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Case Interview Fundamentals: Lesson 16 [The Fundamentals of Frameworks] — Transcript

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0:00Hey there, Bruno here. This is the first
0:03video of a series of videos that will
0:05teach you how to use, adapt, and create
0:09your own frameworks. You might have
0:10noticed that one thing that
0:12differentiates what we do here at
0:13Crafting Cases compared to other case
0:16interview resources is that we don't
0:19want you to rely on memorized formulas
0:21that rarely work. Instead, we show you
0:24how to master the principles and
0:26fundamentals so that you can show your
0:28interviewer you can think for yourself
0:31in a systematic way to solve problems.
0:34You're going to find the same pattern
0:35here in the frameworks module. In this
0:38and the next few videos, I'm going to
0:40show you the logic behind frameworks so
0:42that you can think from first principles
0:45to easily create a customized structure
0:48to your cases. You're going to learn
0:50that instead of memorizing frameworks,
0:52it works best to have a philosophy to
0:56build your own frameworks that can be
0:58translated into a systematic process to
1:01structure any case. No need to restrict
1:04yourself to just using one or two
1:06frameworks as many people do, nor to
1:09memorize a dozen different frameworks as
1:11many other people do.
1:13Another thing, have you ever felt like
1:16your good business ideas don't fit your
1:18frameworks and that you had to choose
1:21between being structured and leaving
1:23good ideas out versus showing great
1:26business sense but being unstructured?
1:29Well, using the landscape technique,
1:31you're going to learn how to create
1:33great MECE structures that are able to
1:36fit your own ideas that will work even
1:39for public sector cases.
1:42But so you can learn all of that
1:44effectively, we need to build up that
1:46understanding carefully. Here's what you
1:49can expect from the next few videos.
1:52In this video, you're going to learn two
1:54main things. First, I'm going to quickly
1:57show you what frameworks really are,
2:00what are the different types of
2:01frameworks, and how to make sure you're
2:03picking the right tool for the job in
2:06each and every case. Then, on the second
2:09part of the video, we're going to focus
2:11on conceptual frameworks, which are the
2:13best type of framework for strategic
2:16thinking. I'm going to show you the
2:18nuances of our first framework, the
2:21three Cs. Now, even if you're well used
2:24to the three Cs, this part is going to
2:26be useful to you because every other
2:28lesson in this module builds on top of
2:31it. You can think of the three Cs as our
2:34training wheels to understand frameworks
2:36at a deeper level. And in the videos
2:39that follow this one, I'm going to show
2:41you how to use it as well as how to
2:43tweak it to the point you're going to be
2:45able to create frameworks that don't
2:48even vaguely resemble it, such as
2:51frameworks for public sector cases.
2:54The lessons in this specific video are
2:56quite basic, but covering the
2:58fundamentals well is important because
3:00it will give you the mental concepts to
3:03understand everything that follows.
3:06In the second video of this module, I'm
3:09going to show you the four-step approach
3:11to build and communicate frameworks.
3:14I'll show you how to make even a generic
3:16framework like the three Cs very
3:19specific to your situation by using key
3:22questions and hypotheses intelligently.
3:25I'll also show you the four parts every
3:28framework must have so that your
3:30interviewer sees that you can use a
3:32hypothesis-driven approach to solve your
3:35client's problems.
3:36After showing you the four steps to
3:38create frameworks, I will show you how
3:41to communicate your frameworks in a way
3:43that doesn't take up too much time and
3:46gives clarity to your interviewers about
3:48how you think and how you make great
3:51consultant.
3:52By the end of these first two videos,
3:54you'll have a strong understanding of
3:56why frameworks are the way they are, and
3:59you'll also know how to use one pre-made
4:02framework, the three Cs, to solve a lot
4:05of business problems really well. But
4:08that's not what we're aiming for here in
4:11this module. We want you to be able to
4:13think and create unique frameworks on
4:15your own so you can solve any problem
4:18really well. That's why we'll take
4:21everything we learn in this video a
4:23level further in the third video on how
4:26to adapt frameworks, which you should
4:29watch right after the video on the four
4:31steps. In that video, there are two
4:33things that you'll learn. The first
4:35thing is the theory behind adapting
4:38frameworks. I will show you how to adapt
4:40the three Cs to any business situation.
4:43Even very strange business cases can be
4:46structured using the way of thinking
4:49that I will show you in that video.
