Case-Soving Mad Skills - Skills, Tools, Frameworks
DISCOVER YOUR MAD SKILLS
Case Competition Masterclass 3
Skills, Frameworks & Tools
A Practical Toolkit for Case-Solving Competition Teams
Cam Welsh
Emeritus Professor | Coach & Mentor to Aspiring Professionals | Helping the Next Generation Discover Their “Mad Skills”
© 2026 Discover Your Mad Skills Toolkit
How to Use This Manual
The first Discover Your Mad Skills Masterclass introduced a systematic approach to solving business cases. It focused on understanding the problem, analysing the situation, developing alternatives, making recommendations, and creating implementation plans.
The second manual shifted the focus to communication. It explored how to transform strong analysis into persuasive presentations through effective slide design, storytelling, confident speaking, and successful question-and-answer sessions.
This third manual is different. Rather than following the chronological process of solving a case, it serves as a practical reference guide to the skills, frameworks, and analytical tools that support high-quality decision-making throughout a competition. Think of this manual as your Mad Skills Toolbox.
Just as an experienced craftsperson doesn’t use every tool in the toolbox on every project, successful case competitors don’t apply every framework to every case. Instead, they first decipher the characteristics of the case, identify the questions that need to be answered, and then select the tools most likely to generate meaningful insight. Throughout this manual, you will repeatedly encounter one central principle:
Frameworks are not answers. Frameworks are thinking tools.
The objective is not to complete a SWOT analysis because every case “needs one.” The objective is to understand the organisation more deeply. Likewise, financial models are not created simply because judges expect calculations. They are developed to improve decision-making.
Each chapter therefore asks four important questions:
· What question does this tool answer?
· When should it be used?
· What insight should it produce?
· How does it improve the recommendation?
This philosophy reflects the Discover Your Mad Skills approach to case solving. The goal is never to collect frameworks. The goal is to develop judgment.
Note: This manual is designed to work alongside the instructional Masterclass videos available on the Mad Skills Masterclass YouTube channel. For those in regions where YouTube is unavailable, the videos are also available through Innovatank TV. The complete series of Deciphering Cases posts is also available through Discover Your Mad Skills on Patreon, providing additional insights, examples, and perspectives to help you develop your case-solving skills.
PART I: THE MAD SKILLS TOOLBOX
Chapter 1: Building Your Toolkit
Every experienced competitor develops a personal toolkit. Some tools help understand markets. Others evaluate financial performance. Some generate ideas. Others compare alternatives. Some improve implementation. Others strengthen communication.
Winning teams are not the ones with the largest collection of frameworks. They are the ones who know which tools matter most in a particular situation.
Knowledge vs Judgment
Knowledge means knowing many frameworks. Judgment means selecting the right one. This manual focuses on building judgment. Throughout your competitions, ask yourself: What am I trying to understand?
Only then ask: Which framework will help me answer that question?
Deciphering Case Characteristics
Before choosing any framework, identify the characteristics of the case; ask:
- Is this primarily a growth challenge?
- Is profitability declining?
- Is innovation required?
- Is implementation the greatest challenge?
- Is the market changing rapidly?
- Is stakeholder management critical?
- Is sustainability central to the decision?
- Is the problem operational, strategic, financial, or organisational?
These questions should guide every analytical choice you make.
PART II: THINKING SKILLS
“Winning teams don’t simply know more frameworks. They think differently.”
Frameworks are valuable. Financial models are important. Analytical tools matter. But none of them creates winning recommendations on their own. Every framework depends on the quality of the thinking behind it.
The strongest case competitors develop habits of mind that allow them to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, recognise patterns, connect ideas, and make decisions under uncertainty. Those habits are skills.
Unlike memorising a framework, thinking skills transfer from one competition to the next, from one industry to another, and eventually into your professional career. All forms of thinking can use the Mad Skills Thinking Model but emphasise different stages within each.
Observe → Question → Connect → Decide → Reflect
- Observe: What facts and patterns do you notice?
- Question: What assumptions should be challenged?
- Connect: How do the pieces fit together?
- Decide: What is the best course of action, and why?
- Reflect: What did you learn, and what would you do differently?
This section introduces the thinking skills that underpin every successful case solution. As you work through each chapter, remember one important principle:
Your recommendation can never be stronger than the thinking that produced it.
Chapter 2: Critical Thinking
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
- distinguish facts from assumptions
- evaluate the quality of evidence
- identify weaknesses in an argument
- recognise logical fallacies
- challenge your own conclusions before a judge does
- make recommendations supported by evidence rather than opinion
Why This Matters
One of the most common comments judges make after a competition is:
“Your recommendation sounded reasonable, but I wasn’t convinced.”
That comment is rarely about presentation skills. More often, it reflects weaknesses in the team’s thinking. Many teams gather information. Fewer teams evaluate it. Strong case competitors constantly ask themselves:
- How do we know this?
- What evidence supports this conclusion?
- What assumptions are we making?
