BtE case competition Toolbox

About the Toolbox

Disclaimer

Although the Toolbox is a collection of very

useful guidelines and frameworks it must be
noted by the reader that these are meant to
assist in the case solving process.

This Toolbox is a collection of useful tips, tools,

advices and frameworks that have proven useful
for several different case solvers and winners in
the past. The Beat the Elite Toolbox is developed
by past case team members and winners and
therefore all material rights belongs to CBS Case
Competition. Beat the Elite Toolbox by CBS
Case Competition is licensed under a:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Much of the content in the Toolbox are meant to

serve as a foundation for non-experienced case
solvers, thus the Toolbox does not contain a
certain right way to solve a case. It does
however contain a lot of useful tips and tricks.
One cannot make a winning formula, but by
reading through this collection of frameworks
and guidelines the team might be one step
closer to win Beat the Elite.

If you like the content of this toolbox please refer

to our website: www.casecompetition.com/bte
and make the receiver aware of the original
source and owners.

- Enjoy.

2013

BtE case competition Toolbox

Introduction

Content

2013

Problem solving:
This section describes how to structure the
problem solving part of your solution.
Presentation:
How to set up your presentation and make
sure that the end product looks nice, neat
and professional.
Practicalities:
This section describes some of the things
that can be done before the case launch, as
well as some insiders tips from previous
participants.
Additional reading:
External sources and readings.

Problem solving
Presentation
Practicalities
Additional reading

pp 4-8
pp 9-24
pp 25-27
pp 28

Problem Solving
Introduction

Content

Structuring of the problem solving process is very

important. The teams are only given 24 hours to
solve a complex problem and hence a systematic
approach will help prioritize and structure the task at
hand. This section is about exactly how to do that.
Hypothesis-driven problem solving:
This section describes one the most time efficient
ways to attack a problem.
MECE approach:
The MECE approach is widely used within the
management consulting industry and for a good
reason; This framework ensures that the whole
problem solution space is tested.
Issue tree:
Issue trees are often combined with the MECE
approach in order to prioritize and break down the
problem.
Sanity check:
This section describes the importance of doing a
sanity check.

2013

Hypothesis-driven problem solving

MECE approach
Issue tree
Sanity check

Hypothesis-driven problem solving

Description
Hypothesis-driven problem solving is,
as the name states, all about forming
a hypothesis and then testing whether
one is right or wrong about the initial
hypothesis.
As an example look at the figure on
the right. This example describes the
hypothesis that changing the quality
of the product will lead to an increase
in the price and thus the profitability of
the product sold.
First the initial hypothesis is stated,
this is then followed by an analysis
which can lead to either confirming or
refuting the initial hypothesis. After
this, a series of new hypothesis can
then be formed, here are two
examples:
Do not look for profit by changing
quality since the analysis shows that
neither in- or decreasing quality will
change profitability.
Or check if reduction of quality
instead will lead to increased
profitability.

2013

Stating initial
hypothesis

Research, analysis
and conclusion

Conrm or refute

New
hypothesis /
final
conclusion

Data
Confirm
hypothesis
Hypothesis

Analysis
conclusion

Formation of next
step hypothesis

or

No additional prot can

be found by changing
quality.

or

Refute
hypothesis
New
hypothesis /
final
conclusion

Analysis

Increasing quality of
the product by 5-10%
will lead to a 2%
increase in prot pr.
item.

Looking at price
sensitivity, consumer
demand, capital
investments needed
and uptake rates,

After analysis we
refute the hypothesis.
Increasing quality will
not increase prot pr.
item.

Reducing quality by
20% will lead to 5%
increase in volume and
10% increase in price
pr. item.

MECE
Description
MECE stands for Mutually Exclusive
and Collectively Exhaustive and is a
tool commonly used within the
management consulting industry. The
framework makes it easier to break
complex problems down into smaller,
more simple problems. If the
breakdown is MECE the team
ensures that all the sub-issues
collectively exhaust the total solution
space (no grey area is left uncovered)
and that the sub-issues are mutually
exclusive (no sub-issues are
overlapping) as seen on the right.
By structuring a problem this way the
team ensures that they do not miss
any possible solution options. It will
also be possible to distribute the work
among the team members without
duplication of any work, thus the
limited time will be used more
efficiently.

