PART III: UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION

“Before you can solve the problem, you have to understand the situation.”

Case competitors have access to an enormous number of frameworks.

SWOT.

PESTLE.

Porter’s Five Forces.

Value Chain.

VRIO.

Business Model Canvas.

Stakeholder Analysis.

The challenge is not learning what each framework contains.

The challenge is knowing when to use it, what question it can answer, and what to do with the insight it produces. This is where many teams go wrong. They select a familiar framework, fill in the boxes, and move on. The result may look analytical, but it isn’t necessarily insightful.

A completed framework is not analysis. A completed framework is simply a starting point. The real work begins when you ask: So what does this tell us? And then: Why does it matter to the decision we have to make?

This is one of the central principles of Discover Your Mad Skills.

Use frameworks to discover insights, not to demonstrate that you know frameworks.

Chapter 9: SWOT Analysis

Video: Stop Presenting Laundry List SWOTs: Turn SWOT into Real Insights That Support Your Solution

Video: Turn Your SWOT into Strategic Alternatives: The TOWS Method That Actually Builds Solutions

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· distinguish strengths and weaknesses from opportunities and threats

· identify meaningful rather than generic SWOT factors

· connect internal capabilities to external conditions

· prioritise the most important factors

· use SWOT to generate strategic implications

· avoid treating SWOT as a final recommendation

Why This Matters

SWOT is probably one of the most familiar frameworks in business. It is also one of the most misused. Ask a team to complete a SWOT analysis, and you will often get something like:

Strengths

- · strong brand
- · good employees
- · loyal customers

Weaknesses

- · high costs
- · limited resources
- · weak marketing

Opportunities

- · growing market
- · new technology
- · international expansion

Threats

- · competition
- · inflation
- · changing customer preferences

The problem? Almost every company could say the same thing. The framework has been completed. But very little has been learned.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

A SWOT is valuable only when the factors inside it lead to a strategic implication.

The question isn’t: “What are the company’s strengths?”

The question is: “Which strengths matter to the problem we are trying to solve?”

Understanding SWOT

SWOT combines two dimensions.

Internal

Strengths: What does the organisation do well?

Weaknesses: Where does the organisation lack capability or performance?

External

Opportunities: What external conditions could the organisation take advantage of?

Threats: What external conditions could negatively affect the organisation?

The important distinction is that strengths and weaknesses are primarily internal. Opportunities and threats are primarily external.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

SWOT is particularly useful when you need a broad picture of the organisation and its environment.

It can help when:

you are early in the analysis;

the case requires strategic direction;

internal and external factors need to be connected;

you need to identify strategic options.

But SWOT should not automatically be the first framework you use. If the case is specifically about industry competition, Porter’s Five Forces may provide deeper insight. If the problem concerns external trends, PESTLE may be more useful. If the issue is operational, Value Chain may provide greater depth. The case characteristics should determine the tool.

From SWOT to Insight

The most useful part of SWOT is not the four boxes. It is the connection between them.

Ask:

Which strengths allow us to capture which opportunities?

Which weaknesses make us vulnerable to which threats?

This can turn SWOT from a list into a strategic tool.

Coach’s Lens

I often tell teams: Don’t give me 20 SWOT points. Give me five that matter.

A strong SWOT might identify:

Strength: Strong relationships with major institutional customers.

Opportunity: Rapid growth in a new institutional market.

The insight becomes that the company’s existing institutional relationships could provide a lower-risk pathway into the emerging market. Now SWOT has influenced the strategy.

Common Mistakes

Generic Statements

“Strong brand” tells us little without evidence.

Too Many Factors

More information does not necessarily create more insight.

Confusing Internal and External Factors

A weakness is not the same thing as a threat.

No Prioritization

Not every factor matters equally.

Stopping at the Matrix

The SWOT should lead somewhere.

Mad Skills Drill

Take a company you know. Create a SWOT with no more than:

three strengths;

three weaknesses;

three opportunities;

three threats.

