Case Frameworks
Profitability, market entry, M&A, pricing, and the structural moves that separate average performers from offer-getters.
Clarifying Questions: What to Ask, What Not to, and When to Stop
Clarifying questions are the first thing an interviewer hears you think. Learn the four jobs they do, the test that separates a good question from filler, what not to ask, and when to stop and start structuring.
Cost-Reduction Cases That Don't Collapse Into a List
Many candidates answer a cost-reduction case by listing cost categories. A stronger answer finds where the money is, picks a lever per cost line, and nets the savings against one-time cost and side effects. Worked example included.
Pricing Cases: Four Questions to Ask Before Any Framework
Many candidates answer a pricing case with cost-plus and stop. Four questions about the objective, the customers, the anchors, and the response come first, and a worked example shows why volume effects decide the answer.
Lost in the Middle of a Case? A Five-Step Reset Interviewers Respect
Every candidate loses the thread of a case at some point. Most interviewers care less that you wobbled than how you respond in the next minute. A five-step reset, with a script you can say out loud.
How to Get Three Hours Deep on an Industry Before Your Case Interview
You do not need to be an expert in a sector to handle a case in it. You do need to know its cost structure, its competitive shape, and the three or four numbers that anchor any conversation. Here is the three-hour version.
Anatomy of a Profitability Case: A Full Walkthrough
Reading about frameworks is one thing. Watching a partner-level candidate work a case from prompt to recommendation is another. A complete walkthrough of a coffee chain margin decline — including the moves an interviewer would actually grade.
M&A Cases: A 4-Lever Framework That Actually Works
Most M&A case structures collapse into 'is the target attractive?' That is two-thirds of the answer. The remaining third — what wins offers — is in the integration math.
Why Most Candidates Botch Market Entry Cases
Market entry is the most templated case type — which is exactly why interviewers screen on the parts a template skips. Six failure modes and how strong candidates avoid each.
The Profitability Framework Beyond Revenue minus Cost
If your profitability tree only branches into revenue and cost, you are leaving the most interesting moves on the table. Here is what a partner-level structure actually looks like.
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