Creative Problem-

Solving for Case

Interviews

2011-12

J-P Martins, Consulting Careers Team

19 October 2011

First year MBA consulting skills programme

1

Great consulting CVs

Intro to consulting careers – undecided

Creative problem solving for case interviews

Advanced problem solving for case interviews

Mastering consulting interviews

Summer Consulting Team 2012

On Campus Recruiting

6 September

…for the undecided

13 September

…for the committed

31 October

1:1s commence

12-15 September

Presentations by stream

3-7 October

Detailed reviews

17-21 October

Recalls

14 October

½ day intro

19 October

Tools & techniques

5, 26 November

Crack a Case Super Saturdays

14 Jan 2012

Crack a Case Super Saturday

14 November

Presentation

16 Nov on

Workshops

31 January

Deadline to submit case

18 November

½ day workshop*

* Incorporating Winning consulting cover letters and Personal brand

3 January

Commences…

21 February

Launch

Today vs. 14 November

Today

Basic tools and tips, frameworks

Enough of a grounding to be able to get started on most cases you will encounter

Preparation

14 November

Building creativity

Differentiating yourself

Equations

Props

Psychology, perspectives

The case journey

What is the answer/what could it be?

Either/or…If/then…

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I asked Twitter and LinkedIn what tips I should cover for case interviews today…

“Learn to structure your thinking from the very beginning so you don't get lost in the case and have a clear narrow scope from the beginning”

- BCG Associate and MiM alumnus

“Never let the big picture out of your sight. Dissect the problem in a structured way but keep the pieces integrated”

- Consulting Careers Blogger

“Here is another one: I recommend candidates not to memorize frameworks. Instead of cookie - cutter approaches, customized/flexible frameworks/structures will give them more room to maneuver”

- Consulting Careers Blogger

“Over invest in organization. Most mistakes I see in practice cases are due to a lousy structure”

- Bain Associate Consultant Tweeter

“Not only lousy structures but also inflexible structures prevent candidates from figuring out the right path to take”

- Consulting Careers Blogger

3

Agenda

Types of case – review data

Structure – frameworks

• P&L

• Driver tree

• Denominators

• Options

• 3 ‘C’s

• Value chain

• Priority/optimisation

Other frameworks

• 5 forces

• 7 ‘S’s

• 4 ‘P’s

Preparation – your next steps 4

Case variety

A broad spectrum of types of case are used by our recruiters – 4 main types have been identified

Similarly, a variety of sectors may be addressed

Traditional 35 minute cases predominate but other formats are growing

These data are heavily skewed towards just 6 recruiters

Europe and North America are the predominant geographies addressed in cases

5

Type of case:

6

Profit improvement, 19%

Market entry, new product/business, 17%

Company diagnostic, +/- strategy, 10%

Value chain or business

model, 10%

Response to industry-changing shock, 8%

Growth, 7%

Quantitative test, 7%

Cost reduction, 5%

Market attractiveness, 4%

Valuation, 3%

Network or portfolio optimisation, 2%

Acquisition strategy, 2%

Other, 8%

Sector:

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Telecomms/Media/ Technology, 16.1%

Healthcare, 15.1%

Manufacturing, 12.6%

Retail, 12.6%

Mining, energy

& utilities, 8.0%

Transport & logistics, 8.0%

Financial services, 6.0%

Hospitality, travel & tourism, 4.0%

Construction, 3.5%

Arts, entertainment & recreation, 3.0%

Public administration, 3.0%

Other, 8.0%

Format:

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‘Traditional' 1:1 case, 20-35 mins, 80%

‘Long' 1:1 case, 45+ minutes, 11%

Presentation' or role play, 3%

‘Test' - written or typed, 2% Other, 4%

Firm:

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BCG, 24%

McKinsey, 21%

Bain, 17%

Booz, 8%

Roland Berger, 7%

Parthenon, 6%

LEK, 5%

Monitor, 4%

AT Kearney, 2%

Accenture, 2%

ZS, 2%

Geography:

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Europe, 45%

North America, 20%

Global, 14%

Asia, 10%

Africa, 7%

Other, 6%

Agenda

Types of case – review data

Structure – frameworks

• P&L

• Driver tree

• Denominators

• Options

• 3 ‘C’s

• Value chain

• Priority/optimisation

Other frameworks

• 5 forces

• 7 ‘S’s

• 4 ‘P’s

Preparation – your next steps 11

How do you improve the profit of a restaurant?