Then draw connections between them. Identify the two connections that matter most to the strategic decision.

Chapter Summary

SWOT is a useful organising framework. But it is not the analysis itself. The value comes from connecting internal capabilities with external conditions and asking what those connections mean for the decision.

Key Takeaways

✓ Keep SWOT focused.

✓ Separate internal from external factors.

✓ Prioritise.

✓ Connect the four elements.

✓ Turn observations into implications.

✓ Don’t confuse completing the framework with completing the analysis.

Looking Ahead

SWOT provides a broad picture. But organisations are constantly affected by forces outside their control. The next chapter examines how to identify and connect those external forces using PESTLE.

Chapter 10: PESTLE Analysis

Video: Stop Listing PESTLE Factors: Turn PESTLE into Real Insights That Deepen Your Analysis

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· identify major external forces affecting an organisation

· distinguish trends from isolated events

· connect external factors to business implications

· identify opportunities and constraints created by the external environment

· use PESTLE to strengthen strategic analysis

Why This Matters

Organisations don’t operate in a vacuum. Political decisions affect regulation. Economic conditions affect purchasing power and costs. Social changes affect customer behaviour. Technology changes how businesses operate. Legal requirements establish constraints. Environmental pressures create both risks and opportunities. PESTLE helps you organise these external forces, but the real value comes from understanding how they interact.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

Don’t just list the PESTLE factors. Connect them.

Your existing Masterclass material makes this point directly: the power of PESTLE comes from asking what the factors tell us, how they interconnect, and what opportunities or constraints they create.

The Six Dimensions

Political: Government policy, political stability, taxation, trade policy and public priorities.

Economic: Inflation, interest rates, unemployment, income, economic growth and exchange rates.

Technological: Innovation, automation, AI, digital platforms and technological disruption.

Legal: Regulation, employment law, health and safety, consumer protection and industry requirements.

Environmental: Climate change, resource constraints, emissions, sustainability and environmental expectations.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

PESTLE is particularly useful when the external environment is changing. It can be valuable in cases involving:

market entry;

regulation;

sustainability;

technology;

changing consumer behaviour;

international expansion;

disrupted industries.

But don’t force all six categories into every case. If two factors dominate the situation, those may be the factors that deserve the most attention.

From Factors to Connections

Imagine a grocery retailer facing changes in packaging requirements.

· Political pressure may contribute to new environmental ~~regulation.~~regulations.

· Regulation affects legal requirements.

· Those requirements affect packaging technology.

· New technology affects costs.

· Costs affect pricing.

· Pricing affects customers.

Suddenly, what looked like six separate PESTLE factors becomes a connected system. That is where the insight lies.

Coach’s Lens

One of the easiest ways to lose valuable presentation time is to put a giant PESTLE table on a slide and read it to the judges.

Don’t.

Instead, identify the two or three external forces that matter and explain their implications. The judges don’t need to know that you can spell P-E-S-T-L-E. They need to understand what the external environment means for your recommendation.

Common Mistakes

Listing Instead of Analysing

A list of trends isn’t insight.

Treating Every Factor Equally

Some forces matter much more than others.

Ignoring Interactions

External forces often reinforce one another.

Describing Instead of Interpreting

“Inflation is high” is an observation.

“What does inflation mean for this company’s cost structure and customers?” is analysis.

Mad Skills Drill

Choose one PESTLE factor. Now connect it to at least three other factors. Then answer: What opportunity or constraint does this create? Finally: How might it affect our recommendation?

Chapter Summary

PESTLE helps teams understand the external environment. But strong case solvers go beyond identifying trends. They identify: Trend → Connection → Impact → Strategic Implication

Key Takeaways

✓ Focus on relevant external forces.

✓ Look for interactions.

✓ Identify implications.

✓ Connect PESTLE insights to the case question.

✓ Never present PESTLE as a collection of unrelated bullet points.

Looking Ahead

PESTLE helps us understand the broad external environment. But what happens when the question is more specific: How competitive is this industry? That is where Porter’s Five Forces becomes useful.

