Part VI

PART VI: Recommendation

Strong case solving ultimately leads to a decision. After deciphering the case, analysing the situation, and evaluating alternatives, your team must determine what the organisation should actually do. A strong recommendation is more than a good idea. It is a clear, evidence-based decision that connects the problem, analysis, alternatives, financial impact, feasibility, and organisational realities. The goal is to make the recommendation feel logical, credible, and actionable so that the judges understand not only what you recommend but also why it is the best choice and why the organisation can realistically make it happen.

A winning recommendation doesn't appear at the end of the case. It emerges from everything that came before it.

Chapter 10: Make the Recommendation Feel Inevitable

Video: Recommendation & Implementation That Seals the Win: Make It Realistic, Visual & Unforgettable

A strong recommendation should not feel like a surprise. By the time you reach the recommendation, the judges should already understand:

the problem;
the root cause;
the most important insights;
the alternatives available;
the criteria used to evaluate them;
and why one alternative is stronger than the others.

Your recommendation should therefore feel less like a new idea and more like the logical conclusion of the analysis that came before it. The best recommendations don't appear at the end of the analysis. They emerge from it.

The Recommendation Formula

A useful starting point is: We recommend [ACTION] because [KEY REASON], which will deliver [KEY IMPACT].

For example: We recommend launching a targeted digital loyalty program because customer retention is the organisation's largest profitability opportunity, increasing repeat purchases while reducing reliance on costly customer acquisition.

The formula keeps the recommendation focused on three things:

ACTION → REASON → IMPACT

The recommendation should tell the judges:

What should the organisation do?
Why is this the best choice?
What will it accomplish?

Recommendation ≠ Idea

One of the biggest mistakes teams make is confusing an idea with a recommendation. An idea might be: "Launch a loyalty program." A recommendation is much stronger: "Launch a tiered digital loyalty program targeting the organisation's highest-value customers, beginning with a six-month pilot in its three largest markets." The second version tells the organisation:

what to do;
who to target;
where to start;
and how to approach the initiative.

The recommendation should be sufficiently specific for management to begin making implementation decisions.

Build the Recommendation From the Analysis

Your recommendation should connect directly to the work your team has already completed. A useful chain is:

Problem → Root Cause → Insight → Alternative → Decision → Recommendation

For example:

Problem: Profitability is declining.--> Root Cause: Customer acquisition costs are increasing while retention is declining. --> Insight: Acquiring more customers without addressing retention will increase revenue but may not improve profitability. --> Alternative: Prioritise customer retention through a targeted loyalty program. --> Decision: The retention strategy provides the strongest combination of financial impact, strategic fit, and implementation feasibility. --> Recommendation: Launch the targeted loyalty program with a six-month pilot.

Now the recommendation feels earned. The judges don't have to ask: "Where did that idea come from?" They can see exactly where it came from.

Prove the Recommendation

A recommendation becomes credible when you demonstrate that the organisation can actually pursue it. Four forms of proof should support your recommendation.

Strategic Proof

Does the recommendation address the problem and fit the organisation's strategy? Ask:

Does it solve the problem we identified?
Does it address the root cause?
Does it fit the organisation's strategic direction?
Does it create or strengthen competitive advantage?
Does it fit the organisation's customers and market?

Financial Proof

Does the recommendation create sufficient economic value? Ask:

How much will it cost?
What revenue could it generate?
What costs could it reduce?
What happens to profit?
What investment is required?
What is the expected ROI?
What is the NPV or IRR where appropriate?
How quickly does the organisation recover its investment?

And, importantly, is the financial impact large enough to matter? A recommendation that produces $50,000 of additional profit may sound attractive until you discover the organisation generates $5 billion in annual revenue. Scale matters. Don't underestimate the solution. Your investment, financial impact, and expected results should be appropriate to the organisation's size and circumstances.

Feasibility Proof

Can the organisation actually do it? Consider:

capabilities;
resources;
technology;
people;
funding;
partnerships;
operational requirements;
organisational readiness.

A financially attractive recommendation that the organisation cannot execute is not a winning recommendation.

