McKinsey Solve - Ecosystem

Question

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your help in advance. I recently did the McKinsey Solve test and would love to help understand where I went wrong.

Q1: For the Ecosystem game, should I have picked the location first? Some videos I watched chose the location first and others selected it once they had the ecosystem running in sync.

Q2: For the Sea Wolf, despite my practice, there were no perfect sets of Microbiomes in all three rounds. Would it be realistic that all three sets only had two averages or did I do something wrong in the selection process?

Thank you for your help!

Answer 1

Hi there,

Q1: For the Ecosystem game, should I have picked the location first? Some videos I watched chose the location first and others selected it once they had the ecosystem running in sync.

I wouldn't recommend picking the location first, as for some locations it is impossible to find a chain that works. Thus, you might pick a location, try to set up a chain with the species that can live there, find it doesn’t work and have to redo it.

Starting from the chain makes more sense as there are some signs early on that can indicate if a chain could work or not, thus you could save time.

Q2: For the Sea Wolf, despite my practice, there were no perfect sets of Microbiomes in all three rounds. Would it be realistic that all three sets only had two averages or did I do something wrong in the selection process?

It is possible that there is no perfect set for a site, so that is not necessarily an issue.

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi there,

1. The most effective strategy is to start with the species first (the location selection can be done very quickly once the species are sustainable). The other way round is more complex!

2. This is quite normal - here, it's evaluated how you deal with trade-offs and imperfect situations/outcomes.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 3

Hey there,

Q1: Picking the location first can help set a clear strategy, but it's totally fine to adjust once you see how the system reacts — both approaches can work.

Q2: Yes, sometimes you really won’t find perfect sets in all rounds. It’s realistic and doesn’t necessarily mean you did something wrong.

Feel free to reach out if you'd like more insights or are interested in coaching!

Best regards,
Alessa

Answer 4

Hi.

For you Q1, I wanted to just point out - while there is not right or wrong answer. It's also good to practice working quickly - Maybe you need to adjust your method of working?

Are you inputting into an excel or are you working with pen and paper? Maybe try both and see which works best for you
Are you keeping a clean page for input information - so that you're not scrambling for where you wrote that one thing
Are you practising mindfulness? Maybe you need to practice breathing exercises so that you don't get flustered.

All of these will incrementally help you,

Good luck!