PART IV: From Insights To Solution
PART IV: From Insights To Solution
"Analysis tells you what matters. Strategy tells you what to do about it."
The purpose of case analysis is not to produce an impressive collection of facts, frameworks, charts, and observations. The purpose is to build a better decision.
At this point in the case-solving process, your team should have developed a reasonably strong understanding of:
- the organisation;
- the business model;
- the customers and stakeholders;
- the external environment;
- the competitive environment;
- the organisation's capabilities;
- the central problem;
- the underlying causes;
- the opportunities and constraints.
Now comes the difficult part. What should the organisation actually do? This is where many teams lose the connection between analysis and recommendation. They generate a few ideas. They choose one. Then they try to justify it.
Strong teams work differently. They allow the analysis to generate the alternatives. They establish criteria for evaluating those alternatives. They test the alternatives against the evidence. They consider the customer and stakeholder experience. They examine financial and strategic implications. And then they make a decision. This is the transition from: Understanding the case to Solving the case.
Chapter 20: Financial and Quantitative Feasibility
Video: Financial Analysis in Cases: Situation Review, Modelling, and Sensitivity
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
- translate strategic recommendations into financial implications
- identify key assumptions
- estimate revenue, costs, and profit impact
- evaluate ROI and other relevant financial measures
- use sensitivity analysis appropriately
- connect financial results to the decision maker's priorities
Why This Matters
A strategy may be attractive.
- Customers may love it.
- Employees may support it.
- Competitors may struggle to copy it.
But if it destroys value, you need to know. Financial analysis provides another test of the recommendation. Your analysis should ultimately connect to financial impact, particularly when the audience is a CEO or senior executive.
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
Don’t just calculate the numbers. Use the numbers to make the decision.
Start With the Economics
Identify the major changes.
- Revenue: How does the recommendation change revenue?
- Costs: What new costs are created? What costs disappear?
- Profit: What happens to profitability?
- Investment: How much capital is required?
- Cash Flow: When does the organisation actually receive or spend the money?
The Assumption Chain
Every financial model depends on assumptions. For example:
Customers à Conversion rate à Transactions à Average revenue à Total revenue à Variable costs à Contribution à Fixed costs à Profit
The stronger your chain of logic, the easier it is to defend your numbers.
Useful Financial Measures
Depending on the case, you may consider:
- revenue growth;
- gross margin;
- contribution margin;
- operating Profit;
- ROI;
- payback period;
- NPV;
- IRR.
Don't calculate everything. Use the measure that helps answer the decision.
Coach's Lens
I often see teams present a beautifully formatted financial model and then fail to explain what it means.
Don't say: "The project generates an NPV of $4.2 million."
Say: The project creates $4.2 million of value under our base assumptions, but the result becomes unattractive if customer adoption falls below 18%."
Now the financial analysis is helping the decision.
Sensitivity
Identify the assumptions that could materially change the recommendation.
For example:
- adoption;
- pricing;
- market growth;
- customer acquisition cost;
- implementation cost;
- timing.
Test them. You don't need to model everything. Focus on the assumptions that matter most.
Common Mistakes
- Financial Analysis as an Afterthought
- The numbers should influence the strategy.
- Unsupported Assumptions
- Be explicit.
- False Precision
- Don't make uncertain forecasts look certain.
- Ignoring Timing
- A profitable project can still create short-term cash problems.
- Focusing Only on Revenue
- Profit and cash flow often matter more.
Mad Skills Drill
Take your preferred alternative. Build a simple financial model. Identify:
- three revenue assumptions;
- three cost assumptions;
- initial investment;
- expected profit impact;
- payback period or ROI where appropriate.
Then identify the single assumption that matters most. Test it.
Chapter Summary
Financial analysis provides an important reality check. The goal is not to make the most complicated model. It is to determine:
Does the recommendation create enough value to justify the investment and risk?
Key Takeaways
✓ Make assumptions explicit.
✓ Focus on major financial drivers.
✓ Connect revenue, cost, Profit, and cash.
✓ Use the appropriate financial metric.
✓ Test critical assumptions.
✓ Explain the financial implication—not just the calculation.
Looking Ahead
Now we have:
- The customer need.
- The strategic alternatives.
- The decision criteria.
- The financial implications.
The next step is to turn the winning alternative into a coherent strategy.
