Part V Closing

PART V Closing Reflections: From Choice to Execution

At the beginning of Part V, the team had a strategic choice. By the end, you should have a complete management story. You should be able to answer: What are we recommending? à Why is it the best choice? à Does it create value? à How will we implement it? à Who owns it? à When will it happen? à What could go wrong? à  How will we mitigate those risks? à How will we measure success? à What happens next? That is the difference between a recommendation and a solution.

The Discover Your Mad Skills Implementation Chain

Use this as your final implementation checklist:

·        Recommend: What are we choosing? 

·        Justify: Why does it win? 

·        Value: What does it deliver? 

·        Execute: What must happen? 

·        Own: Who is responsible? 

·        Sequence: When does it happen? 

·        Protect: What could go wrong? 

·        Mitigate: How will we respond? 

·        Measure: How will we know? 

·        Adapt: What will we do if the results aren't what we expected? 

Deciphering Case Characteristics

Not every case requires the same level of implementation detail.

A six-hour competition case may require:

·        a few major initiatives; 

·        high-level timing; 

·        clear owners; 

·        key financials; 

·        three or four KPIs. 

A 24-hour case may allow:

·        more detailed financial modelling; 

·        more sophisticated timelines; 

·        stronger risk analysis; 

·        more detailed implementation dependencies. 

The principle remains the same: Match the depth of implementation to the case, the decision, the time available, and the scorecard.

The Podium Test

Before your team considers the solution complete, ask:

·        Can the judges see why we chose this? 

·        Can they see how it creates value? 

·        Can they see how the organisation will execute it? 

·        Can they see who is responsible? 

·        Can they see when it will happen? 

·        Can they see what could go wrong? 

·        Can they see how we will manage those risks? 

·        Can they see how we will measure success? 

If the answer is yes, your solution is no longer just an idea. It is a plan.

Final Mad Skills Principle

Don't just recommend something. Make the judges believe they can see it happening

That is what makes a recommendation credible. That is what makes implementation persuasive, and that is what turns a good case solution into a podium ready solution.