About the Author

Cam Welsh is an award-winning educator and coach who has been honoured with the title of emeritus professor by the Haskayne School of Business. He is also an executive coach and one of Canada's and the world's most experienced and successful case competition coaches. Over the past two-plus decades, he has coached and mentored more than 300 business case competition teams at the undergraduate, graduate, and interdisciplinary levels. His guidance has helped these teams achieve over 180 podium finishes in regional, national, and international competitions.

Throughout his coaching career, Cam has worked with students competing in the world's leading case competitions. He has also served as a judge, mentor, organiser, workshop facilitator, and advisor for universities, organisations, and innovation challenges. Those experiences watching teams succeed, struggle, adapt, and improve have shaped his understanding of what separates teams that simply solve a case from those that solve it exceptionally well.

His coaching philosophy is built around a simple belief:

Great case solvers are developed through deliberate practice, thoughtful reflection, and the courage to embrace difficult challenges.

For Cam, case competitions have never been only about winning. They are powerful environments for developing the capabilities that students will carry into their careers: critical thinking, strategic decision-making, financial reasoning, communication, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, and confidence under pressure.

Discover Your MAD Skills Philosophy

The Discover Your MAD Skills series grew from more than 20 years of coaching, teaching, judging, and learning alongside students. Its purpose is not to give competitors another collection of frameworks to memorise. It is to help them learn how to think.

Outstanding case solvers know when a framework is useful and when it is not. They challenge assumptions, distinguish symptoms from root causes, find meaning in evidence, make difficult strategic choices, develop practical recommendations, and communicate those recommendations with clarity and confidence. The five manuals in this series bring those capabilities together across the complete case-solving journey: understanding the problem, analysing the situation, developing strategy, working with financial information, building implementation plans, presenting persuasively, and responding effectively under pressure. At the heart of the series is another important idea:

Confidence is built, not given.

It develops through preparation, deliberate practice, constructive feedback, reflection, and the experience of tackling challenges that initially feel uncomfortable. Over time, students begin to recognise abilities they may not have realised they possessed. That process of discovery is what Discover Your MAD Skills is all about.

Deciphering Cases

Cam is also the author of Deciphering Cases, a continuing series exploring the thinking behind successful case solving. Rather than treating business frameworks as formulas, Deciphering Cases examines the questions competitors should be asking: What really matters here? What assumptions are we making? What does the evidence actually tell us? What are we choosing not to do? And what would make this recommendation credible to the ~~decision~~ decision-makers in the room? Many of the ideas developed through Deciphering Cases have helped shape these manuals and the broader Discover Your MAD Skills philosophy. The objective is the same throughout: develop thoughtful problem solvers, not simply competent users of frameworks.

Beyond the Competition

These manuals were created for case-solving competition teams, but their purpose extends far beyond competition weekend. The ability to analyse an unfamiliar situation, identify what matters, make decisions with incomplete information, work effectively with others, defend a point of view, communicate with senior ~~decision~~ decision-makers, and adapt when challenged are valuable in almost every profession.

Whether readers pursue careers in consulting, entrepreneurship, engineering, finance, marketing, healthcare, public service, the non-profit sector, or somewhere entirely different, the capabilities developed through case solving can continue to serve them long after their final competition. Ultimately, the goal of Discover Your MAD Skills is not simply to help students win more case competitions. It is to help them become better thinkers, stronger communicators, more confident decision makers, and more capable leaders.

Connect and Continue Learning

The Discover Your MAD Skills journey continues beyond these manuals through videos, articles, conversations, and additional learning resources:

Discover Your MAD Skills Masterclass and The 2-Minute MAD Skills Discovery Clinic on YouTube: practical lessons, tools, frameworks, and coaching insights for case competitors.
Innovatank TV: access to the complete masterclass series, including for learners in regions where YouTube may not be available.
Deciphering Cases on Patreon and LinkedIn: articles, practical insights, and coaching perspectives designed to develop stronger case-solving skills.
UnBarred Conversations on YouTube: longer conversations with former competitors and business leaders exploring communication, critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, empathy, problem-solving, and the skills that matter beyond the classroom.

Learning does not end with the final slide, the judges' decision, or even graduation. It is a continuing process of asking better questions, seeking deeper understanding, reflecting on experience, and applying what we learn to increasingly complex challenges.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope these manuals help you become a stronger case solver. More importantly, I hope they help you discover the confidence, curiosity, judgment, and leadership capabilities that will serve you throughout your career. Discover your skills. Develop your confidence. Find your MAD Skills.