Chapter 11: Porter’s Five Forces

Video: Porter’s Five Forces: The Tool That Reveals Industry Dynamics and Strengthens Your Strategy

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· assess the competitive structure of an industry

· understand the five competitive forces

· identify sources of industry pressure

· distinguish industry attractiveness from company performance

· use competitive analysis to inform strategic choices

Why This Matters

A company can be well managed and still operate in an unattractive industry. Likewise, a difficult industry can contain attractive opportunities for a company with the right capabilities. Porter’s Five Forces helps you understand the competitive pressures shaping an industry.

The Five Forces

Rivalry Among Existing Competitors: How aggressively do competitors compete?

Threat of New Entrants: How easy is it for new competitors to enter?

Bargaining Power of Suppliers: How much influence do suppliers have?

Bargaining Power of Buyers: How much influence do customers have?

Threat of Substitutes: What alternative products or services could meet the same need?

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

Don’t simply rate each force high, medium, or low. Explain what creates the pressure.

“High buyer power” is not an insight. Explain why. Perhaps:

· customers have many alternatives;

· switching costs are low;

· purchases are concentrated among a few large buyers.

Now the force becomes meaningful.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

Five Forces is especially useful when the case involves:

competitive strategy;

market entry;

industry attractiveness;

pricing pressure;

declining margins;

supplier or buyer power;

disruptive substitutes.

It may be less useful when the central issue is internal organisational performance. Again: The case determines the tool.

From Industry Pressure to Strategy

Suppose buyer power is high. The strategic response might be:

· differentiation;

· switching costs;

· stronger customer relationships;

· vertical integration;

· specialised offerings.

The framework becomes useful when it helps you answer: How should the company respond to the competitive structure?

Coach’s Lens

Don’t confuse: Industry attractiveness with Company attractiveness.

A highly competitive industry doesn’t automatically mean your client should leave. The organisation may have capabilities that allow it to outperform competitors. This is why Five Forces should often be connected with the internal analysis.

Common Mistakes

Treating the Five Forces as Independent

They can interact.

Ignoring Substitutes

A substitute isn’t necessarily a direct competitor.

Assuming High Competition Means “Don’t Enter”

Industry pressure is only one part of the decision.

Using Generic Industry Statements

The analysis should be specific to the case.

Mad Skills Drill

Choose an industry. Rate each force from low to high. For each rating, explain: What creates the pressure?

Then answer: Which force creates the greatest strategic challenge? And: What capability could help the company respond?

Chapter Summary

Five Forces helps you understand the structure of competition. The objective isn’t to produce five ratings. It is to understand: Where does competitive pressure come from, and what can the organisation do about it?

Looking Ahead

Industry analysis tells us what pressures exist outside the organisation. Next, we move inside the organisation to understand: Where is value being created or lost?

Chapter 12: Value Chain Analysis

Video: Value Chain Analysis: The Underused Tool That Reveals How to Improve Your Client’s Operations

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· identify the activities that create value

· identify sources of cost and differentiation

· recognise operational weaknesses

· connect activities to competitive advantage

· identify opportunities for improvement or redesign

Why This Matters

Organisations don’t create value through one activity. They create value through a series of connected activities. For many businesses, these include:

· sourcing;

· operations;

· logistics;

· marketing;

· sales;

· service.

Support activities include areas such as:

· technology;

· human resources;

· procurement;

· infrastructure.

The value chain helps you see where value is created and where it is lost.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

Don’t ask only what the company does. Ask where the company creates value—and where it fails to.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

Value Chain is particularly useful when cases involve:

operations;

cost reduction;

service quality;

supply chain;

differentiation;

productivity;

process redesign.

Finding the Problem

Suppose a company has high costs. Don’t simply recommend: “Reduce costs.” Use the value chain to identify:

· where costs originate;

· which activities create value;

· which activities don’t;

· where duplication exists;

· where technology could improve performance;

· where outsourcing might make sense.

