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Hi,
First of all, I totally agree with Francesco on the process. You should always come back to the cases you've solved and reevaluate your structures.
Secondly, I believe it's very much related to industry / functional knowledge.
There are several sources of information to develop industry knowledge and learn to build MESE structures:
I strongly recommend practice drawing structures for each industry - profitability, value chain, etc
Then I will switch to getting functional knowledge (Marketing, supply chain, finance, etc) and drawing various functional structures.
Also here are my recommendations about particular industry structures:
Good luck!
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Hi Anonymous,
many people think being MECE means having the right content for the structure only. That’s actually just part of what you need: to be MECE you need (i) the right points in the structure and (ii) the right communication. That’s because if you have a perfect MECE structure, but you communicate that poorly, the interviewer will not perceive you as MECE. More specifically you would need the following:
For the STRUCTURE you can work on two areas to improve your points:
#1: Optimize the framework
In order to optimize your framework, you should personalize it proceeding as follows:
#2: Brainstorm in a structured way whenever you are unable to find a proper framework
This is something you want to do in case you are unable to find the right structure for a particular question. In order to brainstorm in a structure way, you can do the following:
For the COMMUNICATION you can follow two steps as well:
#1: Mention the macro areas of your framework.
An example would be: “In order to help our client, I would like to focus on three main areas. Number 1 I would like to focus on [FIRST TOPIC], Number 2 on [SECOND TOPIC], Number 3 on [THIRD TOPIC]. If this is fine for you, let me go deeper in each of them”
#2: Provide details for each macro point.
An example would be: “In area Number 1, this is what I would analyse. First, I would like to cover [FIRST STEP OF FIRST TOPIC]; second, I would like to focus on [SECOND STEP OF FIRST TOPIC]; next, I would like to work on [THIRD STEP OF FIRST TOPIC]. In area Number 2, this is what I would analyse. First,(…)”
This should ensure you are MECE on both the actual content of the structure and its communication.
Best,
Francesco
I think Vlad and Francesco have done a great job of thoroughly covering this subject. But to build on Vlad’s point about Industry / Functional knowledge, almost all consulting firms are organized around both Industry verticals and Functional horizontals. For example, at McKinsey, a partner will be affiliated with a primary Industry vertical like “Financial Services” and a primary Functional horizontal (McKinsey calls them Business Functions) like “Marketing & Sales”.
These Industries / Horizontals are listed out on most firm’s websites. As a starter, prioritize 5-7 of the most prominent Industries (e.g., choose High Tech vs. Metals & Mining) and figure out what structures apply by 1) learning the basics about the industry and 2) practicing cases in that industry. Do the same for the Functional areas and you will have a strong basis for developing MECE structures.