PART XIV: The Mad Skills Practice System

PART XIV: The Mad Skills Practice System

Knowing the framework isn't enough. You have to practice using it. The objective of practice is not perfection. It is repeated recovery and improvement.

Practice 1: Decipher the Case

Take a case and give yourself 10 minutes.

Write only:

• Organisation:
• What business are they really in?
• Situation:
• Complication:
• Core problem:
• Root cause:
• Decision required:
• Success looks like:
• Case characteristics:
• Questions we need to answer:

Do not build a solution yet. The purpose is to practice deciphering.

Practice 2: Framework Selection

Take the questions from Practice 1. For each question, identify: Question → Framework → Expected Insight → Decision Impact. If you cannot explain what the framework will help you discover, don't use it.

Practice 3: Insight Building

Take five facts from a case. For each: Fact → Observation → Insight → Implication → Decision. This exercise teaches you to stop reporting information and start analysing it.

Practice 4: Alternative Generation

Create three realistic alternatives. Then ask:

• Are they meaningfully different?
• Are they realistic?
• Are they implementable?
• Are they MECE?
• What decision criteria will distinguish them?

Practice 5: The Recommendation Test

Give your recommendation to someone who has not seen your analysis. Ask: "Does this recommendation feel inevitable based on the evidence?" If the answer is no, please review your analysis or decision logic.

Practice 6: Implementation Challenge

Take your recommendation and answer:

• What?
• Who?
• When?
• How?
• Cost?
• Risk?
• Mitigation?
• KPI?

If you can't answer these questions, you don't yet have an implementable recommendation.