Now the recommendation becomes specific.

Coach’s Lens

Value Chain analysis can also help identify core competencies. Use core competencies as capabilities that distinguish a company from competitors, and that can be surfaced using tools such as SWOT, PESTLE, and Value Chain analysis.

Ask: What does this organisation do exceptionally well?

Then: Is that capability important to customers?

And: Can competitors easily replicate it?

Those questions move you from operational analysis toward competitive advantage.

Common Mistakes

Treating Every Activity Equally

Some activities create much more value than others.

Focusing Only on Cost

Value Chain isn’t just a cost-reduction tool.

Ignoring Connections

Changing one activity can affect another.

Forgetting the Customer

An activity matters because of the value it ultimately creates.

Mad Skills Drill

Choose a company. Map its major activities. Identify:

the activity creating the most customer value;

the activity creating the greatest cost;

the activity creating the greatest competitive advantage;

the activity with the greatest improvement opportunity.

Then ask: What would happen if we changed the most important activity?

Chapter Summary

Value Chain analysis helps you understand how the organisation creates value. It can reveal:

cost advantages

differentiation opportunities

operational weaknesses

core competencies

strategic opportunities

Looking Ahead

Value Chain helps identify capabilities. The next question is: Which capabilities actually create sustainable competitive advantage?

Chapter 13: VRIO and Core Competencies

Video: Core Competencies: The Most Underused Tool in Case Competitions

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· identify organisational resources and capabilities

· distinguish resources from competencies

· evaluate capabilities as sources of competitive advantage

· recognise capabilities that are difficult to replicate

· use core competencies to make recommendations more organisation-specific

Why This Matters

One of the most common weaknesses in case competitions is a recommendation that could have been given to almost any company.

· “Invest in digital.”

· “Improve marketing.”

· “Expand internationally.”

· “Develop a loyalty program.”

These recommendations may be reasonable. But why is this company uniquely positioned to pursue them? That is where core competencies become important.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

The best strategy fits the organisation, not just the opportunity.

Your existing material defines core competencies as capabilities or advantages that distinguish the company from competitors and asks two important questions: “What does this company do best?” And “What does it need to succeed and make money?”

Understanding VRIO

VRIO evaluates resources and capabilities using four questions.

· Valuable: Does it help the organisation exploit opportunities or reduce threats?

· Rare: Do relatively few competitors possess it?

· Difficult to Imitate: Would it be difficult or expensive for competitors to copy?

· Organised: Is the organisation capable of exploiting it?

The objective is not simply to identify resources. It is to determine whether they can support competitive advantage.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

VRIO is particularly valuable when the case asks:

What should this company do?

Where should the company compete?

What creates competitive advantage?

Which capabilities should the organisation invest in?

Should the company build, buy, or partner?

Existing vs Required Capabilities

A particularly useful case-solving application is to compare: “What we have” with “What we need.” If a capability is missing, the recommendation might involve:

· building it internally;

· acquiring it;

· partnering;

· outsourcing;

· developing talent;

· investing in technology.

Your existing Masterclass material emphasises exactly this application: identifying current competencies, determining what is required, and showing how missing capabilities will be acquired or developed.

Coach’s Lens

This is one of the easiest ways to make a generic recommendation feel tailored.

Instead of: “We recommend entering the premium market.” say: “We recommend entering the premium market because the company’s existing distribution network, brand reputation, and customer relationships provide capabilities that competitors would find difficult to replicate.”

Now the recommendation feels like it belongs to the company.

Common Mistakes

Confusing Resources With Competencies

Owning an asset doesn’t automatically create an advantage.

Assuming Every Strength Is a Core Competency

A strength must matter strategically.

Ignoring the “Organised” Question

A capability is useless if the organisation cannot exploit it.

Mentioning Competencies Without Using Them

The competency should influence the recommendation.

Mad Skills Drill

Identify five capabilities of a company.

For each, ask:

Valuable?

Rare?

Difficult to imitate?

Organised?

