PART V: TURNING STRATEGY INTO ACTION

“A great strategy is only valuable if the organisation can make it happen.”

A case competition solution is not finished when you have selected the best alternative. It is finished when you can explain:

What should the organisation do?

How will they do it?

Who will make it happen?

When will it happen?

What will it cost?

What could go wrong?

How will we know it is working?

These are not implementation questions that come after the strategy. They are part of the strategy.

One of the most important lessons from case-solving competitions is that a theoretically attractive recommendation is not necessarily a winning recommendation. Judges want to know whether your solution is:

· realistic;

· feasible;

· financially sensible;

· aligned with the organisation;

· implementable;

· measurable;

· resilient to risk.

Winning solutions are not simply logical; they are specific, realistic, feasible, and implementable.

This is where your solution moves from: “This is what we should do.” to: “Here is exactly how we are going to make it happen.”

Chapter 22: Making the Recommendation Inevitable - From Alternatives to Decision

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

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· clearly state a recommendation

· connect the recommendation to the analysis

· demonstrate why the selected alternative wins

· use financial and strategic evidence appropriately

· distinguish the recommendation from its supporting tactics

· make the recommendation concise and memorable

Why This Matters

Many teams spend hours developing their analysis and alternatives and treat the recommendation as an afterthought. They say: “Therefore, we recommend Option B.” Then immediately move into implementation. That misses the most important moment in the presentation. The recommendation is where you answer the fundamental question:

What should the organisation do?

Teams often “mumble, we recommend X, and rush into the next slot.” Strong teams make the recommendation feel inevitable.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

The recommendation should not feel like a surprise.

By the time the judges reach your recommendation, they should already understand:

· the problem;

· why it matters;

· what is causing it;

· what alternatives exist;

· how those alternatives compare.

Your recommendation should feel like the logical conclusion of the story.

The Recommendation Formula

A simple structure is:

For example: We recommend entering the institutional market through a strategic partnership because it leverages our existing distribution capabilities, reduces implementation risk, and provides faster access to high-value customers. This approach is expected to increase revenue while limiting the capital required for expansion.

Short. Clear. Specific. Defensible.

The Recommendation Is Not the Implementation

Be careful not to turn the recommendation into a list of tactics.

The recommendation should describe the strategic choice. The implementation explains how that choice becomes reality.

Support the Recommendation

Immediately after stating the recommendation, reinforce it with the most important evidence.

This might include:

Strategic Fit: Why does it fit the organisation?

Customer Value: Why does it solve the customer problem?

Competitive Advantage: Why can the organisation win?

Financial Value: What does it deliver financially?

Feasibility: Why can the organisation actually do it?

Coach’s Lens

You do not need to repeat your entire analysis. The recommendation slide is not the place to give the judges another 10-minute summary. Think:

What are the three pieces of evidence that make this recommendation difficult to argue against?

Those are the pieces to emphasise.

Common Mistakes

The Surprise Recommendation

The judges shouldn’t hear the answer for the first time at the end.

Too Much Detail.

The recommendation should be crisp.

Generic Language

“Improve customer experience” isn’t a strategic choice.

No Evidence

The recommendation must be supported.

Confusing Strategy With Tactics

Keep the strategic choice distinct from implementation.

Mad Skills Drill

Chapter Summary

The recommendation should feel like the logical conclusion of everything that came before. Your job is not simply to announce the answer. Your job is to make the judges understand:

Why this answer is the best answer.

Key Takeaways

✓ State the recommendation clearly.

✓ Make it specific.

✓ Connect it to the analysis.

✓ Support it with the strongest evidence.

✓ Separate strategy from tactics.

✓ Make the choice feel inevitable.

Looking Ahead

A recommendation is only credible if it can survive the question: Can the organisation afford to do this? The next chapter turns the strategic choice into a financial case.

Chapter 23: Proving the Economics - Financial Support for the Recommendation

Video: Financial Analysis in Cases: Situation Review, Modelling, and Sensitivity

Video: Situational Financial Analysis Ratios, Solvency, Efficiency & Leverage

Video: Comparative Financial Analysis: Historical vs Industry Benchmarks, Debt vs Equity, Etc.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· translate a recommendation into financial consequences

· identify the major financial assumptions

· estimate costs and benefits

· explain expected financial impact

· test different scenarios

· present financial information clearly to decision makers

Why This Matters

Senior decision makers are going to ask:

· How much will this cost?