2013

A non-MECE issue tree

Total possible solution space
Sub-issue #1

Sub-issue #4

Sub-issue #3

Sub-issue #2

A MECE issue tree

Total possible solution space
Sub-issue #1

Sub-issue #4

Sub-issue #2

Sub-issue #3

A MECE issue tree

Description
The issue tree deconstructs an issue
into its sub-issues and the sub-issues
into its sub-issues and so forth.
A complete issue tree makes
identification of possible solutions
easier and guides the problem solving
process.
In this example an issue tree is
constructed around a profit problem in
a company, so in order to know how
to fix the profit problem, a MECE
issue tree can be constructed.
The overall issue is profit. On the next
level, profit is deconstructed into
revenue and cost. Please note that
revenue and cost are the only drivers
of profit and they are not overlapping henceforth the issue tree is MECE at
this level.
Looking at revenue this is
deconstructed into price / item and
volume, again this is two MECE
elements of revenue.
This issue tree is MECE but all
branches are not fully developed.

Overall
problem

MECE

Form solution
hypothesis
Brand
percep;on

Price /
item

Quality
Other

Revenue
Exis;ng
customers

Prot
Volume

Fixed
cost

Increase
customer
base

Updated exis;ng
products
Expand product
porIolio
New markets
New segments

Export to
China?
Export to
Brazil?

Cost
Variable
costs

Note: No issue tree is the only right way to structure a problem but many are wrong, which is why making it MECE must be top priority.
2013

Sanity check
Description
Early on in the process it is important to do a
sanity check of your solution. As seen in the
figure, the sanity check is supposed to make
sure that the proposed solution is both
creative, has sound analysis to back it up, is
feasible and has impact. If all these four
elements are in place the team could have a
winning solution.
The sanity check is also a good opportunity
for the team to stop working, take a step back
and ask the question: Is this solution
something that the company might actually
consider?
Again, there is not one way to get it right, but
many ways to get it wrong. An example of a
creative, but non-feasible solution, could be to
open a store on Mars. An example of a
solution that have all elements but creativity,
could be to optimize all current operations by
2%.
Neither solution are winning solutions due to
their complete lack of one of the four
elements. So make sure that at least these
four are somewhat present.

2013

Creativity

Impact

Winning
solution

Analysis

Feasibility

Presentation
Description

Content

This section entails everything you need in order to

convey your solution in a compelling and convincing
way.
There are two major parts of a good storyline:
1. Structure of content telling the right things.
2. Structure of argumentation telling it the right
way.
If you have these two elements you have a good
storyline.

This section first describes and exemplifies a logical

way to structure the content of your presentation.
That is which analysis and finding to present in
which order.
Then, this section describes the two most used
argumentation structures, the inductive and the
deductive which is then exemplified.
Lastly, in the final part of this section everything is
put together in an example of a good case solution
storyline.

2013

Storyline
pp 10-15
Structure of content
Structure of argumentation
Inductive vs. Deductive
reasoning
Putting it all together
The executive slide
pp 16
Powerpoint dos
and donts
pp 17-24

How to structure your content in a logical way

Description
An often used structure of the content in the
presentation is based upon what the reader
expects to come next.
On the right is an example of how to structure
the different parts of your solution. This flow
ensures that the structure of the solution is
easy to follow for the reader/listener. These
four parts are based upon what you are
telling the reader, as seen on the right.
First the overall situation of the company is
presented.
Then, the implication (problem) of that
situation is identified.
In the third part of the story, the solution to the
problem is presented. In the solution part it is
also vital to present the arguments as to why
the team has settled on that particular
solution.
Lastly, the impact of the solution should be
presented.

2013

The four major elements

Setting the
stage

Identify
problem

Solution

Impact

Arg. 1
Arg. 2

Logic of structure - we are telling you

1: Where are we now?

3: What is our solution

to the problem?

2: Why is this a problem and

what is the problem?

4: What is the impact

of our solution?

10

How to structure a strong logical argument

throughout your presentation
Inductive method:

Having secured that the structure of the

content in the presentation is good, the
team must also make sure that the
storyline follows a strong logical
argument. That is, how to structure the
four elements. This means that it should
be easy for the reader to follow the
logical flow of why the next slide looks
like it does. E.g. setting the stage: the
companies revenue is stalling due to
maturity in market the next slide
indentifies the problem of the situation.

1.

Then, in the following section tell why you

recommend what you do.

Solution
Argument

Deductive method:
1.

First, show all your analysis and conclusions.

2.

Then, in the end serve your nal

recommendation for the company based on
the results of your analysis.

Flow of argument

Broadly speaking there are two

possibilities for how to build the logical
argumentation of a good storyline. A good
story in a solution almost always follows
either the inductive or the deductive
method.

