Hi Anonymous,

the elements you mentioned are normally used intentionally by the partners as ways to challenge your ability to deal with pressure. That’s mainly due to the fact that an equivalent situation could occur with clients and they thus want to check if you are able to deal with it.

As for point 1, it would depend by the specific question but in general one-line answer is not optimal. To follow a more structured approach you can consider the following:

1. Recap the situation till that moment
2. Ask for one minute of time to structure your thoughts
3. Identify some key MECE areas. Potential division includes: Number of units - Price per unit (eg to identify the components to reduce costs); Current-New (eg to structure product, customers, distribution channels); Financial-Non financial (eg to compare ways to enter a market)
4. Brainstorm inside each of the areas. Your creativity in this area is directly correlated with the number of cases you have done

As for point 2, you should have clear that they do that intentionally to see your reaction. The best thing to do is to

1. Thank them for/acknowledge the new information
2. Readapt your previous framework with the new information if needed
3. Keep a structured approach as for the previous point

Hope this helps,

Francesco