· What will we get in return?

· How long will it take?

· What happens if our assumptions are wrong?

Your financial analysis should answer these questions before the judges have to ask them.

Emphasise one-time and ongoing costs, financial value, feasibility, pro forma statements, best- and worst-case scenarios, and tying the analysis back to profit.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

Financial analysis should prove the decision—not decorate the presentation.

Start With the Decision

Don’t build a financial model simply because the case contains numbers. Start with: What financial question do we need to answer? It might be:

· Is this investment worthwhile?

· Can the company afford it?

· How quickly will it pay back?

· How much profit could it generate?

· What level of adoption is required?

· Which alternative creates the greatest value?

The financial model should answer that question.

The Financial Story

A useful financial story might look like:

Investment à New Revenue / Savings à Incremental Costs à Incremental Profit à

Return / Payback à Value Created

That is much more useful than simply presenting a large spreadsheet.

Assumptions

Make your assumptions visible. For example:

· number of customers;

· conversion rate;

· average transaction value;

· price;

· growth rate;

· variable cost;

· fixed investment;

· implementation timing.

The judges should be able to see where your numbers come from.

Best Case / Base Case / Worst Case

A single forecast can create false confidence.

Instead, where appropriate, show a range.

Best Case: What happens if key assumptions outperform?

Base Case: What is the most reasonable expectation?

Worst Case: What happens if important assumptions disappoint?

This demonstrates that your team understands uncertainty.

Coach’s Lens

Don’t hide uncertainty. Use it to demonstrate judgment. A statement such as: “Our recommendation remains financially attractive unless adoption falls below 18%” can be much more powerful than: “Our projected ROI is 24.7%.” The first statement tells the judges what matters.

Visualising Financials

Your existing presentation material strongly emphasises simplifying financials: highlight the key metrics, use charts rather than raw tables where possible, remove unnecessary detail, and make the meaning of the numbers immediately visible.

The slide should answer: So what? not: Can you read this spreadsheet?

Common Mistakes

Too Much Detail

The judges don’t need your entire model.

Unsupported Assumptions

Show where the assumptions come from.

False Precision

Don’t pretend uncertain estimates are exact.

Ignoring Costs

Revenue alone does not create value.

Ignoring Timing

A profitable project can still create short-term cash challenges.

Mad Skills Drill

Take your recommendation. Build a one-page financial case containing:

· initial investment;

· ongoing costs;

· expected revenue or savings;

· incremental profit;

· one relevant return measure;

· one critical assumption;

· one sensitivity.

Then explain the entire financial case in 30 seconds.

Chapter Summary

Strong financial analysis answers: Does the recommendation create enough value to justify the investment, cost, and risk? The goal is not complexity. The goal is decision usefulness.

Key Takeaways

✓ Start with the financial question.

✓ Make assumptions visible.

✓ Focus on key drivers.

✓ Show financial impact.

✓ Test critical assumptions.

✓ Present the insight, not the spreadsheet.

Looking Ahead

Financial feasibility tells us whether the recommendation makes sense. Now we need to answer: How do we actually execute it?

Chapter 24: Building the Implementation Roadmap - From Strategy to Action

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

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· break a strategy into actionable steps

· sequence implementation logically

· establish realistic timelines

· assign responsibility

· distinguish short-, medium-, and long-term actions

· build an implementation roadmap that demonstrates feasibility

Why This Matters

Implementation is often one of the highest-weighted parts of a case competition scorecard. And for good reason. Anyone can recommend: “Launch a new strategy.” The difficult part is explaining how it actually happens.

Teams should show clear steps, realistic timelines, named responsibilities, and KPIs, rather than simply saying that “management” will execute the plan.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

If you can’t explain how, it gets done, you don’t have a complete recommendation.