- What evidence might contradict our thinking?
- Are we solving the right problem?
Critical thinking transforms analysis into insight.
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
Don’t accept information simply because it appears in the case. Ask what it means, why it matters, and whether it changes your recommendation.
Deciphering Case Characteristics
Critical thinking looks different depending on the characteristics of the case.
For example:
A Turnaround Case
Your priority may be identifying the root causes of declining performance rather than simply describing declining sales.
A Growth Case
You may need to question whether growth is actually the right objective or whether profitability should take precedence.
A Social Enterprise Case
You may need to balance financial sustainability with social impact rather than optimizing only one outcome.
An Innovation Case
The challenge may be evaluating uncertainty rather than proving certainty.
The questions you ask should always reflect the nature of the problem.
Understanding Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is disciplined thinking. It is the deliberate process of questioning information before accepting it as true. This does not mean being negative. Nor does it mean criticising every idea.
Instead, critical thinkers ask whether conclusions are supported by evidence. Consider the following statement.
“Sales have declined by 18%, therefore, the company needs more advertising.”
This may sound reasonable. But it actually contains several assumptions.
· Perhaps customers are leaving because of poor service.
· Perhaps competitors introduced a superior product.
· Perhaps distribution problems reduced availability.
· Perhaps demand has shifted entirely.
The conclusion may be correct. But it has not yet been earned.
Coach’s Lens
One habit separates exceptional teams from average teams.
Average teams ask:
“What should we recommend?”
Exceptional teams ask:
“What problem are we actually trying to solve?”
Those questions sound similar. They are not. The second question often changes the entire direction of the analysis.
A Mad Skills Framework
When evaluating evidence, use four questions.
1. What do we know?
Separate facts from opinions.
2. What do we think?
Identify assumptions.
3. What don’t we know?
Recognize uncertainty.
4. What do we need to learn?
Identify the information that will strengthen the recommendation.
This simple sequence prevents teams from jumping to conclusions too quickly.
Common Thinking Traps
Confirmation Bias
Looking only for evidence that supports your preferred solution.
Anchoring
Allowing the first idea to dominate later thinking.
Availability Bias
Giving too much weight to information that is easiest to remember.
Groupthink
Avoiding disagreement in order to maintain harmony.
False Certainty
Presenting assumptions as though they were facts.
Judges notice these mistakes immediately.
Competition Example
Imagine your team is working on a case involving declining customer retention.
One team immediately recommends a new loyalty program.
Another team asks:
· Which customers are leaving?
· Why are they leaving?
· When did the decline begin?
· What has changed?
· Is retention actually the biggest problem?
The second team may ultimately recommend the same loyalty program.
But their recommendation will be stronger because it is supported by better thinking.
Mad Skills Drill
Read a recent business news article.
Identify:
· Five facts.
· Three assumptions.
· Two unanswered questions.
· One conclusion that requires more evidence.
Discuss your answers with your teammates. How different were your conclusions?
Reflection Questions
Which assumption did your team make most often in your last competition?
Did you actively test it?
What evidence challenged your thinking?
How might stronger critical thinking have changed your recommendation?
Chapter Summary
Critical thinking is not about finding flaws. It is about improving decisions. Every recommendation should survive the question:
“What evidence makes us believe this is the best course of action?”
The strongest teams do not avoid difficult questions. They ask them first.
Key Takeaways
✓ Separate facts from assumptions.
✓ Question your own reasoning before judges do.
✓ Look for evidence that disproves your preferred solution.
✓ Understand the difference between describing a problem and explaining it.
✓ Remember that better questions usually produce better recommendations.
Looking Ahead
Critical thinking helps you evaluate information.
The next chapter explores strategic thinking—the ability to understand how different parts of an organisation interact and why solving one problem often creates another.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
- distinguish strategic thinking from operational thinking
- recognise the characteristics of strategic decisions
- identify strategic opportunities and trade-offs
- evaluate recommendations over the short and long term
- align recommendations with organisational objectives
- make decisions that create sustainable value
Why This Matters
One of the biggest misconceptions in case-solving competitions is that every recommendation is strategic. It isn’t. Many recommendations improve a process. Some reduce costs. Others solve immediate operational problems.
Those recommendations may be valuable, but they are not necessarily strategic. Strategic thinking asks a different question:
How do we position the organisation for long-term success?
Rather than reacting to today’s problems, strategic thinking considers tomorrow’s opportunities, tomorrow’s risks, and tomorrow’s competitive environment.
The strongest case-solving competitors don’t simply ask, “What can we do?”
They ask, “What should we do, given where we want to be?”
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
Strategy is not about doing more. Strategy is about making better choices.
Every organisation has limited time, money, people, and capabilities. Choosing one direction almost always means choosing not to pursue another. Winning recommendations recognise these trade-offs instead of pretending every initiative can be pursued simultaneously.
Deciphering Case Characteristics
Not every case requires the same level of strategic thinking. Understanding the characteristics of the case helps determine the kinds of strategic questions you should ask.