Then identify: The one capability that should most influence the strategy.

Chapter Summary

Core competencies connect: “What the organisation has” to “What the organisation should do.”

That connection is critical to developing recommendations that are strategically appropriate rather than generic.

Looking Ahead

So far, we’ve looked at the environment, industry, activities, and capabilities. Now let’s step back and ask: How does the entire business fit together?

Chapter 14: Business Model Canvas

Video: Business Model Canvas & Lean Canvas: Visualise, Align, and Strengthen Your Case Solution

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· understand how an organisation creates, delivers, and captures value

· identify relationships between customers, activities, resources, costs, and revenues

· identify gaps or inconsistencies in a business model

· use the Business Model Canvas to test a recommendation

· connect a proposed strategy to the broader business model

Why This Matters

Many teams jump directly to recommendations without understanding how the business actually works. The result is often a collection of initiatives that don’t fit together. The Business Model Canvas provides a one-page view of the business model. Check out the existing Masterclass video to learn more about using it as a blueprint to show how a company creates, delivers, and captures value.

The Nine Building Blocks

Key Partners: Who helps the organisation create and deliver value?

Key Activities: What must the organisation do?

Key Resources: What assets and capabilities are required?

Value Proposition: What value does the organisation deliver?

Customer Relationships: What relationship does each customer segment expect?

Customer Segments: Who is the organisation serving?

Channels: How does the organisation reach customers?

Cost Structure: What are the major costs?

Revenue Streams: How does the organisation make money?

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

Everything must fit together logically.

A change in one part of the business model can affect several others. For example: A new premium customer segment may require:

· a new value proposition;

· different channels;

· different customer relationships;

· new resources;

· different activities;

· a different cost structure;

· new revenue streams.

That is why the Canvas is so useful for testing strategic coherence.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

The Business Model Canvas is particularly useful when cases involve:

· startups;

· business model innovation;

· digital transformation;

· new products;

· new customer segments;

· platform businesses;

· revenue model changes;

· strategic pivots.

Lean Canvas

For startup-oriented cases, a Lean Canvas can be useful and highlights elements such as:

· the problem;

· top customer problems;

· solution;

· unique value proposition;

· unfair advantage;

· early adopters;

· key metrics;

· channels;

· costs;

· revenue.

The important point is not which Canvas you choose. It is whether the Canvas helps you understand the business decision.

Coach’s Lens

One of the best uses of the Business Model Canvas in a competition is to compare:

Current Business Model with Proposed Business Model

Ask: What changes?

And then: What else must change because of that change?

Use the Canvas to test assumptions, identify gaps or inconsistencies, and connect the proposed solution to analysis, alternatives, and implementation.

Common Mistakes

Filling in the Canvas Without Thinking

The objective is understanding, not completion.

Ignoring Relationships

The blocks interact.

Focusing Only on Revenue

A revenue model cannot be separated from the value proposition and customer.

Showing the Entire Canvas When It Isn’t Necessary

Use the parts that answer the case question.

Mad Skills Drill

Create a Business Model Canvas for a company. Then change only one element. For example: Change the customer segment. Now identify every other block that might need to change. How many connections did you discover?

Chapter Summary

The Business Model Canvas helps teams see the organisation as an integrated system. It is particularly powerful when the recommendation changes how the company creates, delivers, or captures value.

Looking Ahead

The Business Model Canvas focuses on the business model, but businesses are also organisations made up of people, structures, systems, and cultures. The next tool helps us understand those internal organisational connections.

Chapter 15: McKinsey 7S

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· understand the major organisational elements that influence performance

· identify alignment problems

· evaluate whether an organisation is ready for change

· recognise the organisational implications of a recommendation

· connect strategy to implementation

Why This Matters

A strategy can be brilliant and still fail. Why? Because the organisation may not be capable of executing it. Perhaps:

· employees lack the necessary skills;

· leadership isn’t aligned;

· systems don’t support the strategy;

· the organisational structure creates barriers;

· culture resists change.