4:51In the second part of that video, I'll
4:53show you how to apply these adaptation
4:55techniques using a very realistic
4:58example.
4:59After you finish these first three
5:02videos, you're ready to tackle any
5:04business strategy case, be it an M&A
5:07case, a market entry case, or even a
5:10competitive response or a deregulation
5:13case. Since you'll be ready for that,
5:16there are two business strategy
5:18framework drills for you to work with
5:20right after that video that will help
5:23you apply everything you learn and
5:25really internalize the material. Now, I
5:28know what many of you are thinking. Hey,
5:30that's not what you promised with this
5:32course. I know the three Cs and the
5:34business situation framework and all of
5:35that. There's not much new here. To
5:38which I say, yes, there is.
5:41These first three videos are here to
5:43help you master the principles through
5:46one highly versatile framework which you
5:49can use.
5:50You won't even need to memorize the
5:53three Cs because you understand its
5:55logic. But in the final video is where
5:59things get interesting. In the final
6:02video, I'll get all of the principles
6:04that I've shown you and use them to
6:06teach you how to create your own
6:09frameworks from scratch. This is the
6:11holy grail of structuring and it works
6:14in any case regardless of it being a
6:16business case, a public sector case, or
6:20any other topic that your creative
6:22interviewer might come up with. I'm
6:24going to teach you the landscape
6:25technique to create frameworks from
6:27scratch to any kind of problem. Yes, you
6:30can use it for business and public
6:32sector cases, but you could also use it
6:35to structure a military problem, an
6:38ecology biology problem, a geopolitical
6:42problem, or even a dieting problem, how
6:45to lose weight. And yes, I've seen
6:47interviewers get really creative with
6:50all those types of topics when they want
6:52to surprise candidates who might have
6:55memorized frameworks. With the landscape
6:57technique, no problem will be
7:00unstructurable.
7:02Finally, at the second half of this
7:04video, I'll show you a practical
7:06application of the landscape technique
7:08so that it's not all theoretical and
7:11that you're able to actually use it. And
7:13following that, you will have a public
7:17sector case drill to apply all of the
7:20skills that you've learned. This module
7:23is longer than all others because
7:25frameworks are so difficult to master.
7:28Because of that, I wanted to walk you
7:30through what you're going to get and
7:32when.
7:33But enough with telling you what's going
7:35to happen in this module, let's jump in
7:38and make it happen.
7:39So, let's start with understanding
7:41exactly what is a framework and how to
7:44pick the right type. Here's the slide on
7:47frameworks from the video on the six
7:49building blocks.
7:51It says that frameworks are
7:52decision-making plans, a list of the
7:55questions that you need to answer to
7:56make a decision, and a systematic way to
7:59make sense of them. And then it says
8:01that the skill being tested here is how
8:03to create this plan, not if you know a
8:05pre-made one or not. And then there's a
8:07few examples on Nestle creating a
8:10long-term strat- long-term growth
8:12strategy or how to help a
8:15health minister combat childhood obesity
8:18and so on. But let's dig a little
8:21deeper.
8:23Think of a framework as a map to solve
8:26your problem. A map is a simplification
8:29of reality that shows you only what is
8:32relevant about the real terrain so that
8:35you can navigate through it. It would be
8:37useless to have a map that had all the
8:40details of the terrain. So, to a
8:42business problem, having a list of all
8:46the highly relevant questions that you
8:48need to answer in order to make a
8:50decision is akin to having a map to that
8:53problem. Now, ideally, you'd also have a
8:57travel route along with that map. Where
9:00to go first, where to go second, where
9:03to go third in order to optimally go
9:06from point A to point B.
9:09That would be just like having a
9:11systematic way to make sense of the map.
9:14That's what a travel route is. So, the
9:17easy way to do this travel routing is to
9:20just point out which parts of your
9:23framework are more important
9:26for the case that you're solving and
9:28start there.
9:30If you can anticipate the second and the
9:32third most important parts, that's even
9:34better.
9:35I will focus on how to build the map in
9:38this module, on how to build the
9:40frameworks that work, and I will I will
9:42trust that you will learn how to
9:44prioritize the areas and choose what to
9:47do next as you practice cases with your
9:50peers. So, how do you build a map? Well,
9:54the simple answer is you'll find out
9:56what areas are relevant to map out for
10:00your specific goals or to your client's
10:02specific goals.