How can the organisation create sustainable competitive advantage rather than simply increasing revenue?
Should the organisation prioritise survival before pursuing growth?
Which market provides the greatest long-term opportunity, and what capabilities are required to succeed?
How much uncertainty is acceptable?
How should the organisation balance experimentation with financial risk?
Government and Non-Profit Cases
Success may be measured by social outcomes rather than shareholder value.
The definition of “winning” changes. The strategy should change as well.
Strategic thinking is the ability to see beyond today’s problem. It involves understanding how decisions made today influence future performance.
Strategic thinkers look for patterns, relationships, opportunities, and consequences.
Rather than asking, “How do we fix this problem?”
they ask,
“How do we position this organisation to succeed over the next five or ten years?”
This shift in perspective changes the way recommendations are developed.
Strategic Thinking Begins With Questions
Strong strategists ask questions before proposing solutions.
Examples include:
- What is changing in the environment?
- What assumptions are we making?
- What capabilities create competitive advantage?
- What trends could reshape the industry?
- What risks threaten long-term success?
- What opportunities are competitors overlooking?
- Where should the organization invest?
- What activities create the greatest value?
These questions encourage teams to think beyond symptoms and focus on long-term positioning.
A Mad Skills Framework
When evaluating strategic options, ask five questions.
1. Does this solve the right problem?
Avoid solving symptoms while ignoring root causes.
2. Is this aligned with the organization’s objectives?
Recommendations should support the mission, vision, and strategic priorities of the organization.
3. Can the organization realistically implement it?
An excellent idea that cannot be executed creates little value.
4. Will it create sustainable advantage?
Ask whether competitors can easily copy the recommendation.
If the answer is yes, its strategic value may be limited.
5. What are we choosing not to do?
Every strategic decision requires trade-offs.
Understanding those trade-offs strengthens your recommendation.
Coach’s Lens
One of the biggest weaknesses I see in competitions is that teams present lists instead of strategies.
They recommend:
- launch a new product
- improve marketing
- expand internationally
- increase digital capabilities
- improve sustainability
- strengthen customer engagement
None of these ideas may be wrong. But together they are not a strategy. A strategy has focus. It identifies priorities. It explains why certain initiatives deserve investment before others. The best presentations leave judges thinking,
“They know exactly where this organization should go.”
Common Mistakes
Mistaking Activity for Strategy
Doing more work is not the same as creating strategic value.
Every recommendation has costs and opportunity costs.
Teams should explain why they selected one direction over another.
Focusing Only on the Short Term
Immediate improvements are important, but judges also want to understand the long-term implications of the recommendation.
Organizations rarely have unlimited resources.
Trying to pursue every opportunity often results in accomplishing none of them well.
Forgetting Competitive Advantage
A recommendation should help the organization become stronger relative to competitors, not simply improve internal performance.
Competition Example
A retail company is experiencing declining sales. One team recommends increasing advertising. Another recommends reducing prices. A third team begins by asking:
- Why are customers leaving?
- How has the market changed?
- What capabilities differentiate the company?
- Which customers should we focus on?
- Where can we create unique value that competitors cannot easily replicate?
Their recommendation is not simply to increase sales. It is to reposition the company around premium customer experience, supported by targeted digital engagement and operational improvements. The recommendation addresses today’s problem while strengthening future competitiveness. That is strategic thinking.
Mad Skills Drill
Choose a company you know well. Write down five initiatives the company could pursue. Now reduce the list to two. Finally, select one.
For each decision explain:
- Why was it selected?
- What evidence supports the decision?
- What opportunities were intentionally rejected?
- What risks remain?
Discuss your choices with your teammates. Did everyone prioritise the same initiative? If not, why?
Reflection Questions
Think about your most recent case competition.
Did your recommendation clearly establish strategic priorities?
Did you explain what the organisation should not do?
How well did your recommendation balance short-term results with long-term success?
What additional information would have strengthened your strategic thinking?
Chapter Summary
Strategic thinking is about creating direction. It requires understanding the organisation, its environment, its capabilities, and the choices available to it.
Strong recommendations do more than solve today’s problems. They position the organisation for future success. That requires discipline. It requires prioritisation. Most importantly, it requires the confidence to make choices.
Because strategy is not the pursuit of every opportunity. It is the disciplined pursuit of the right opportunities.
Key Takeaways
✓ Strategic thinking focuses on long-term success rather than immediate activity.
✓ Every strategic decision involves trade-offs.
✓ Strategy is defined as much by what you choose not to do as by what you choose to do.
✓ Competitive advantage should guide recommendations.
✓ Strategic thinking begins with asking better questions before proposing solutions.
Looking Ahead
Strategic thinking helps us decide where an organisation should go.
The next chapter explores systems thinking—understanding how different parts of an organisation interact and why changing one part of a system often creates consequences elsewhere.