Risk Proof

What could go wrong? Identify the major risks and explain how you will manage them. Consider:

financial risk;
operational risk;
market risk;
competitive response;
customer reaction;
employee reaction;
regulatory risk;
implementation risk.

A strong recommendation does not pretend that risk doesn't exist. It demonstrates that the team has thought about it and planned for it.

The Recommendation Test

Before finalising your recommendation, ask:

Is it clear? Could a judge repeat your recommendation after hearing it once?
Is it connected? Can you trace the recommendation back to the problem and analysis?
Is it differentiated? Is it clearly better than the alternatives?
Is it financially credible? Have you demonstrated that the economics make sense?
Is it feasible? Can the organisation realistically execute it?
Is it specific? Does it tell management what actually to do?
Is it measurable? Can you determine whether it worked?
Is it defensible? Can your team explain and defend the major assumptions during Q&A?

If the answer to these questions is yes, your recommendation is becoming more than an idea. It is becoming a decision.

Make the Recommendation Memorable

The recommendation is one of the moments when judges should be able to stop taking notes and understand the entire solution. Avoid presenting a paragraph of text. Instead, make the recommendation visually obvious. A strong recommendation slide might contain:

RECOMMENDATION

Launch a targeted digital loyalty program
Why?
- Customer retention is the organisation's largest untapped source of profitability.
Impact
- ↑ Customer retention
- ↑ Repeat purchases
- ↓ Acquisition dependence
- ↑ Profitability
Investment: $X
Expected ROI: X%
Pilot: Six months / three markets

The exact design will vary, but the principle remains: The judge should understand the recommendation before you finish explaining the slide.

The Recommendation Should Answer "Why This?"

Your alternatives analysis identified several possible choices. Your recommendation now needs to close that loop. A useful structure is:

We considered [A], [B], and [C]. We recommend [X] because it provides the strongest combination of [CRITERIA 1], [CRITERIA 2], and [CRITERIA 3].

This makes the decision process transparent. You are not saying: "We like Option A." You are saying: "Option A wins against the criteria that matter most to this organisation." That is strategic decision-making.

The Recommendation Is Not the End

A recommendation answers the question: What should we do? But a winning case must also answer the question: How will we make it happen? That leads directly to the next stage of the case-solving process:

The recommendation tells management what to do.
The implementation plan explains how to do it.
The measurement plan explains whether it worked.

Together, they transform an attractive idea into a credible business decision.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

A winning recommendation is not the most creative idea. It is the decision that best connects the problem, evidence, alternatives, organisational realities, financial impact, and implementation.

The goal is to make the judges think: "Of all the choices available, this is clearly the one they should make—and I can see how they would actually make it happen."

The Bottom Line

Make the Recommendation Feel Inevitable

The recommendation should be the logical conclusion of the argument, not a surprise introduced near the end.
By the time you recommend an action, the audience should understand:

the problem;
the root cause;
the major insights;
the alternatives;
the decision criteria.

Keep the recommendation clear: We recommend [ACTION] because [KEY REASON], which will deliver [KEY IMPACT].

A recommendation should be supported by:

strategic logic;
financial impact;
feasibility;
implementation requirements;
risk considerations.

Be specific about what the organisation should actually do.
Quantify the recommendation wherever the available information allows.
Test the assumptions behind the financial impact rather than presenting a single optimistic number as certainty.
The solution's scale should be appropriate to the problem's scale.

A recommendation becomes persuasive when the audience can see why it is the logical next step.

Mad Skills Drill

“Why?”
Answer.
They ask again:
“Why?”
Continue until you reach the fundamental evidence supporting the recommendation.

Now stress-test it across five dimensions:

STRATEGIC: Why does this solve the actual problem?
FINANCIAL: What value does it create?
FEASIBILITY: Can the organisation realistically do it?
IMPLEMENTATION: How does it happen?
RISK: What could prevent it from succeeding?

Finally ask: Does the scale of our solution match the scale of the problem? A $50-million problem rarely has a credible $5,000 solution.

Now give yourself 30 seconds to convince the CEO.

No background.
No framework discussion.
Just: What should we do, why, and what will it accomplish?

If that is unclear, the recommendation is not finished.