10:03And then you add the most relevant
10:06details about those areas. So, in
10:09framework land, that would mean first
10:11finding the right categories to analyze,
10:14and second, finding the relevant issues
10:17within each category.
10:20Let's start with finding the right
10:22categories.
10:24So, there basically two broad types of
10:26frameworks. Those based on issue trees
10:29and those based on conceptual
10:31frameworks.
10:33The most known type of issue tree is the
10:35profitability framework. You've
10:36certainly seen it before. Profits equals
10:40revenues minus costs.
10:42Issue trees are the type of framework
10:44that will help you break down the
10:46problem into parts.
10:48They're highly analytical. You can
10:50clearly see that combining the parts
10:53make the whole. Because of that, it's
10:56easy to see how these frameworks are
10:58MECE, mutually exclusive, collectively
11:01exhaustive. That means that there are
11:03absolutely no gaps and no overlaps. For
11:07example, all problems in profit must be
11:10explained by either revenues and or
11:13costs. And because they're so MECE, so
11:17analytical, they're perfect for a
11:19problem isolation.
11:22In the profitability problem example,
11:24with just a few numbers, you're able to
11:27know if the problem is on the revenue
11:28side or in the cost side, and then break
11:32that part of the problem down again
11:34until you can fully isolate what's
11:37causing a profit problem. However, not
11:41all problems are best solved by breaking
11:43the problem into parts and isolating
11:46those parts. And that means issue trees
11:49are not always the best tool.
11:52Conceptual frameworks fill in the gap to
11:55other types of problems. There many
11:58conceptual frameworks you might have
11:59heard of. The three Cs, the four Ps, the
12:03business situation framework, Porter's
12:05five forces.
12:07Take the three Cs for example.
12:09It describes a business strategy into
12:12three areas, the customer,
12:15the competition, and your company.
12:18Notice that these three areas are not
12:21the parts that make the whole, like in
12:24the more analytical issue tree. If I
12:27tell you what are the revenues and what
12:29are the costs of a company, you can 100%
12:33analytically say what its profits are.
12:35You can calculate it. You can know it.
12:39If I tell you all the things that you
12:40want to know about the customer and the
12:42company and the competition, you can say
12:45a lot of things about how a company's
12:47strategy should be, but it's not going
12:50to be a 100% analytically comprehensive
12:54and correct answer. It's going to be a
12:56good answer, but not an analytical
12:59answer. For this reason, we say that
13:01conceptual frameworks don't break the
13:04problem into parts per se, but they help
13:07you look at a problem from different
13:09angles.
13:11When using the three Cs to determine a
13:13business strategy, you can look at what
13:15you should do from your customer's
13:17perspective, then you can look at what
13:19you should do from your competitor's
13:21perspective, and finally, from your own
13:24perspective. Ideally, your business
13:26strategy should make sense when looked
13:29at from all the three angles.
13:31And while conceptual frameworks are not
13:33100% analytical, they often bring a lot
13:37more context than issue trees because
13:40you're looking at a problem from
13:41different angles.
13:42This is different from issue trees.
13:44Issue trees help you see the problem in
13:47a hyper-focused way, but only from one
13:50angle. In the case of the profitability
13:52framework, for example, you're seeing
13:54the problem from a profits and loss
13:56angle.
13:57Another thing regarding conceptual
13:59frameworks, it's really hard, if not
14:02impossible, to be 100%
14:05MECE when using them. As we're going to
14:07see in the next video in this module,
14:09you can always add more categories, more
14:12angles to look at the same problem. That
14:15means you can always make them more and
14:17more comprehensive. And while you should
14:19try to be as MECE as possible, you
14:21shouldn't add so much stuff to your
14:24frameworks that they become clunky and
14:26not very relevant.
14:28Finally, you can't really isolate the
14:31problem using a conceptual framework.
14:33And that's fine. There are lots of
14:35problems that you don't want to isolate.
14:38Take creating a business strategy, for
14:40example. You don't want it to only make
14:43sense from your customer's perspective.
14:46Instead, you want to have a system-wide
14:49view of the problem. Conceptual
14:51frameworks allow you to have that
14:53systemic view because again, you're
14:55seeing the problem from different
14:57angles.
14:58Now, you might be asking yourself, how
15:01to pick the right type?