Chapter 4: Systems Thinking
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
· recognise relationships between different parts of a business problem
· distinguish symptoms from root causes
· identify unintended consequences
· understand how decisions in one area can affect another
· recognise feedback loops and reinforcing or balancing relationships
· consider the broader system when developing recommendations
Why This Matters
Business problems rarely exist in isolation. A decline in sales may appear to be a marketing problem. But perhaps the real issue is product quality, or customer service, or pricing, or distribution, or a competitor’s new offering, or a combination of several factors. Organisations are systems.
Customers, employees, suppliers, competitors, technology, finances, operations, and leadership all interact.
When you change one part of the system, you can create consequences somewhere else. That is why a recommendation that looks excellent in isolation can sometimes create a new problem. Systems thinking helps you see the connections.
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
Don’t just look at the problem. Look at the system that created the problem.
A strong case solver asks: “What is causing this?”
A systems thinker goes one step further: “What relationships are causing this, and what will happen when we intervene?”
Deciphering Case Characteristics
Systems thinking becomes particularly important when:
· multiple stakeholders are involved;
· problems have several interacting causes;
· changing one variable affects another;
· the organization operates in a complex environment;
· the case involves sustainability;
· implementation creates significant downstream consequences.
A simple problem may not require a complex systems analysis. But when the case contains interconnected problems, treating each issue independently can lead you in the wrong direction.
Understanding Systems Thinking
A system contains:
Elements
The individual parts.
Relationships
How the parts interact.
Purpose
What the system is trying to accomplish.
Consider a restaurant. Its elements might include:
· customers;
· employees;
· kitchen;
· suppliers;
· technology;
· pricing;
· management.
But simply listing those elements doesn’t help you understand the system. You need to understand their relationships.
For example:
Higher demand à Longer wait times à Lower customer satisfaction à Lower repeat visits à Lower revenue
The system creates a feedback loop.
From Symptoms to Root Causes
One of the most useful applications of systems thinking is understanding the difference between a symptom and a cause.
Suppose a company has declining profitability. Possible symptoms include:
· lower revenue;
· higher costs;
· declining margins;
· customer churn.
But these may be consequences rather than root causes.
Ask: Why is this happening?
Then ask again: Why?
This simple process can reveal relationships that aren’t obvious at first.
The Systems Map
A simple systems map can help your team visualize:
Cause → Effect → Consequence
For example:
Understaffing à Longer customer wait times à Customer dissatisfaction à Lower retention à Lower revenue à Reduced ability to hire à Understaffing
The final relationship brings you back to the beginning. You now have a reinforcing cycle.
Coach’s Lens
One of the most common mistakes I see in case-solving competitions is teams identifying several problems and then creating a single solution for each.
Problem: Customers are leaving.
Solution: Improve customer service.
Problem: Costs are increasing.
Solution: Reduce costs.
Problem: Employee morale is declining.
Solution: Improve employee engagement.
The problem is that these may not be three independent problems. There may be three symptoms of the same underlying system. Your job is not to solve every symptom separately. Your job is to understand the system well enough to find the leverage point where an intervention can create the greatest impact.
Common Mistakes
Treating Problems as Independent
Connected problems often require connected solutions.
Ignoring Unintended Consequences
A solution can create new problems.
Focusing Only on the Immediate Result
Some interventions create short-term benefits but long-term damage.
Overcomplicating the Analysis
Systems thinking does not mean drawing a diagram with fifty variables.
The objective is clarity.
Forgetting the Human Element
Employees, customers, communities, and other stakeholders are part of the system.
Competition Example
A company wants to reduce delivery costs. The obvious solution is to reduce the number of delivery routes. But fewer routes create longer delivery times. Longer delivery times reduce customer satisfaction. Lower satisfaction increases churn. Churn reduces revenue.
The cost-saving initiative may therefore improve one metric while damaging the overall business. A systems thinker asks:
What happens next?
Mad Skills Drill
Choose a problem from a previous case. Write the problem at the centre of a page.
Add:
· three likely causes;
· three consequences;
· two relationships between causes;
· two possible unintended consequences of solving the problem.
Then identify: Where could we intervene to create the greatest positive impact?
Reflection Questions
Did your team ever solve a symptom rather than a root cause?
What unintended consequence could your recommendation have created?
Which stakeholders were part of the system?
What relationship did your team initially overlook?
Chapter Summary
Systems thinking helps you move from:
Problems to Relationships to Root Causes to Leverage Points
The goal is not to understand everything. It is to understand enough of the system to make a better decision.
Key Takeaways
✓ Problems rarely exist in isolation.
✓ Look for relationships, not just individual factors.
✓ Distinguish symptoms from root causes.
✓ Consider unintended consequences.
✓ Look for leverage points where an intervention can create disproportionate impact.
Looking Ahead
Systems thinking helps you understand how the pieces connect. Analytical thinking helps you break complex problems into manageable pieces and determine what the evidence is actually telling you.