12

P&L – easy isn’t it?

13

Profit

Revenue

Price

Quantity

Cost

Variable

Fixed

Driver tree adds value

14

Profit

Revenue

Price

Mix

Markup

Quantity

Items per seat

Seats/table

# tables

Table turnover

Hours open

Cost

Variable

Labour

Ingredients

etc Fixed

Dish of the day Upsell on taking order Redesign menus to showcase most profitable dishes eg 2nd cheapest ‘Bundle’ eg seafood platter for two

Ask about starters, desserts Take drink order first, come back for food later ‘Side dishes?’ Charge for bread

Breakfast, lunch, dinner Happy hour, early bird, post-theatre offers

Focus on food and drink?

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Profit

Contribution

Margin

Food

First course

Main

Dessert

Sundries

Drink

Alcohol

Soft

Water

Hot

Quantity

Fixed cost

Margin

% take up

X

Maximising number of customers?

16

Customers

Walk-ins

Passing traffic

% looking at menu

% going in

% finding a table

% ordering

% finishing meal & paying

Destination

Web bookings

Telephone bookings

Third party bookings

Denominators – dealing with different capacities/loads

Airlines • Revenue per RPK • Load factor • Cost per ASK

Abattoirs • Cost per Stock Equivalent Unit

Retail • Revenue per sqm • Cost per sqm

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What is the best denominator for a restaurant chain that spans business (lunch) and suburban (dinner) locations?

Improvement – different lenses

Waste • Raw materials (mass balance) • Energy (calculate, measure

waste streams) • Time (white space, rework) • Labour (job, activity analysis)

Time • Building a house • TBC

Segmenting • Tailor processes to groups

with particular needs

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Process map

Lay out the steps

Outline key info next to each

Prioritise opportunities

Redesign

Iterate

Tables are great! You can use them to lay out calculations…

Segment A Segment B Segment C Segment D Segment E

Size 500K 300K 50K 20K 2.5K

Frequency Monthly Weekly Weekly 2 x weekly 3+ x weekly

Spend per meal

£35 £20 £30 £30 £45

Margin 10% 15% 12% 5% 5%

Overall ? ? ? ? ?

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Really add value to a table – add row “Implications for Client”

…options, segments, etc

Option A Option B Option C Option D Option E

Expected Value

✔✔

✔✔✔✔

✔✔

✔✔✔

✔

Risk ✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔ ✔✔✔

Fit with strategy

✔✔ ✔ ✔✔✔✔ ✔

Fit with capabilities

✔✔ ✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔✔

Overall ✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔✔✔ ✔ ✔

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Betwen these two: Higher value vs better fit? Between these two: Higher value vs better fit?

Really add value to a table – add row “Implications for Client”

Revenues are being eroded by a growing takeaway market. Should we open our own takeaway next door?

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3 ‘C’s – a starting point only

Market Entry

1. Customer - market attractiveness • Size • Profitability • Growth

2. Corporation (costs) • Can we? (resources, technology, people…) • At what cost? • What would we need to do differently? • How? (eg business model, make vs buy…)

3. Competitors • Who? • How competitive? • What advantages/disadvantages? • So what share could we expect? • Where should we need to focus?

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By segment?

Our exec chef has a proposal – fund him to produce a range of starters for other restaurants – if it works we could grow into delivering whole meal solutions. What do you think?

23

Value chain

Sourcing Fabrication Assembly Warehousing Distribution Sales Service

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Where is money made?