15:03The answer can be complex, and we go
15:05into a lot of depth into it in our
15:08structuring course. But here's a simple
15:10rule of thumb. If the problem is simple,
15:13with few moving parts, and there's one
15:16angle that is by far the most relevant
15:18angle of looking at the problem, you
15:20prefer to have a focused solution based
15:23on isolating the root cause. This
15:26happens with most short-term problems,
15:28such as profitability cases,
15:31or most profitability cases, that ask
15:33you to fix a recent drop in profits. In
15:37this case, you want to use issue trees.
15:39They're more efficient. Now, if the
15:41problem is more complex, such as a
15:43long-term strategy problem, you'll
15:45prefer to have more awareness of all the
15:48nuances that involve it. You need more
15:51context of the situation. There's no one
15:54or two things that you can isolate to
15:56reach a reliable recommendation. In that
16:00case, you want to use a conceptual
16:02framework.
16:03One quick tip here. Most, but not all,
16:07McKinsey first-round cases are long-term
16:09strategy cases of some sort, which means
16:12that in most of them, conceptual
16:14frameworks are the way to go. In other
16:17firms, this varies a lot more, so I
16:19can't comment on that. Now, let me give
16:21you a 1-minute example of how to choose
16:24between issue trees and conceptual
16:26frameworks here.
16:28Say your client is an industrial company
16:31that wants to reduce costs.
16:33In the first scenario, they want to
16:35reduce costs because they want to boost
16:37next year's profits. This is a pretty
16:40simple problem. It's not an easy one,
16:43but it's a simple one. There are few
16:45moving parts, and isolating your best
16:47alternatives would do the job of solving
16:50this problem. Because of this, we'll go
16:53with an issue tree.
16:54I could break down costs into fixed and
16:57variable costs,
16:59and then find and quantify the specific
17:02cost lines related to those costs and
17:06find the best opportunities.
17:08Now, in the second scenario, the same
17:11company wants to cut costs because they
17:13want to become the lowest-cost player in
17:16their industry in the long term. In this
17:19scenario, simply finding out what their
17:22highest cost is today and how to cut it
17:25won't do it. They need to think
17:27strategically about their whole business
17:30and find the lowest-cost way to deliver
17:33what they do. You need to look at the
17:36system as a whole, which means we should
17:39go with a conceptual framework. They
17:41need to look at all sorts of things,
17:42such as them their manufacturing
17:44technology and infrastructure, their R&D
17:47department, their product design, and
17:51even their organizational culture. Now,
17:54this is not a an exhaustive framework.
17:56It's just some examples of uh types of
17:59things that they should look at.
18:01In this module of Case Interview
18:02Fundamentals, we will focus exclusively
18:06on conceptual frameworks. The reason for
18:09that is that they're harder to create.
18:12They're harder to work with. And they're
18:14the main concern that people have most
18:17times that they say that they have a
18:19hard time with frameworks.
18:21That doesn't mean you should ignore
18:24issue trees. Let me emphasize that. That
18:26doesn't mean you should ignore issue
18:29trees. By all means, learn them as
18:32they're extremely useful to solve
18:34simpler, shorter-term problems, such as
18:37most profitability problems. The
18:39technique to build MECE issue trees is
18:42the same as the one I used in the
18:44brainstorming module. But if you need
18:46more help with that, I wrote two guides
18:49that you can use in our website. The
18:51first one is the profitability trees
18:54guide, which is specifically for profit
18:57trees used in profitability cases.
19:00The second one is for all types of issue
19:02trees, even those where profit is not
19:05the goal of the case. And it's called
19:07the definitive guide to issue trees. A
19:10quick Google search will bring those two
19:12guides up, and I highly recommend you
19:15take some time reading them. Given that,
19:17let's take a deep dive into conceptual
19:20frameworks. So, to understand conceptual
19:22frameworks well, I need to start by
19:25saying that there are many types of
19:27conceptual frameworks.
19:29Most frameworks you see out there are
19:31what we call context-driven frameworks.
19:35To be honest with you, we created this
19:37name ourselves because we couldn't find
19:39much good literature on how to create
19:42problem-solving frameworks. This means
19:44that this name is not something that
19:46your interviewer would recognize.
19:49And honestly, they don't need to. They
19:51just need to see the structure you're
19:53able to build and see that you can
19:55organize the solution to the problem
19:57well.
