Establish a common “modus operandus” for Consulting teams
Practice the suggested process on a real-life example
STRATEGY IS ABOUT THRIVING IN A CHANGING WORLD…
and hypotheses
Get the data
Potential for rich powerful solutions
DEFINING THE ISSUE IS THE FIRST STEP IN THE
JOURNEY TO FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Define the Issues
Is there a market for white label insurance products?
2 Review and Describe Multiple Assertions
3
Form the hypothesis
• We believe this to be true . . . • A series of statements, not yet backed
Statements that provide direction and structure for the analysis
Factual information gathered to prove or disprove hypotheses
Analyse what the data tells us
Statements that provide direction and structure for the analysis
Factual information gathered to prove or disprove hypotheses
Analyse what the data tells us
Based on often imperfect information they make decisions and then drive implementation
The “there's a pony in here somewhere” approach
THERE ARE TWO BASIC APPROACHES TO PROBLEM SOLVING; BUT BOTH CAN WORK
“The picture’s pretty bleak, gentlemen . . . The world’s climates are changing, the mammals are taking over, and we all have a brain about the size of a walnut.”
So what? —aha, new thought
What you should do… and how
HYPOTHESIS FORMATION ENSURES THAT OUR ANALYSIS IS FOCUSED ON OUR CLIENT’S PROBLEM
Define the Issues
… WHICH IS ALL ABOUT “DECISION MAKING”
“Strategy is about making decisions”
The best strategy “makers” are able to blend analytic techniques with an understanding of the future uncertainties and simple good luck
So what? —aha, new thought
What you should do… and how
1
Define the question
HYPOTHESES ARE DEVELOPED IN THREE STEPS
• What are the real strategic issues? • What is the impact on the organisation? • What are the priorities?
Form Hypotheses
Gather Data
Analyse Data
Find Insights
Develop Conclusions and
Make Recommendations
to Implement
What are the questions keeping you awake at night?
by data • Based on initial data search or expert
opinions
• We think . . . • It looks like . . . • The right answer may be . . . • The options could be . . .
STRUCTURED PROBLEM SOLVING & HYPOTHESIS GENERATION
GOALS OF THIS MODULE
Lay out a systematic approach to solving business problems –“Structured Problem Solving ”
Form Hypotheses
Gather Data
Analyse Data
Find InsightsDevelop Conclusions and
Make Recommendations
to Implement
What are the questions keeping you awake at night?
Scurry around analyzing tons of data to see if you can find something
useful
Potential for good (and
mixed) solutions
The structured analytic approach
Define problem