Chapter 5: Analytical Thinking
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
· break complex problems into smaller components
· identify relevant information
· distinguish correlation from causation
· use evidence to test hypotheses
· interpret quantitative and qualitative information
· turn data into meaningful insights
Why This Matters
Case competitions often provide more information than you can use. You may receive:
· financial statements;
· market data;
· customer research;
· industry statistics;
· operational information;
· survey results;
· competitor information.
The challenge isn’t finding information. The challenge is determining: What matters?
Analytical thinking helps you separate signal from noise.
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
Data doesn’t create insight. Thinking about data creates insight.
A table containing twenty numbers isn’t analysis. Analysis happens when you identify a meaningful relationship and explain why it matters.
Deciphering Case Characteristics
The amount and type of analysis you need depends on the case. A financially focused case may require detailed quantitative analysis. A customer experience case may depend more heavily on qualitative evidence. A market entry case may require market sizing and competitive analysis. A complex operational case may require several layers of quantitative and process analysis.
Don’t analyse simply because data exists. Analyse because the result will help you make a decision.
Breaking Down the Problem
A useful analytical process is:
Define
What exactly are we trying to understand?
Break Down
What components make up the problem?
Investigate
What evidence can help us evaluate each component?
Compare
What patterns or differences emerge?
Interpret
What does the evidence mean?
Decide
How does the analysis influence our recommendation?
The Difference Between Data and Insight
Consider: “Customer retention declined from 82% to 74%.”
That is data.
Now consider: “Retention among high-value customers declined from 86% to 68%, accounting for most of the company’s profit decline.”
That is insight.
The second statement is more useful because it connects the data to the decision.
Coach’s Lens
I often see teams proudly announce: “We did a lot of analysis.”
That isn’t the objective. Judges aren’t rewarding the number of calculations you completed. They are evaluating whether your analysis helped you understand the problem and make a better recommendation.
Ask after every analysis: So what?
Then ask: Now what?
Those two questions turn analysis into action.
Common Mistakes
Analysis Without a Question
Starting with data rather than identifying what you need to know.
Analysis Paralysis
Continuing to analyse after you already have enough information to make the decision.
Correlation Equals Causation
Assuming that because two things move together, one causes the other.
Ignoring Base Rates
Focusing on unusual examples rather than the broader pattern.
Overvaluing Precision
Presenting numbers to the nearest decimal when the underlying assumptions are uncertain.
Competition Example
Suppose sales have increased 12%. That sounds positive. But further analysis reveals:
· volume increased 20%;
· average price declined 7%;
· gross margin declined 15%;
The headline says growth. The analysis reveals deterioration. This is why case competitors need to look beyond the obvious number.
Mad Skills Drill
Take a financial or market table from a previous case.
Identify: Three observations.
For each observation, write: So what?
Then write: Now what?
Which observation actually changes your recommendation?
Reflection Questions
Did your team ever perform analysis that didn’t affect the recommendation?
Which analysis created your strongest insight?
How did you decide when you had enough information?
Chapter Summary
Analytical thinking is not about doing more calculations. It is about using evidence to answer important questions. Strong analytical thinking moves from:
Data → Pattern → Meaning → Implication → Decision
Key Takeaways
✓ Start with a question.
✓ Focus on relevant information.
✓ Look for meaningful patterns.
✓ Distinguish observation from interpretation.
✓ Always ask “So what?” and “Now what?”
Looking Ahead
Analytical thinking helps you understand what is happening. But case-solving competitions also require you to imagine what could happen. That requires Creative Thinking.
Chapter 6: Creative Thinking
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
· generate multiple possible solutions
· avoid premature judgment
· challenge conventional assumptions
· use structured creativity techniques
· combine ideas in new ways
· develop differentiated recommendations
Why This Matters
Once a team understands the problem, it is tempting to jump immediately to the first reasonable solution. That can be dangerous. Your first idea is usually the most obvious idea. And if your team has the same information as every other team, the obvious idea is probably available to them too.
Creative thinking helps you move beyond: “What could we do?”
to: “What else could we do?”
and eventually: “What could we do that others might not consider?”
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
Don’t confuse creativity with randomness. Great case solutions combine imagination with strategic discipline.
Creativity generates possibilities. Analysis evaluates them. Strategy selects them.
Deciphering Case Characteristics
Creativity becomes particularly valuable when:
· the case asks for innovation;
· existing solutions are failing;
· the organisation operates in a highly competitive market;
· customer needs are changing;
· traditional approaches have reached their limits.
But creativity is not only for innovation cases. Every case requires some degree of creative problem solving. The key is determining how much creativity the situation requires.
The Creative Thinking Process
A useful process is:
Define
Clearly understand the problem.
Diverge
Generate many possibilities.
Combine
Look for connections between ideas.
Challenge
Question assumptions.
Converge
Evaluate and prioritise.
Refine
Turn the strongest idea into a practical solution.
The Rule of Divergence
During brainstorming, separate: Idea generation from Idea evaluation
If someone suggests an idea and another team member immediately says: “That won’t work,” you have stopped creative thinking.
Capture the idea. Evaluate it later.
Creative Thinking Tools
Reverse Brainstorming
Instead of asking: How can we solve this problem?
ask: How could we make this problem even worse?
Then reverse the answers.
SCAMPER
Ask whether you can:
· Substitute
· Combine
· Adapt
· Modify
· Put to another use
· Eliminate
· Reverse
Constraint Thinking
Ask:
· What if we had half the budget?
· What if we had to launch in 30 days?
· What if we couldn’t use our current distribution channel?
Constraints can force new thinking.
Analogical Thinking
Ask: Who else has solved a similar problem?
The best idea for one industry may come from another.
Coach’s Lens
Creative thinking doesn’t mean adding more ideas to a recommendation. In fact, one of the most common mistakes is presenting a collection of creative initiatives and calling it innovation.
· Relevant
· Differentiated
· Feasible
· Valuable
Common Mistakes
Brainstorming Too Early
If you don’t understand the problem, you may generate solutions to the wrong problem.
Killing Ideas Too Quickly
Premature evaluation reduces creativity.
Creativity for Creativity’s Sake
An unusual idea isn’t automatically a good idea.
Ignoring Feasibility
Creative solutions still need to work in the real world.
Copying Other Industries Without Understanding Context
A successful idea elsewhere may not transfer directly.
Competition Example
A struggling retailer wants to increase customer visits. The obvious solutions include:
· discounts;
· advertising;
· loyalty points.
A creative team might ask: What if the store became a destination rather than simply a place to buy products?
That could lead to:
· events;
· experiential spaces;
· partnerships;
· community programming;
· personalised services.
The idea is not valuable because it is unusual. It is valuable if it addresses the underlying customer problem and creates economic value.
Mad Skills Drill
Take a straightforward case problem: “Customer traffic has declined.”
· Generate 20 possible solutions.
· Do not evaluate them.
· Then group them into themes.
· Finally, select the three most promising ideas based on:
o customer value;
o strategic fit;
o feasibility;
o financial impact.
What changed when you separated creativity from evaluation?
Reflection Questions
Does your team tend to jump to the first idea?
Who challenges conventional thinking?
How do you create an environment where team members can suggest unconventional ideas?
How do you prevent creativity from becoming impractical?
Chapter Summary
Creative thinking expands the solution space. But creativity must ultimately connect back to the problem, the organisation, and the decision. The goal isn’t to be different. The goal is to discover a better possibility.
Key Takeaways
✓ Understand the problem before generating solutions.
✓ Separate divergence from convergence.
✓ Challenge assumptions.
✓ Use structured creativity tools.
✓ Evaluate creative ideas for strategic and practical value.
Looking Ahead
Creative thinking helps us ask: “What could we do?”
Ethical thinking forces us to ask a different question: “What should we do?”
Chapter 7
Ethical Thinking
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
· identify ethical dimensions of business decisions
· recognise competing stakeholder interests
· distinguish legal decisions from ethical decisions
· identify potential harms and unintended consequences
· evaluate decisions using multiple ethical perspectives
· incorporate ethical considerations into recommendations
Why This Matters
A recommendation can be:
· profitable;
· legal;
· feasible;
· strategically sound;
and still be ethically questionable.
Business decisions affect people.
· Employees.
· Customers.
· Suppliers.
· Communities.
· Future generations.
· The environment.
Ethical thinking asks us to consider those consequences.
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
The fact that we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it.
Ethical thinking expands the definition of a successful recommendation.
The question is no longer simply: “Will this work?”
It becomes: “Will this create value without creating unacceptable harm?”
Deciphering Case Characteristics
Ethical thinking becomes especially important when cases involve:
· employee treatment;
· customer data;
· artificial intelligence;
· environmental impact;
· healthcare;
· vulnerable populations;
· government decisions;
· discrimination;
· supply chains;
· social enterprises.
But ethics should not be treated as an “ESG section.” Ethical considerations can exist in almost any business decision.
Legal vs Ethical
Something can be legal and still be ethically questionable.
For example:
· A company may legally collect customer information. But should it collect information customers don’t reasonably expect to be used?
· A company may legally outsource production. But should it do so if working conditions are unacceptable?
· A company may legally automate jobs. But what responsibility does it have to affected employees?
These are ethical questions.
The Stakeholder Lens
Identify:
Who benefits?
Who bears the cost?
Who has power?
Who has little voice?
Who could be harmed?
Who has responsibility?
These questions can reveal ethical issues hidden inside seemingly straightforward business decisions.
Ethical Decision-Making Framework
When facing an ethical dilemma, ask:
1. What happened?
Establish the facts.
2. Who is affected?
Identify stakeholders.
3. What values are in conflict?
Identify the competing principles.
4. What options exist?
Don’t assume there are only two.
5. What are the consequences?
Consider short- and long-term effects.
6. What decision can we defend?
Would you be comfortable explaining the decision publicly?
Coach’s Lens
Ethics should not be something teams add to the final slide because they think judges expect it.
It should influence the recommendation.
If you say: “We recommend automating 30% of the workforce,” the ethical question isn’t simply whether the plan saves money.
You should consider:
· who loses their jobs;
· whether retraining is possible;
· how the organisation communicates the change;
· whether the productivity gains justify the disruption;
· what responsibilities the organisation has to employees.
The best recommendations recognise these tensions rather than pretending they don’t exist.
Common Mistakes
Treating Ethics as a Checkbox
Adding “ethical considerations” at the end of the presentation.
Assuming Profit and Ethics Are Opposites
Sometimes ethical decisions create long-term economic value.
Ignoring Stakeholders
Focusing exclusively on shareholders.
Confusing Legal With Ethical
Legality establishes a minimum standard, not necessarily the best decision.
Moralizing
Ethical analysis should be thoughtful rather than judgmental.
Competition Example
A company can reduce costs by moving production to a lower-cost supplier. Financial analysis shows a significant benefit. Further research reveals the supplier has questionable labour practices. The team now has a strategic choice. Options might include:
· continue using the supplier;
· reject the supplier;
· require compliance standards;
· establish an audit process;
· develop alternative suppliers.
The ethical analysis doesn’t eliminate the business decision. It makes the decision better informed.
Mad Skills Drill
Take a recommendation from a previous case. Identify:
· three groups that benefit;
· three groups that could be negatively affected;
· one ethical concern;
· one mitigation strategy.
Then ask: Would you still recommend the strategy?
If not, what would you change?
Reflection Questions
Have you ever ignored an ethical issue because it made the recommendation more complicated?
Which stakeholder did your team focus on most?
Which stakeholder received the least attention?
Would you be comfortable defending your recommendation publicly?
Chapter Summary
Ethical thinking asks us to look beyond what is profitable or feasible. It asks: What is responsible?
Strong case-solving competitors recognise that sustainable business decisions must consider both performance and consequences.
Key Takeaways
✓ Legal does not always mean ethical.
✓ Identify who benefits and who bears the cost.
✓ Consider stakeholders beyond shareholders.
✓ Look for unintended consequences.
✓ Build ethical considerations into the recommendation rather than adding them at the end.
Looking Ahead
Ethical thinking helps us evaluate what we should do. But many case decisions involve uncertainty. You may not have enough information to know which option will produce the best outcome. That brings us to another essential competition skill: Decision Making Under Uncertainty.
Chapter 8: Decision Making Under Uncertainty
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
· distinguish risk from uncertainty
· identify assumptions that affect a decision
· evaluate multiple possible outcomes
· make decisions when information is incomplete
· use scenarios and sensitivity analysis
· build recommendations that remain resilient when assumptions change
Why This Matters
Case competitions rarely give you perfect information. You may not know:
· exactly how customers will respond;
· how competitors will react;
· whether a market will grow;
· whether implementation will proceed as planned;
· whether your financial assumptions will hold.
Yet you still have to make a recommendation. That is the nature of business. Leaders rarely make decisions with complete information.
The goal isn’t to eliminate uncertainty. It is to make a good decision despite uncertainty.
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
You don’t need certainty to make a decision. You need a defensible decision and a plan for managing uncertainty.
This is one of the most important lessons in case competitions. Students often try to make their recommendation sound certain. Experienced decision makers recognise uncertainty and manage it.
Deciphering Case Characteristics
The importance of uncertainty depends on the case. A decision involving a proven technology may have relatively low uncertainty. A new product entering an emerging market may have tremendous uncertainty. A startup case may involve uncertainty around almost every major assumption.
A market-entry case may involve uncertainty around:
· demand;
· competition;
· regulation;
· pricing;
· customer adoption.
Recognising the level of uncertainty should influence both your analysis and your recommendation.
Risk vs Uncertainty
A useful distinction is:
Risk
You can identify possible outcomes and estimate their probabilities.
Uncertainty
You cannot confidently estimate the probability of outcomes.
For example:
· If historical data suggests there is a 20% chance of a particular outcome, you may be dealing with risk.
· If the company is entering a completely new market where there is no reliable historical data, you may be dealing with uncertainty.
Both require judgment.
The Assumption Test
Every recommendation contains assumptions. Identify the three to five assumptions that matter most.
For each, ask: What happens if this assumption is wrong?
This simple question can reveal the vulnerability of your recommendation.
Scenario Analysis
Instead of creating one forecast, consider several.
Base Case
What happens if things develop as expected?
Upside Case
What happens if conditions are better than expected?
Downside Case
What happens if important assumptions fail?
The purpose isn’t to predict the future. It is to understand how resilient the recommendation is.
Sensitivity Analysis
Sensitivity analysis asks: Which assumptions matter most to our decision?
For example, if the success of a project depends heavily on customer adoption, test different adoption rates. If the recommendation remains attractive across reasonable scenarios, confidence increases. If a small change makes the project unattractive, that assumption deserves attention.
Decision Trees
Decision trees can help when:
· decisions happen in stages;
· different outcomes lead to different next steps;
· probabilities can be estimated;
· the value of future choices matters.
They help visualise:
Decision → Outcome → Decision → Outcome
Expected Value
When probabilities are available, expected value can help compare uncertain alternatives.
A simplified version is: Expected Value = Probability × Outcome
For multiple outcomes: Expected Value = Σ (Probability × Outcome)
The calculation doesn’t make the decision for you. It provides another piece of evidence.
Real Options Thinking
Sometimes the best decision isn’t to make a large commitment immediately.
You may be able to:
· run a pilot;
· test the market;
· launch in one region;
· conduct customer research;
· create a minimum viable product.
These actions generate information. That information has value. A staged investment can therefore be a strategic response to uncertainty.
Coach’s Lens
One of the strongest phrases a team can use in a competition is:
“Our recommendation depends on three critical assumptions.”
That statement shows awareness.
Even better:
“We have designed the implementation to test those assumptions before making the full investment.”
Now you are not simply acknowledging uncertainty. You are managing it. That is what business leaders do.
Common Mistakes
Pretending Uncertainty Doesn’t Exist
Every forecast contains assumptions.
Using Fake Precision
A projection of “$4,283,721” may imply more certainty than the analysis supports.
Building Only One Scenario
One forecast is not a strategy for uncertainty.
Overanalysing Every Possibility
You cannot model every possible future.
Focus on uncertainties that could materially change the decision.
Failing to Build Flexibility into Implementation
A good strategy can adapt as new information becomes available.
Competition Example
A company is considering entering a new international market. Your model predicts:
· $10 million revenue;
· 15% margin;
· three-year payback.
The team could simply present these numbers.
A stronger team asks:
· What if adoption is 20% lower?
· What if customer acquisition costs are 30% higher?
· What if the competitor responds aggressively?
· What if regulatory approval takes six months longer?
The analysis might reveal that the strategy is attractive under most conditions but fails under one particular scenario. That insight changes the recommendation.
Perhaps the team now recommends:
A phased market entry beginning with a pilot in one region, with expansion contingent on predefined customer adoption and profitability thresholds.
The uncertainty hasn’t disappeared. But it has been managed.
Mad Skills Drill
Take one recommendation from a previous case. Identify:
Three Critical Assumptions
What must be true for your recommendation to succeed?
Three Risks
What could go wrong?
Three Scenarios
What happens if conditions are better, expected, or worse?
One Trigger
What evidence would cause you to change your strategy?
Reflection Questions
Which assumption in your last recommendation was most uncertain?
Did your team test it?
What would happen if it were wrong?
Could your implementation have been designed to learn more before committing significant resources?
Chapter Summary
Business leaders rarely have perfect information. Neither do case-solving competitors.
The objective is not to eliminate uncertainty. It is to:
· Identify it.
· Measure it where possible.
· Understand its impact.
· Manage it.
· Build flexibility into the decision.
A strong recommendation doesn’t say: “We know exactly what will happen.”
It says: “Based on what we know, this is the best decision—and here is how we will manage what we don’t know.”
Key Takeaways
✓ Separate risk from uncertainty.
✓ Identify the assumptions that matter most.
✓ Test critical assumptions.
✓ Use scenarios and sensitivity analysis.
✓ Consider staged decisions when uncertainty is high.
✓ Build trigger points into implementation.
✓ Don’t confuse precision with certainty.
PART II CLOSING: Five Thinking Skills. One Strategic Mindset.
The five skills in this section are different, but they work together.
Critical Thinking asks: Is our reasoning sound?
Strategic Thinking asks: Where should we go?
Systems Thinking asks: How are the pieces connected?
Analytical Thinking asks: What does the evidence tell us?
Creative Thinking asks: What else is possible?
Ethical Thinking asks: What should we do?
Decision Making Under Uncertainty asks: How do we make the best choice when we don’t know everything?
These are not separate skills you use one at a time. They interact throughout the case-solving process.
· You may use analytical thinking to understand the problem.
· Systems thinking to understand its causes.
· Creative thinking to generate alternatives.
· Critical thinking to challenge them.
· Ethical thinking to understand their consequences.
· Strategic thinking to determine which direction creates the most value.
· And decision-making under uncertainty to choose a path forward despite incomplete information.
That is what expert case solving looks like. Not simply knowing more. Thinking better.
The Mad Skills Thinking Cycle
Throughout your case-solving career, return to this cycle:
OBSERVE (What is happening?) à QUESTION (What should we challenge?) à CONNECT (How do the pieces interact?) à EXPLORE (What possibilities exist?) à EVALUATE (What does the evidence tell us?) à DECIDE (What should we do?) à ADAPT (What will we do if our assumptions change?)
The framework is never the goal.
The insight is never the end.
The decision is what matters.
And the better you become at thinking, the better your decisions become. That is the foundation of your Discover Your Mad Skills toolkit.