Chapter 21: Building the Strategic Choice
Video: Strategic Planning for Case Solutions: Build a Clear, Phased Strategy That Wins
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
- turn a selected alternative into a coherent strategic choice
- define the strategic objective
- identify where to play
- determine how to win
- connect strategic choices to capabilities
- distinguish strategy from tactics
Why This Matters
A recommendation is more than: "We should launch Product X." That is a decision. Strategy explains:
- Why this direction?
- Where will we compete?
- How will we win?
- What capabilities will we need?
- What actions will turn the strategy into reality?
Your existing material defines strategy as a plan of action designed to achieve a major goal and distinguishes strategy from the specific tactics used to execute it.
Discover Your Mad Skills Principle
A strategy is not a list of tactics. It is a coherent set of choices.
The Strategic Choice
A strong strategy should clarify: Why?
- What are we trying to accomplish?
- Where to Play?
- Which markets, segments, customers, or niches will we focus on?
- How to Win?
- What will create competitive advantage?
- What Must Be True?
- Which capabilities and resources are required?
- What Will We Do?
- What major initiatives will execute the strategy?
Strategy vs Tactics
Strategy
Tactics
- develop a dedicated sales team;
- redesign onboarding;
- introduce premium service packages:
- build institutional partnerships.
The tactics support the strategy. They are not the strategy themselves.
Coach's Lens
One of the most common problems in case competitions is a presentation full of tactics. The team has:
- launch campaign;
- redesign website;
- hire staff;
- create loyalty program;
- partner with influencers.
But what ties those actions together? A strategic choice does. Your strategy should serve as the logic that connects the initiatives.
Strategic Coherence Test
Ask:
- Does every major initiative support the strategic objective?
- Does the strategy fit the organisation's capabilities?
- Does it address the customer problem?
- Does it create economic value?
- Does it respond to the external environment?
- Does it give the organisation a reason to win?
If the answer is no, revisit the strategy.
Mad Skills Drill
Write your strategy in one sentence.
- Then complete: We will win by…
- Then: We will focus on…
- Then: We will not focus on…
That last question is important. Strategy involves choices.
Chapter Summary
A strong recommendation becomes strategy when it creates a coherent set of choices about:
- Where to play.
- How to win.
- What capabilities are required.
- What actions will execute the strategy.
Key Takeaways
✓ Strategy is more than tactics.
✓ Make choices about where to play.
✓ Define how you will win.
✓ Connect strategy to capabilities.
✓ Ensure initiatives support the strategic objective.
Looking Ahead
The strategy tells us where we are going. Now we need to determine how we get there. That is implementation.
PART IV CLOSING: From Insight to Choice
Part IV represents one of the most important transitions in case solving. You began with:
Understanding people and moved through:
Customer journeys à Strategic alternatives à Decision criteria à Financial feasibility à Strategic choice
The process should feel connected. Your persona should inform the problem.
ü Your analysis should inform the alternatives.
ü Your alternatives should inform the criteria.
ü Your criteria should inform the decision.
ü Your financial analysis should test the decision.
ü Your final strategy should bring the pieces together.
That is what makes a recommendation feel inevitable rather than debatable.
The Discover Your Mad Skills Solution Chain
Use this chain whenever you feel your case is becoming fragmented:
1. What is the problem? Define à
2. Who experiences it? Understand à
3. Why is it happening? Analyse↓
4. What could we do? Generate à
5. Which choices are realistic? Develop Alternatives à
6. Which choice is best? Evaluate à
7. Does it create enough value? Test à
8. What strategic choice does this create? Decide à
9. How will we make it happen? Implement
The Final Test
Before moving into implementation, your team should be able to answer these questions clearly:
ü What problem are we solving?
ü For whom?
ü What is causing the problem?
ü What alternatives did we consider?
ü Why does our chosen alternative win?
ü What evidence supports it?
ü What financial value does it create?
ü Why does it fit this organisation
ü What strategic choices are we making?
If you cannot answer these questions, you aren't ready to build the implementation plan.
Deciphering Case Characteristics
Not every case requires every tool in this section.
- A customer-focused case may need detailed personas and journey mapping.
- A strategic decision may require robust alternatives and decision criteria.
- A financially focused case may require deeper feasibility analysis.
- A transformation case may require a strong strategic choice before moving into implementation.
The tools are not a checklist. They are lenses. The characteristics of the case determine which lenses you need.
The Mad Skills Rule
Don't build a solution because it sounds good.
Build a solution because the evidence makes it the best choice.
And then make that choice clear enough that the judges can see the logic for themselves. That is how you move from: Analysis to Insight to Choice to Strategy. And that is where a case solution begins to become podium-ready.