19:58Context-driven frameworks break down a
20:01multipart system into its components.
20:04This means that they're great for
20:06gathering context about a situation. For
20:09example, the four Ps break down a
20:12marketing plan into the four major
20:15levers that a company has to market a
20:18product. Porter's five forces break down
20:21an industry's potential for being
20:23profitable into the five players who may
20:26harm that industry's profitability.
20:29These are all examples of what we call
20:32context-driven frameworks. Now, another
20:35type of conceptual framework that we go
20:37into depth only in our advanced course
20:40on structuring are objective-driven
20:42frameworks. These break down specific
20:46goal into the objectives underlying that
20:48goal.
20:49These structures gather less context
20:52about the situation, so you really have
20:54to know what you're doing to use them.
20:55But they're also more hypothesis-driven,
20:58much crisper, and to the point.
21:01This is not an exhaustive list of all
21:03types of conceptual frameworks you can
21:05create. You could also have other types.
21:09And you would define those hypothetical
21:11types by our criteria on choosing the
21:14specific categories within those
21:16frameworks.
21:17In this module, we will focus on
21:20context-driven structures. There are
21:22three reasons for that. The first one is
21:25that they're the easiest type of
21:26framework to learn. The second one is
21:29that by using them along with issue
21:31trees, you're going to be able to solve
21:3398% of cases out there. And the third
21:37reason is that we know from testing with
21:39hundreds of coaching clients that we had
21:41in the past that to learn
21:43objective-driven frameworks well, most
21:46people need to learn context-driven
21:48frameworks first. So, this means that
21:50context-driven frameworks are a great
21:53place to start. We have limited time
21:55here at Case Interview Fundamentals, so
21:57it's better to focus on the one type of
22:00structure that will help you out the
22:02most. It's not going to give you the
22:04best way to structure any problem, but
22:07it's going to give you a good enough way
22:10to structure any problem. You'll be
22:13able, by using this type of framework,
22:14to quickly and easily create frameworks
22:17in a systematic, predictable way. And
22:20you're going to be able to focus your
22:22creativity in raising good issues and
22:24solving the problem, instead of worrying
22:27about having a framework that is right
22:29to the case that you're solving. Let me
22:31give you a simple example of creating a
22:34context-driven framework from scratch.
22:36Imagine you had to break down a football
22:39match.
22:40You could say that its components are
22:42team A, team B, the referee, the rules
22:47of the game, the infrastructure of the
22:49playing field, and the crowd. I'm going
22:52to teach you how to quickly build a
22:54simple framework like this one from
22:56scratch and even better frameworks for
22:59more challenging situations. As I said
23:01in the beginning of this module, you'll
23:03learn this first by learning the most
23:05basic business strategy framework that
23:07there is as training wheels, and then
23:10you learn how to use it by using our
23:13four-step approach. Then in the other
23:15videos, we're going to adapting that
23:17framework to your specific needs and
23:20even creating your own from scratch. So,
23:23let's get going.
23:25The first and only framework I will ever
23:27teach you is the three Cs framework.
23:30Why? Because although I don't want you
23:33to use any memorized framework ever, we
23:36need to study at least one good
23:38framework so we can understand what
23:40makes a framework good. It's hard to
23:43learn how to build tools when you've
23:45never seen how a good tool is built in
23:48the first place.
23:49There are two reasons why I picked the
23:51three Cs to show you how frameworks are
23:54made.
23:55The first one is that the simple three
23:58Cs was the first widespread business
24:00strategy framework ever to exist. You
24:04can think of it as describing a good
24:06strategy as a balance between customers,
24:10competition, and your company. Believe
24:13it or not, before consultants came up
24:16with the concept of the three Cs, there
24:18was no such thing as business strategy.
24:22What there were were companies looking
24:25internally, trying to cut their costs,
24:27and listening to their customers so they
24:29could create products that generated
24:32more revenues. No one was thinking of
24:34the competition, and competition is at
24:37the essence of anything you can call
24:39strategy. You can read the full story
24:42about how consultants from McKinsey,
24:44BCG, and Bain created business strategy
24:47in a great book called Lords of
24:49Strategy. But long story short, it was
24:52Bruce Henderson, the founder of BCG,
24:55that first noted that in some
24:57industries, considering what the
24:59competitor was about to do was often as
25:02important as considering what the
25:04customer wants and looking internally at
25:06the company.