Where do we have an advantage?

What alternative business models exist?

Outsource/insource/partner

Make vs buy

Think of the industry (ecosystem) – the whole profit pool

Prioritising things

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Big Small

Stagnant

Fast growing

Prioritising things

26

Hard Easy

Not

Valuable

Prioritising things

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Risky Dead certs

Incremental

Game changing Pursue selected options as part of balanced portfolio, seek partners to mitigate risk?

Insight comes from what the client does differently to each ‘box’

REJECT!

No brainers – raise capital if needed

Consider, execute if sufficient resources

Optimising

Eg • Breakeven • RoI • Margin • Commute

Equation

Graphical

Logic (forced pair) • A > C • C > B • => A best

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Optimising

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Cost

Rev

Max profit

Breakeven, or indifference point between two options

Commute – by bike

Agenda

Types of case – review data

Structure – frameworks

• P&L

• Driver tree

• Denominators

• Options

• 3 ‘C’s

• Value chain

• Priority/optimisation

Other frameworks

• 5 forces

• 7 ‘S’s

• 4 ‘P’s

Preparation – your next steps 30

Other frameworks are available…

…but beware

Nothing beats a bespoke understanding and prioritisation of the issues (next presentation)

However, here are some tools… • Porter’s 5 forces • McKinsey’s 7 ‘S’s – where you need to think through all aspects of an

organisation • The 4 ‘P’s of marketing • PEST (political, economic, socio-cultural, technological) • SWOT • 5 whys • Cause and effect diagrams • Decision trees • Cost/benefit

31

Agenda

Types of case – review data

Structure – frameworks

• P&L

• Driver tree

• Denominators

• Options

• 3 ‘C’s

• Value chain

• Priority/optimisation

Other frameworks

• 5 forces

• 7 ‘S’s

• 4 ‘P’s

Preparation – your next steps 32

First year MBA consulting skills programme

33

Great consulting CVs

Intro to consulting careers – undecided

Creative problem solving for case interviews

Advanced problem solving for case interviews

Mastering consulting interviews

Summer Consulting Team 2012

On Campus Recruiting

6 September

…for the undecided

13 September

…for the committed

31 October

1:1s commence

12-15 September

Presentations by stream

3-7 October

Detailed reviews

17-21 October

Recalls

14 October

½ day intro

19 October

Tools & techniques

5, 26 November

Crack a Case Super Saturdays

14 Jan 2012

Crack a Case Super Saturday

14 November

Presentation

16 Nov on

Workshops

31 January

Deadline to submit case

18 November

½ day workshop*

* Incorporating Winning consulting cover letters and Personal brand

3 January

Commences…

21 February

Launch

Practise is key – but only until you’re ready

Structuring

• 20+ cases?

• Fin Times…

• 10 minutes each

• Structure, plus alternatives

Cracking the whole thing

• On your own – 10 cases? Work through a book (eg LBS Case Book?)

• In informal groups – 10 cases? Case in Point?

• Through Club – 3-6 cases? Crack a Case

• Mocks – 3 x ‘Super Saturdays’ 34

There is no shortage of resources – you will run out of time first – Google is your friend! Bain Tips

http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/crack-the-case.asp

Bain Cases

http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/practice-videocase.asp

http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/practice-case1-quest1.asp

http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/practice-case2-quest1.asp

BCG Cases

http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/competitive_strategy.aspx

http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/distribution_strategy.aspx

http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/increasing_profits.aspx

http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/revenue_growth.aspx

Booz Tips

http://www.booz.com/global/home/join_us/apply/case_prep

McKinsey Tips

http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview.aspx

http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/Approaching%20the%20case%20interview.aspx

http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/techniques_and_tricks.aspx

McKinsey Cases

http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/practice_cases/Great%20Burger.aspx

http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/practice_cases/Magna%20Health.aspx

http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the_interview/case_interview/practice_cases/Magna%20Health.aspx

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