Case Question

Interviewer:

Let’s say we have a restaurant called “In-and-out Burger” with recently falling profits. How can you help?

Recap

You:

Let me playback the case to make sure we are on the same page. So our client is “In-and-out Burger”. The case objective
is to solve the profits problem. Do I understand it correctly?

Interviewer:

*confirms*

Clarify

You:

I would like to ask a few clarification questions to make sure I really understand the case from top to bottom. So here
are my questions: No. 1… No. 2… No.3 …

Interviewer:

*answers without giving away too many hints*

(There are ways to trick him/her to give you more than he/she should. We will talk about this in later chapters below)

Timeout

You:

Thank you for all the information. The case objective is very clear now. I would like to take a short timeout to gather my
thoughts

[Timeout]

Propose Issue Tree

You:

To completely solve the problem and create long-lasting impact, we need to dig in and find the real root-causes, not just
fixing the symptoms. To do that in the most efficient way, I would create an issue tree and analyze all possible root-
causes systematically, in a top-down fashion.

So here is my proposed issue tree for this problem. On the top layer, I would break the analysis into 2 big branches:
Revenue and Cost. This overall approach and the issue look ok to you?

Analyze Issue Tree

You:

(Go into each branch, ask for data to test if the branch contains the root-cause. Remember, only test the highest-level
branch, don’t go into the sub-branch just yet. More on this later!)

Now I would like to explore the first branch: Revenue. I would like to ask for a few data points to test if the root-cause is
in this branch or not. If yes, I would go deeper, creating another layer with sub-branches. If not, I would cross out this
whole Revenue branch, and spend valuable time with the Cost branch. Does this issue tree look good to you? [Analyze
the tree]

(After the interviewer confirms (mostly likely he/she will), you ask for data to test the Revenue branch. There are many
possible tests, but the most simple and popular ones are: historical and competition benchmarks. More on this later.)

Now I would like to explore the first branch: Revenue. I would like to ask for a few data points to test if the root-cause is
in this branch or not. If yes, I would go deeper, creating another layer with sub-branches. If not, I would cross out this
whole Revenue branch and spend valuable time with the Cost branch.

So, has revenue been increasing or decreasing over the past few years?

Identify Root-Causes

You:

(One by one, branch by branch, sub-branch by sub-branch, you analyzed the whole issue and found out rising raw
material cost as the key root-cause for the profit problem.)

So we have exhaustively analyzed the whole issue tree and the data clearly shows that raw material negatively affects
the bottom line. Fixing this root-cause will completely eradicate the profit problem. The next step is to cure this root-
cause.

Propose Solutions

You:

May I take a time-out to come up with solutions?

(Take time-out to think, and deliver solutions)

Interviewer:

Good job finding the root-cause and coming up with those solutions. If you have 30 seconds right NOW to speak with
the company’s CEO, what would you tell him?

Closing Pitch

You:
Mr. CEO, thank you for working with us on this interesting business problem. After rigorous analyses, we have concluded
that the rising in raw material cost is causing overall profit to plummet. Here are three solutions: No.1… No.2… No.3…

We’d be extremely happy to continue to work with you to implement those solutions!