KEY NOTES：

• “Client” means the organization for which you are solving a business problem.

• The problem is not always the problem.

• "80 / 20" rule, number "3".

• Work smarter, not harder. Don’t boil the ocean, focus on the key drivers.

• The elevator test: explain your idea in 30 seconds.

---

Part One – Thinking about business problems

Three major attributes: Fact-based, structured, and hypothesis - driven.

 

1.1 Problems solving at the firm begins with the facts.

Why? 

【1. Facts compensate for lack of gut instinct】

Most McKinsey-ites are generalists who know little about a lot of things. Gathering and analyzing facts helps them to gain experiences. 

【2. Facts bridge the credibility gap】

No business is immune to the power if fact-based analysis, put together enough facts, combine the, with some creative thinking, and you will come up with a solution.

1.2 MECEStructure – mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive. 

To structure your thinking when solving business problems, you must be complete while avoiding confusion and overlap.(minimum confusion and maximum completeness)

1.3 The initial hypothesis is your problem-solving map.

Developing an approach

1.1 Framework as starting point.

The GE-McKinsey nine-box matrix: A systematic approach for the multi-business corporation to prioritize investments among its business units.  McKinsey 7-S Model: To identify which elements companies need to realign to improve performance, or to maintain alignment and performance during other changes. 

Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/enduring-ideas-classic-mckinsey-frameworks-that-continue-to-inform-management-thinking

1.2 Don’t make the facts fit your solution, keep an open and flexible mind. You must always be prepared to accept that the facts may prove you wrong.

1.3 Make sure your solution fits you client.

还记得当时在Mercer实习的时候，manager要我做行业分析(Word&PPT)，当时我把能找到的很多行业相关的信息都堆了上去，并用bullet point排列好。Manager的一个提问让我受益匪浅：“如果你是client，你想从这份报告得到什么？你获得valuable的信息了吗？”

我反思了一下，确实没有很直观、很有关联性的points。

之后，我从Clients side出发，深入思考了一下market growth等数字和facts背后的意义:

"如果我是client我想capture哪几个opportunities？具体有哪些参照案例吗？会有哪些risks？如何防范？"

修改后的report，manager表示清晰多了，内容也很充实。

---

NOTES:

• It’s not possible to do everything yourself all the time. If you manage it once, you raise unrealistic expectations from those around you. Once you fail to meet expectations, it’s very difficult to regain credibility.

• Just say, “I don’t know”.

• Don’t accept “I have no idea”. With a bit of thinking and searching, you will usually find that you do know or can find out something about a question or issue.