25:07Because the three Cs is one of the first
25:10frameworks that integrates the
25:12competition in business strategy, and it
25:14is the simplest one that does that, you
25:17can call this framework the godfather of
25:19business strategy. The second reason why
25:22I'm picking the three Cs is that
25:25using it alone, you can solve the vast
25:28majority of cases. See, of all strategy
25:32cases, about 80% of them are in
25:36for-profit businesses. And of these,
25:39about 95%
25:41are in competitive strategy. This
25:44includes market entry cases, M&A cases,
25:48product launch, competitive reaction,
25:51pricing cases, distribution strategy,
25:54and so many others. For all of these
25:57business competitive strategy cases, you
26:00can use the three Cs or an adapted
26:03version of it.
26:04You still have to find a way to deal
26:06with the 20 to 25% of cases that can't
26:10be solved using the three Cs, and we'll
26:13teach you the landscape technique to do
26:15that. However, because the landscape
26:17technique follows the same logic of the
26:19three Cs, the easiest way to learn it is
26:22to study the godfather of business
26:25strategy anyway. So, let's do that.
26:29As I said before, the three Cs framework
26:31states that whenever you create a
26:33business strategy, you need to be aware
26:35of three key players in the market: your
26:38customers, your competition, and your
26:41own company. Now, to really use this
26:43framework well, we need to understand
26:45why these are the three key players or
26:48factors to consider.
26:50Every market is the intersection between
26:53supply and demand. That's basic
26:56economics. The customers in a market
26:59represents the demand side of the
27:01market.
27:03The supply side has many businesses
27:06competing to get a share of the demand.
27:08One of these businesses is your company,
27:10and the others are these companies'
27:12competitors.
27:15If a given company, for example, your
27:17clients as a consultant, wants to know
27:19how to capture value from a given
27:22market, you need to understand three
27:25things.
27:26One, how do different customers behave
27:29in that market and what do they value,
27:32need, or desire?
27:34Two, what can each major competitor do
27:37to satisfy those customers' needs, given
27:40their own strengths, weaknesses, and
27:43resources?
27:44And number three, what can you do to
27:47offer
27:48the customers, given your own strengths,
27:50weaknesses, and resources? Because most
27:53business strategy questions revolve
27:56around the concept of capturing value
27:58from a market, you can use the three Cs
28:01to structure business strategy problems.
28:04And it works because it puts yourself in
28:06the minds of the three key
28:08decision-makers in most markets.
28:11Customers get to decide
28:13from whom do they buy from, if anyone at
28:15all. And your competitors will always
28:18have a choice about what they can do to
28:20serve these customers. And you have the
28:22same choice as well.
28:24Every transaction in a market happens
28:27given the choices each of these three
28:31decision-makers did. And because the
28:33whole market is the sum of all
28:36transactions, by studying these three
28:39decision-makers, you can understand the
28:41whole of the market.
28:43This means that to know what you as a
28:46company should do, you must understand
28:49what is logical for the other two
28:51decision-makers to do as well. This will
28:54help you understand if your actions will
28:56have the desired effect and if there are
28:58any likely reactions once you implement
29:01your strategy. Now, there's obviously
29:05more than one type of customer in the
29:07market, and most markets have several
29:10competitors. That means that we'll often
29:13want to segment customers and
29:16competitors in a way that makes sense to
29:18the market you're studying. You'll often
29:21find opportunity in some pockets of the
29:24market, not in the market as a whole.
29:28Now, this explains why the three Cs work
29:31to create business strategy. But coming
29:34up with the right categories to solve a
29:36problem is only part of the battle. To
29:39use the three Cs or any other framework
29:42effectively, we need to know what
29:44specific questions to ask in each
29:48category.
29:49Consultants call these questions key
29:52questions.
29:53A lot of people struggle with coming up
29:55with these key questions, but it's
29:57actually quite easy. There are two steps
30:00to it. Number one, have the role of that
30:03category in the competitive system
30:05you're studying in mind. Number two, use
30:09the 5W2H
30:12to come up with good contextualization
30:14questions.
30:15The 5W2H are a list of open-ended
30:18questions, so you can always ask about
30:21the right things in your interview.
30:24What?
30:25Why?
30:26Where?
30:27When?
30:29Who?
30:30How? And how much?
