MECE and

Data Structuring in the Consulting Industry

THE MCKINSEY WAY OF PROBLEM SOLVING

STRUCTURE,STRUCTURE,STRUCTURE,MECE,MECE.

ANKUSH GULATI
 The Mckinsey approach

The problem is not always the problem

Create structure through “M.E.C.E.”

Not all data is relevant, filter as per hypothesis

Don’t reinvent the wheel

Every client is unique

Don’t make the facts fit your solution

Make sure your solution fits your client and not the other way around
 What is MECE

 MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive Completely Exhaustive.

 Every problem at Mckinsey is tackled with this approach.

MECE

Mutually Completely
Exclusive Exhaustive

Every issue Covers every

separate and possible aspect
distinct
MECE starts from 20000 feet high and moves
progressively downwards through:

Brainstorming

Hypothesis building

Hypothesis rejection

Results in maximum clarity and completeness.

 Data Gathering

Everything at Mckinsey is based on Facts


Mckinse-ites do not believe in using gut instinct
unless absolutely necessary

Mckinsey promotes using internal resources first to

analyse business problems

Maintain a internal repository of information collated

from past engagements, research associates.
Put the data you found on a spreadsheet. Sort it in
various ways. Play with numbers
 Patterns and clumps emerge out. These patterns could be
unseen problems or opportunities
 Too much time and effort gets wasted for very little results,
otherwise
Do not lose sight of the bigger picture- the goal,
while looking at a bunch of data. At each stage take
a step backwards and check if the path is correct.
 Huge amounts of raw and often irrelevant data gets
accumulated after the stage 1 of data collection.

 Not all data is useful.

 Helps in arriving at meaningful judgments.

 Helps in correcting initial hypothesis formed if required.

 Gives a direction, can lead to an unseen opportunity or

solution
McKinsey uses standard waterfall charts to convey
a lot of info in clear , concise manner.

Should stick with 1 message per chart, clear and

concise representation of data.