The McKinsey 7S framework helps examine organisational alignment.

The Seven Elements

Strategy: What is the organisation trying to accomplish?

Structure: How is the organisation organised?

Systems: What processes and systems support performance?

Shared Values: What beliefs and principles shape behaviour?

Skills: What capabilities exist?

Style: How does leadership operate?

Staff: Who works in the organisation?

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

A strategy that doesn’t fit the organisation will struggle to become reality.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

7S is particularly useful when cases involve:

· organisational change;

· transformation;

· restructuring;

· mergers;

· culture;

· leadership;

· implementation challenges;

· digital transformation.

Coach’s Lens

Don’t use 7S simply to identify seven problems. Use it to identify alignment. If your strategy requires a highly innovative organisation but:

· leadership is risk-averse;

· incentives reward short-term performance;

· systems punish experimentation;

· skills are outdated;

then the strategy and organisation are misaligned. That is an implementation problem. Your recommendation should address it.

Common Mistakes

Treating the Seven Elements as Independent

They influence one another.

Focusing Only on Hard Elements

Strategy, structure, and systems are visible.

Culture, leadership, skills, and staff can be equally important.

Using 7S Without an Organisational Question

Don’t force it into a case where it doesn’t add insight.

Mad Skills Drill

Take a proposed strategy. For each of the seven elements, ask: What must change for this strategy to succeed? Identify the two biggest gaps. How would you address them in implementation?

Chapter Summary

7S helps connect strategy to organisational reality. It reminds case competitors that: People, culture, systems, and structure can determine whether a strategy succeeds.

Looking Ahead

Organisations don’t operate only through internal systems. They operate through relationships with customers, employees, governments, suppliers, communities, investors, and many other stakeholders. The final chapter in this section explores those relationships.

Chapter 16: Stakeholder Analysis

Video: Stakeholder Analysis: The Often Ignored Tool That Makes Your Solution More Credible and Ethical

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

· identify key stakeholders

· understand stakeholder interests and influence

· recognise competing priorities

· anticipate stakeholder reactions

· incorporate stakeholder considerations into recommendations and implementation

Why This Matters

A business decision rarely affects only the company. Consider a decision to automate operations. It could affect:

· customers;

· employees;

· suppliers;

· investors;

· regulators;

· communities.

Each stakeholder may see the decision differently. A strategy that ignores these perspectives can encounter resistance during implementation.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

A stakeholder is not simply someone who is affected by your decision. A stakeholder can also influence whether your decision succeeds.

That distinction is important.

Identifying Stakeholders

Start by asking:

· Who is affected?

· Who has influence?

· Who has decision-making power?

· Who provides resources?

· Who could resist the change?

· Who needs to support implementation?

Stakeholder Mapping

A simple approach is to consider:

Power: How much influence does the stakeholder have?

Interest: How strongly does the stakeholder care about the decision?

This helps prioritise engagement. High-power, high-interest stakeholders generally require close attention. Low-power, low-interest stakeholders may require less intensive engagement; don’t assume that low-power stakeholders are unimportant. Collective influence can change.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

Stakeholder analysis becomes especially important when cases involve:

· government;

· healthcare;

· education;

· nonprofits;

· sustainability;

· large organisational change;

· community impact;

· employee relations;

· partnerships.

Coach’s Lens

One of the biggest mistakes teams make is treating stakeholders as a list. They say: “Our stakeholders are customers, employees, suppliers, government, and shareholders.” Fine.

But what does that tell us?

The stronger question is: What does each stakeholder need from us for this strategy to succeed? Now stakeholder analysis becomes part of implementation.

Stakeholder Conflict

Stakeholders don’t always want the same thing. For example:

Shareholders may want higher returns.

Employees may want job security.

Customers may want lower prices.

Suppliers may want higher prices.

Government may prioritise public outcomes.

Your strategy must recognise these tensions.

Common Mistakes

Treating All Stakeholders Equally

Different stakeholders have different levels of influence.