Start With the End

Begin with: What must be true for this strategy to succeed? Then work backwards. For example:

Desired outcome à Capabilities required à Major initiatives à Implementation steps à Owners à Timeline à KPIs

This creates a much stronger implementation plan than simply listing activities.

The Implementation Framework

For each major initiative, answer:

· What? What needs to happen?

· Why? Why is this step necessary?

· Who? Who owns it?

· When? When will it happen?

· How? What resources or capabilities are required?

· How Much? What will it cost?

· How Will We Know? What KPI or milestone indicates success?

Three Horizons

A simple way to structure timing is:

Short Term: Immediate actions.

Examples:

· approve project;

· appoint project team;

· conduct detailed research;

· begin pilot.

Medium Term: Build and launch.

Examples:

· develop capability;

· launch pilot;

· train employees;

· establish partnerships.

Long Term: Scale and optimise.

Examples:

· expand;

· refine;

· automate;

· measure long-term impact.

The time horizon should reflect the case. Don’t invent arbitrary “Year 1, Year 2, Year 3” timelines if the case requires something much faster.

Ownership

Avoid: “Management will implement the strategy.” Management isn’t a person. Identify the responsible group.

For example:

· CEO;

· CFO;

· VP Marketing;

· HR;

· IT;

· Operations;

· external partner;

· new hire;

· project team.

Your source material specifically warns against making the CEO responsible for everything.

Implementation Dependencies

Some actions cannot happen until others happen. For example:

Hire technical talent may need to happen before: Build technology, which may need to happen before: Launch product

Understanding dependencies makes the implementation plan more credible.

Visualising Implementation

A Gantt chart or simple roadmap can be extremely effective. Show:

· major initiatives;

· timing;

· owners;

· dependencies;

· milestones.

Keep it simple, with visual implementation timelines with clear dates, responsibility, and costs where possible.

Coach’s Lens

Ask yourself: Could someone actually run the project from our slide? If the answer is no, the plan is probably too vague. You don’t need to provide every operational detail. The judges should be able to visualise the organisation moving from: Today to Desired Future State.

Common Mistakes

Vague Actions

“Improve operations” isn’t an implementation step.

Unrealistic Timelines

Don’t claim you can transform an organisation overnight.

No Ownership

Someone must be responsible.

No Dependencies

Implementation steps don’t happen independently.

Too Much Detail

You are not writing a project management manual.

Mad Skills Drill

Take your recommendation. Create a six-step implementation plan. For each step, identify:

What / Who / When / Cost / KPI

Then remove one step. Can the strategy still work? If yes, perhaps that step wasn’t essential.

Chapter Summary

A strong implementation roadmap turns strategy into a sequence of realistic actions. The judges should be able to see: What happens first, what happens next, who is responsible, and how the organisation gets to the desired outcome.

Key Takeaways

✓ Start with the desired outcome.

✓ Work backwards to required actions.

✓ Sequence activities.

✓ Assign owners.

✓ Use realistic timelines.

✓ Make dependencies visible.

✓ Keep the roadmap visual.

Looking Ahead

Even the best implementation plan can encounter problems. The next question is: What could prevent this strategy from succeeding?

Chapter 25: Risk and Mitigation - Making the Recommendation Resilient

Video: Risks & Mitigations That Actually Strengthen Your Recommendation: Don't Hide Them - Integrate Them

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· identify strategic risks

· distinguish risk from impact

· prioritize risks

· develop practical mitigations

· integrate mitigation into implementation

· communicate risk honestly without undermining the recommendation

Why This Matters

Many teams treat risk as a final slide: “Here are some risks.” Then they move on. That isn’t risk management. A key Masterclass principle about risk is: Risk should never be an afterthought. Risks should appear in the analysis, and mitigation should become part of the implementation steps.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

Don’t pretend your strategy has no risks. Show that you know how to manage them.

A recommendation becomes more credible when the team acknowledges what could go wrong.

What Is a Strategic Risk?

A strategic risk is something that could materially prevent your strategy from achieving its objectives. Examples might include:

· customer adoption;

· regulatory change;

· technology failure;

· implementation delays;

· cost overruns;

· talent shortages;

· competitor response;

· supply disruption.

