm more than happy to have a free 5-10 minute call to help you "reset" here!

Vlad
Coach
on Dec 05, 2020
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

It looks like you are just at the beginning of the case prep journey. You simply need more time / more cases to develop the right skills. Pls keep patient

Best

Clara
Coach
on Dec 06, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

Don´t worry, everyone gets to that point in the preparation in which they feel what you are feeling. Is super normal :)

Indeed, memorizing cases is not the right approach. You need to know the classical frameworks, just because yours are going to take all those elements but in a more creative and adapted-to-the-case way. 

Hence, it´s a process: 1st the classics, then you start flying solo. 

Have you considered working with a coach?

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Pedro
Coach
on Dec 05, 2020
Bain | EY-Parthenon | Former Principal | 1.5h session | 30% discount 1st session

What you must never forget is that we do not use pre-formated frameworks in our project work. We defined customize approaches to the specific problem. So you are following the right approach. 

Of course, because you are a begginer, it's useful to read pre-formated frameworks so you make sure you are not missing obvious things. But what you are looking for in there is not the framework, but the individual items of the framework instead - so you can take those (individually) and apply to a case when adequate (sometimes not even in the initial framework, but as you work through the problem). 

Deleted user
on Dec 05, 2020

Hi A!

My recommendation is to not be too focused on standard frameworks. They provide a good entry point for your first couple of cases, but eventually you will have to become comfortable with developing your own frameworks in an interview. And this is for few reasons:

  • No off-the-shelf framework fits 100%. There might be some exceptions to this, e.g. very generic market entry cases, but generally there will be some cracks when you apply them to an actual case and it can become messy if you're trying to brute force a 90% fitting framework to a case.
  • Many cases out there simply required a completely tailored approach, just because the situation is not one of the 10 most common case questions.

Bottom line - use frameworks from the books a videos out there to solve your first 5-10 cases, then practice to develop your own ones during the case.

4
on Dec 30, 2020
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi, frameworks only help to do not start from scratch every time the most classical problems. However what interviewers expect from you is a full customization based on the client's problem, industry, and your creative problem solving

Best,
Antonello

Deleted
Coach
on Dec 24, 2020
Experienced strategy consultant

Hi,

Standard framework can be used as a start, however, you MUST make sure that it is customized properly to enable answering the case questions.

So don't worry to use the standard framework just don't apply it blindly.

Best,
Iman

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