30:33For example, say you want to analyze
30:36customers because you want to know if
30:38you should launch a new product in the
30:40market.
30:41If you know who are your customers and
30:44how much do they do they buy, you know
30:47the market segments and their sizes. If
30:50you know what they buy and what they
30:52want in their products, what features
30:54and benefits, you have a good idea on
30:57what you should sell to them.
30:59If you know where do they buy and when
31:01do they buy, you get a good sense on the
31:03distribution strategy you should follow
31:05when you launch those products. And if
31:08you know how do they buy and how do they
31:10use those products, you have a good idea
31:13on whether or not the product design you
31:16have in mind makes sense.
31:18Finally, if you know why they buy, why
31:21they buy it the way they do, why they
31:24use the product the way they do, and
31:26several other whys, you reach insight on
31:29the problem.
31:30You can follow the same approach to
31:32create your key questions for the other
31:35categories. You just have to have the
31:37case question and the role of the
31:40category in in the market in mind and
31:43use the 5W2H
31:46questions, so you don't forget anything
31:48important. Then ask why to anything that
31:52is relevant. And if you need to ask why
31:54many times to understand an issue, do
31:57that.
31:58Some say consulting is all about common
32:00sense and being curious. And to a
32:02certain extent, this is true. For
32:04example, to have a good customer
32:06analysis for a product launch, all you
32:09need is to have the common sense of
32:11understanding why
32:14uh the customer or category is important
32:16when launching a new product and how to
32:18make good contextualization questions
32:21using a proven list of questions such as
32:23the 5W2H.
32:25This list is common sense as well. Then,
32:27you need to be curious and ask why on
32:31anything interesting that comes up.
32:34Why questions are always the most
32:36important when solving a case because
32:39they enable you to challenge the
32:41fundamental assumptions of any business
32:43or industry, which is one of the most
32:45important roles of management
32:47consultants. So, this is the 3Cs
32:50framework, the first and only framework
32:53I will ever teach you. It is also a very
32:56simple framework, which is perfect for
32:58starting out. All you need to know so
33:00you can use it is one, to understand the
33:03role of each of the 3Cs in a competitive
33:06market, and two, to be able to ask
33:09insightful questions for each category
33:12on the specific problem you're solving
33:14by using the 5W2H questions with a
33:17specific focus on why questions as the
33:20case develops.
33:22A quick thing here. As you see this
33:24framework on the screen, you might
33:26recognize it as very similar to Victor
33:28Cheng's business situation framework.
33:31And it indeed is. Victor Cheng's
33:34business situation framework is
33:35basically the 3Cs with the product as an
33:39additional category. So, the key
33:41questions for the product in the buckets
33:44company and competitor that you can see
33:47on the screen, what are their main
33:49products and how do they sell them, go
33:51into the product bucket. And you can
33:54also ask other key contextualization
33:56questions within that product bucket
33:58that are not in this framework you see
34:00in the screen.
34:01So, why did I teach you the 3Cs when you
34:05could have learned the business
34:06situation framework from Victor Cheng or
34:08in pretty much any other case interview
34:10website? It's simple. No one teaches the
34:143Cs or any other framework for that
34:17matter in depth.
34:19And in order to show you how to adapt
34:21frameworks and how to create your own
34:23from scratch, I had to make sure you
34:25understand in depth where does the most
34:28basic conceptual framework comes from
34:31and how to use it. As I said, it would
34:34be tough to teach you how to build a
34:36tool without you ever understanding one.
34:40So, now that I've presented you the most
34:42basic tool, the 3Cs, let's move on to
34:45the next video where I show you how to
34:48use the tool.
34:49In the next video on the four-step
34:51approach to frameworks, I will show you
34:53the exact four steps you need to create
34:56and present your frameworks effectively.
35:00This four-step approach is important
35:01because it applies not only to the 3Cs,
35:04but to all frameworks, including the
35:06ones you create by adapting the 3Cs and
35:10by creating from scratch using the
35:12landscape technique. Understanding the
35:14four steps will also help you understand
35:17exactly what your interviewer will be
35:19looking for in your frameworks and why
35:22they're looking for that. It will help
35:24you understand why they're asking
35:26specific follow-up questions and get you
35:29prepared to answer them.
35:31Finally, mastering this four-step
35:33process will help you create highly
35:36specific structures even if you use the
35:393Cs by itself.

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