Risk ≠ Impact

One of the important distinctions in your existing material is that teams often confuse probability and impact. Think about two dimensions:

Probability: How likely is the risk?

Impact: How damaging would it be if it happened?

A low-probability, catastrophic risk may deserve more attention than a high-probability, minor risk.

Prioritise

Focus on the risks that matter most. A simple approach:

Risk	Probability	Impact	Priority
Customer adoption	High	High	1
Cost overrun	Medium	High	2
Competitor response	Medium	Medium	3

Don’t create a list of 15 risks. Identify the few that could actually derail the strategy.

Mitigation

A mitigation should be an action.

Not: “Monitor customer adoption.”

Better: “Launch a six-week pilot with a 15% adoption threshold before full rollout.”

Now the mitigation becomes part of the implementation. Each major risk should have a concrete mitigation that appears as an actual step in the timeline, with owners and, where appropriate, budgets.

Coach’s Lens

The strongest risk mitigation often comes from the implementation plan itself.

For example:

Risk: Customers reject the new product.

Mitigation: Pilot with a defined customer segment before national launch.

Risk: Technology isn’t ready.

Mitigation: Complete technical validation before committing to full deployment.

Risk: Costs exceed budget.

Mitigation: Stage investment based on milestone achievement.

Risk becomes part of strategy.

Common Mistakes

Listing Every Possible Risk

Focus on strategic risks.

Confusing Probability and Impact

They are different.

Generic Mitigation

“Monitor the situation” isn’t enough.

Separate Risk Slide

Risk should be integrated into the solution.

Hiding Risk

Acknowledging risk can increase credibility.

Mad Skills Drill

Identify the top three risks to your recommendation. For each:

1. What could happen?

2. How likely is it?

3. What would the impact be?

4. What can we do to reduce the probability?

5. Where does that mitigation appear in the implementation plan?

If the answer to #5 is nowhere, fix the implementation plan.

Chapter Summary

Strong teams don’t eliminate uncertainty. They demonstrate that they have thought through it.

Risk analysis makes the recommendation more honest.

Mitigation makes it more resilient.

Key Takeaways

✓ Focus on strategic risks.

✓ Separate probability from impact.

✓ Prioritise.

✓ Create concrete mitigations.

✓ Build mitigations into implementation.

✓ Use risk to strengthen credibility.

Looking Ahead

A plan is not complete simply because it has actions. We also need to know: How will we know whether it is working?

Chapter 26: KPIs and Measuring Success - Knowing Whether the Strategy Worked

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· distinguish objectives from KPIs

· identify leading and lagging indicators

· establish meaningful targets

· connect KPIs to strategic objectives

· use KPIs to create feedback loops

· avoid measuring activity instead of impact

Why This Matters

Your source material asks one of the most important questions in a case: How will the organisation know it actually happened? That question turns a recommendation into a management system.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

If you can’t measure progress, you can’t manage the strategy effectively.

Objective vs KPI

An objective describes what you want to achieve.

A KPI measures progress toward that objective.

For example:

Objective: Increase customer adoption.

KPI: Monthly active users.

Target: 25,000 monthly active users within six months.

Leading vs Lagging Indicators

Leading Indicators: These tell you whether the activities driving future performance are occurring. Examples:

· number of customers contacted;

· employee training completion;

· pilot participation;

· conversion funnel activity.

Lagging Indicators: These tell you what actually happened. Examples:

· revenue;

· profit;

· market share;

· retention;

· customer satisfaction.

You need to include both leading and lagging indicators, along with targets and ranges.

Don’t Measure Activity

A team might report: “We trained 500 employees.” That is an activity. The better question is: Did the training change employee behaviour or performance? Likewise: “We launched the campaign.” doesn’t mean: “The campaign worked.”

Measure outcomes.

Targets

A KPI without a target is difficult to interpret. Instead of: “Increase retention.” Use: “Increase customer retention from 72% to 80% within 12 months.” Where appropriate, establish ranges. For example:

· Green: ≥ 80%

· Yellow: 70–79%

· Red: < 70%

This makes the KPI actionable.