Ignoring Conflicting Interests

Stakeholder interests can directly conflict.

Identifying Without Acting

Knowing who matters isn’t enough.

Forgetting Implementation

Stakeholder engagement should influence how the strategy is executed.

Mad Skills Drill

Take a recommendation from a previous case. Identify:

· five stakeholders;

· what each wants;

· what each fears;

· how much influence each has;

· what you need from each stakeholder.

Then answer: Who could stop this recommendation from succeeding? That stakeholder deserves your attention.

Chapter Summary

Stakeholder analysis helps you move from: Who matters? To What do they need? To How will they respond? To How do we engage them?

That makes your recommendation more realistic and your implementation plan more credible.

Key Takeaways

✓ Identify stakeholders early.

✓ Consider both influence and interest.

✓ Recognise competing priorities.

✓ Anticipate resistance.

✓ Connect stakeholder analysis to implementation.

PART III CLOSING: From Frameworks to Insight

You now have a collection of powerful tools for understanding the situation. But remember: The objective was never to learn eight frameworks. The objective was to become better at understanding businesses.

SWOT helps organise internal and external factors.

PESTLE helps you understand the external environment.

Porter’s Five Forces helps you understand competitive pressure.

Value Chain helps you understand how the organisation creates value.

VRIO helps you understand capabilities and competitive advantage.

Business Model Canvas helps you understand how the organisation creates, delivers, and captures value.

McKinsey 7S helps you understand organisational alignment.

Stakeholder Analysis helps you understand the people and groups who influence and are influenced by the decision.

These tools become much more powerful when you connect them.

For example:

PESTLE: What is changing outside? à

Five Forces: How does that change competitive pressure? à

Value Chain: Where does the organisation create or lose value? à

VRIO: What capabilities can create advantage? à

Business Model Canvas: How does the business model need to change? à

7S: What must change inside the organisation? à

Stakeholders: Who must support the change? à

Strategy: What should the organisation do?

That is the real purpose of frameworks. Not to produce more analysis. To create a clearer path from:

Understanding → Insight → Choice → Action

The Framework Selection Test

Before using any framework in a competition, ask five questions:

1. What question am I trying to answer? If you can’t answer this, don’t use the framework yet.

2. Is this the right tool for the question? Don’t use a familiar framework simply because you know it.

3. What evidence do I have? A framework should be grounded in the case.

4. What insight does it produce? If you cannot identify the insight, the framework probably isn’t helping.

5. How does the insight affect our decision? If the answer doesn’t change the recommendation, ask whether the analysis is necessary.

The Mad Skills Framework Rule

Don’t ask, “What framework can I use?”

Ask: “What do I need to understand?”

Then: “What tool will help me understand it?”

And finally: “What does that understanding allow me to do?”

That is the difference between using frameworks and thinking with frameworks.

Deciphering Case Characteristics

Every case is different.

A growth case may require market and competitive analysis.

A turnaround may require financial and operational analysis.

A market-entry case may require PESTLE, Five Forces, market sizing, and capability analysis.

A transformation case may require Business Model Canvas, 7S, stakeholder analysis, and implementation planning.

An innovation case may require customer analysis, creative thinking, business model analysis, and financial feasibility.

There is no universal framework stack. The characteristics of the case should determine the tools you use. That is one of the most important Mad Skills you can develop.

Final Challenge

Take a case you have already solved. Without looking at your previous analysis, answer:

· What did we need to understand?

· Which frameworks did we use?

· Which frameworks actually created insight?

· Which frameworks were unnecessary?

· What important question did we fail to answer?

· If we solved the case again, which tools would we choose?

Finally ask yourself:

Did we use frameworks to understand the ~~case—~~case or did we use the case to complete frameworks?

The answer tells you a lot about your team’s analytical maturity.

PART III TAKEAWAY

Frameworks don’t win case competitions. Insight does.

And insight comes from knowing:

what to look for, what to question, what to connect, and what matters.

That is the beginning of becoming a more sophisticated case solver.

PART III: UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION