Part V

PART V: Developing Alternatives

Once the team understands the problem and has developed meaningful insights, the next question is: What could the organisation actually do? This is where many case solutions become weaker. Teams often jump from analysis directly to a favourite idea. They find something interesting, decide they like it, and then spend the rest of the case trying to prove that it is the right answer. Strong case solving works differently.

A recommendation becomes more credible when the team can demonstrate that it considered credible alternatives, established appropriate criteria for comparison, and selected the option that best fits the organisation's situation. Part V focuses on two critical skills:

1. Developing meaningful alternatives

2. Creating decision criteria that allow those alternatives to be compared

The objective is not to create more ideas. It is to create better choices.

Chapter 8: Alternatives Are Not a Buffet

Alternatives That Win MECE Options + Decision Criteria That Make Your Recommendation Obvious

A common mistake in case competitions is to create three or four random ideas and then select the one the team likes best. That isn’isn't strategic decision-making. AlternativesA strong alternative should emerge from yourthe analysis. TheyYour shouldanalysis be:has identified:

• Realistic

  the problem;

  • the underlying causes;

  • the organisation's objectives;

  • its capabilities;

  • its constraints;

  • its opportunities;

  • and the risks it faces.

  Your alternatives should respond to those findings. Think of the progression as:

  ANALYSIS → INSIGHTS → ALTERNATIVES → EVALUATION → RECOMMENDATION

  The alternatives are the bridge between understanding the problem and making the decision.

  What Makes a Strong Alternative?

  A strong alternative should be:

  Realistic

  The organisation could actually pursue them.it. It fits the organisation's:

  • resources;

  • market;

  • capabilities;

  • financial position;

  • regulatory environment;

  • and strategic situation.

Implementable

• Implementable

  • The organisation could execute them.it. You should be able to explain:

    • who would do it;

    • what resources are required;

    • what capabilities are needed;

    • how long it would take;

    • and what major dependencies exist.

    Meaningfully Different

    The alternatives should represent genuinely different choices. Changing the wording of essentially the same strategy does not create three alternatives. For example:

    • Increase marketing by 10%;

    • Increase marketing by 15%;

    • Increase marketing by 20%.

    These are different levels of the same decision, not necessarily three distinct strategic alternatives. Instead, consider alternatives such as: 

    • deepen the existing market;

    • enter a new market;

    • develop a new product;

    • pursue a partnership;

    • acquire an existing capability.

    The alternatives create different strategic paths.

    MECE Alternatives

    A useful principle for developing alternatives is MECE: Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive.

    Mutually Exclusive

    The alternatives should be meaningfully different from one another. If Alternative A and Alternative B could simply be combined without changing the strategic choice, they may not actually be separate alternatives.

    Collectively Exhaustive

    Together, the alternatives should cover the reasonable strategic choices available to the organisation. You do not need to identify every conceivable possibility. You need to identify the important and realistic choices.

    Alternatives Should Come From the Analysis

    Your alternatives should not appear out of nowhere. For example:

    Analysis

    The company has strong brand recognition but limited digital capabilities.

    Insight

    The organisation has an opportunity to grow digitally but lacks the internal capability to build the required platform quickly. This could lead to alternatives such as:

    • Alternative A — Build
      • Develop the capability internally.
    • MECEAlternative B — Buy
      • TheyAcquire shouldan be:organisation that already possesses the capability.
    • MutuallyAlternative ExclusiveC — Partnerand Collectively
      Exhaustive.
      • Work with an external organisation to access the capability.

    In other words: each option is meaningfully different, andNow the optionsalternatives collectivelyemerge coverlogically from the reasonableanalysis. strategicThat choices.makes the eventual recommendation easier to defend.

    Don’Don't Build a Straw Man

    One of the worst habits in case competitions is creating:

    • one good idea;

    • one mediocre idea;

    • one obviously terrible idea.

    Then the team announces: “Clearly, Option A wins.” Of course it does. ThatBut doesn’tthis does not demonstrate strategic thinking. TheA straw-man alternative is intentionally weak so that the preferred option appears superior. Judges can often see this immediately. Strong alternatives should all be credible.credible choices. Your recommendation should prevailwin because it is superior,superior against meaningful criteria—not because the other options arewere ridiculous.designed to lose.

    Chapter

    The 9:Alternative DecisionQuality Criteria

    Test

    Video:Before Alternativesevaluating Thatyour Winalternatives, MECE Options + Decision Criteria That Make Your Recommendation Obviousask:

    Decision

    criteria
    1. Is arethis realistic? Could the standardsorganisation youactually usedo to judge alternatives. The criteria should connect directly to:
       • the organisation’s mission;this?
       • strategy;Is this implementable? Could the organisation execute it with available or attainable resources?
       • culture;
       Is
       • values;
       it
       • capabilities;
       strategically
       • financialrelevant? objectives;
       • stakeholders;
       • and the problem you identified.

       Possible criteria include:

       • profitability;
       • revenue growth;
       • market share;
       • ROI;
       • customer satisfaction;
       • brand strength;
       • capability requirements;
       • risk;
       •  speed of implementation;
       • employee impact;
       • safety;
       • environmental impact;
       • flexibility.

       The Decision Criteria Test

       • For every criterion, ask: Why does this matter to this organisation?
       • Then: Can we actually compare the alternatives against it?
       • Finally: Does it connect toaddress the problem we areidentified?
       trying
       • Is it meaningfully different? Does it represent a genuinely different strategic choice?
       • Is it supported by our analysis? Can we explain where the alternative came from?
       • Would a reasonable executive consider it? If management would never seriously consider the option, it probably does not belong in the final comparison.

    Alternatives Are Choices, Not Ideas

    There is an important distinction between an idea and an alternative. 

    • An idea might be: Launch a social media campaign.
    • An alternative is broader: Invest in digital customer acquisition to solve?rebuild the company's customer base.

    IfThe not,alternative reconsiderdescribes a strategic choice. The social media campaign may then become one of the criterion.tactics used to execute that choice. This distinction matters because case competitions are usually asking: What should management do? not: What interesting idea could management try?

    TheDiscover AlternativeYour EvaluationMad Skills Principle

    YourDon't comparisoncreate mightalternatives lookto like:fill a slide. Create alternatives to create a real decision.

    Decision Criterion	Alternative A	Alternative B	Alternative C
    Strategic fit	High	Medium	High
    Financial impact	High	High	Medium
    Capability fit	Medium	High	Low
    Risk	Medium	Low	High
    Implementation speed	High	Medium	Low
    Overall	Best	Strong	Weak

    The purpose of alternatives is not to make the tablechoice lookmeaningful.

    sophisticated.

    The purposeBottom Line

    A strong recommendation does not begin with: “We have a great idea.” It begins with: “We identified several credible ways the organisation could address the problem. We evaluated them against what matters most. This option is tothe makestrongest.” yourThat logicis visible.strategic The judge should be able to see: Why this alternative wins.decision-making.