KPI Hierarchy

A useful structure is:

Strategic Objective à Outcome KPI à Leading Indicators à Actions

This creates a feedback loop. If the outcome is off track, the organisation can investigate the leading indicators and adjust implementation.

Coach’s Lens

Don’t give the judges 15 KPIs. Choose the few that matter. Ask: If the CEO could look at only three numbers every month, what should they be? Those are probably your most important KPIs.

Common Mistakes

Too Many KPIs

More isn’t better.

Vanity Metrics

Large numbers that don’t indicate meaningful progress.

No Targets

A KPI without a benchmark isn’t very useful.

Only Lagging Indicators

By the time you see the problem, it may be too late.

KPIs Unconnected to Strategy

Every KPI should tell you something about whether the strategy is working.

Mad Skills Drill

Choose your recommendation. Identify:

· one strategic objective;

· two lagging KPIs;

· two leading indicators;

· a target for each.

Then answer: What would cause us to change the strategy? That question creates strategic discipline.

Chapter Summary

KPIs transform implementation from: “We hope it works.” into: “We know what success looks like, and we know how we will monitor it.”

Key Takeaways

✓ Start with objectives.

✓ Measure outcomes.

✓ Use leading and lagging indicators.

✓ Set targets.

✓ Keep the KPI set focused.

✓ Create feedback loops.

Looking Ahead

There is one final category of ideas that teams often struggle with: What about the other good ideas we discovered? That is where future considerations belong.

Chapter 27: Future Considerations and Phase Two Thinking - What Comes Next Without Confusing the Recommendation

Video: Future Considerations & Out-of-the-Box Ideas: Don’t Confuse the Judges – Present Them the Right Way

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

· distinguish the core recommendation from future opportunities

· identify ideas that should not be pursued immediately

· frame longer-term opportunities appropriately

· prevent additional ideas from weakening the recommendation

· use future considerations to demonstrate strategic thinking

Why This Matters

Sometimes your team identifies a genuinely interesting idea that is outside the scope or time horizon of the current recommendation. The temptation is to include it. This can create a problem. Judges can confuse future considerations with the actual recommendation, particularly because of the recency effect.

Discover Your Mad Skills Principle

Not every good idea belongs in today’s recommendation.

Strategic thinking includes knowing what not to do.

The “Not Now” Framework

Clearly separate:

The core strategy.

What We Explore Later

Potential opportunities after the core strategy succeeds.

This distinction must be obvious.

Why Future Considerations Matter

A future consideration can demonstrate that your team has thought beyond the immediate decision. For example:

Phase 1: Establish the domestic business model.

Phase 2: Explore international expansion once the model is proven.

The second idea isn’t part of today’s recommendation. It is a potential future opportunity.

Coach’s Lens

If your future idea is so important that the judges might think: “Why aren’t they recommending this?” then you may have a problem. Either:

· it belongs in the current solution;

· it needs to be analysed more thoroughly;

· or it needs to be clearly framed as future.

Don’t introduce a new strategic direction in the final minute.

Common Mistakes

Too Many Future Ideas

You weaken your focus

Calling It “Phase Two” Without Logic

Explain what must happen first.

Introducing New Analysis

Future considerations shouldn’t require an entirely new case.

Making It Sound Like Part of the Recommendation

Label it clearly.

Mad Skills Drill

Take your case. List every good idea your team decided not to pursue. Choose one that might have future potential. Complete:

Not now because…

Later, if [condition], we could…

That is strategic sequencing.

Chapter Summary

Strong strategy includes knowing what to do. Great strategy also recognises: What should we not do yet? Future considerations should expand the strategic horizon without weakening the core recommendation.

Key Takeaways

✓ Separate now from later.

✓ Don’t confuse judges.

✓ Use conditions to justify sequencing.

✓ Keep future ideas high-level.

✓ Protect the clarity of the core recommendation.

PART V CLOSING: 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:

2. JUSTIFY: Why does it win?

3. VALUE: What does it deliver?

4. EXECUTE: What must happen?

5. OWN: Who is responsible?

6. SEQUENCE: When does it happen?

7. PROTECT: What could go wrong?

8. MITIGATE: How will we respond?

9. MEASURE: How will we know?

10. 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

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.