2.

Tell your recommendation/solution up front

in the presentation.

Flow of argument

Description

Argument
Solution

Note:

While the deductive method can be really powerful if used correctly, it is recommended that the team uses the inductive storylining. The reason being
that if using the deductive reasoning, the team must be absolutely sure that the reader will agree on the results and the logic of the argumentation or
else the complete argument for the solution could fall apart. The inductive also has the advantage that it follows the logic of: First tell them what your
going to tell them, tell them and then tell them what you told them.

2013

11

Example of the inductive storyline

We recommend that

The company should expand their business to China

By first targeting the coastal region
And pack items in smaller packages
Resulting in a net turnover growth of USD 1bn in 2015

Note:
This box is
basically what to
tell on the
executive slide

because (supportive analysis and conclusions)

Reasons for going to China

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Why to target the coastal region

1.
2.
3.

2013

Because the market potential is huge.

The growth is strong.
Current markets are mature.
There are certain risks but they are limited.
We will be able to boost revenue by USD
1bn by moving into China.
Which is more than other considered
possibilities.
Large share of population.
Fastest growing region.
Highest share of net wealth people.

Reasons to consider product

modifications
1.

2.
3.

Cultural differences make Chinese

consumers seek different value
propositions.
Small is beautiful in China.
Current consumer trends support smaller.

Financial analysis of revenue

growth by 2015
Wrap up

12

Example of the deductive storyline

Looking at (analysis and conclusions)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The market potentials

The growth rates
Current markets potential
Risks involved
Revenue possibilities in different markets

China comes up as the most

lucrative market
1.
2.

Distribution of population and their net wealth

Growth across Chinese regions

The coastal area is where the

Chinese expansion should start

1.

Cultural differences
Value propositions needed
Spending patterns
Consumer trends

Packaging in smaller bundles is

needed
Financial analysis of revenue
growth by 2015
Wrap up

leads us to recommend that

2013

The company should expand their business to China

By first targeting the coastal region
While consider product modifications
Resulting in a net turnover growth of USD 1bn in 2015

Note:
Again, this box is
similar to the content of
the executive slide.

13

Another example of the inductive storyline

Description
One can see how this
structure is closely linked to
the MECE framework. In fact
a good logical structure will
almost always follow from a
correctly constructed MECE
tree.
In the figure on the right it is
shown how one argument
builds upon the underlying
arguments.
First the solution and its
impact is told.
Then on level 2 the
possible markets are
presented.
On level 3 the different
analysis are presented.
The Chinese outperformed
taking market size, risk
analysis, impact and ease
of implementation into
account.
Finally, on level 4 the roll
out plan is justified.

2013

Which new market should the company expand to?

Expand to china
realizing a USD 1bn
revenue growth

Chinese market

Market size &

growht

Risk analysis

Current markets

Roll out plan

Region
feasibility

Financial impact

Market size &

growth

Other markets

Market size &

growth

Risk analysis

Product
portfolio &
channels
Consumer
behavior

14

Putting it all together: Telling a story during the

progression of the presentation
Key focus areas:

Logic of progression through the presentation should be easy to follow.

By reading only the headers, the reader should be able to understand case solution. See the example below.
Executive slide

We recommend the company

to expand their business to
China and gain USD 1bn in
revenue because home
markets are under pressure.

Although Chinese
customers are different
Resistance towards
western brands due to
1. Reason 1
2. Reason 2

Our solution will grow

topline by USD 1bn
USD 1 bn
2020

2013

Home market is weak

We see weak growth
Increased competition
Weak spending due to
financial crisis

They can be won by

adapting product
Given consumer behaviour,
best way to enter is:
1. Enter
2. Adapt
3. Expand

Wrap up
Tell them what you told
them.

So other revenue
sources are needed
1. Brazil
2. Russia
3. India
4. China
China is the best option

And will make further

expansion possible.
Start in major cities
Expand to coastal region
500 stores by 2015

China is the most

promising market

High growth
Large market
Weak customer loyalty
Resistance towards
western brands

So while still taking risks

into account
Risk 1
Risk 2
Risk 3
How to mitigate risks

Note:

This presentation is not a

solution for how you need to
structure (or design) your
presentation, but only meant as
an illustrative example.
15

The executive slide

Description
It is recommended to put an executive slide in the beginning of your presentation, since this supports the inductive
reasoning.
The executive slide should
Make the reader able to understand your solution and why you have reached your conclusions.
Be the introductory slide for the presentation presented to the judges, should the team reach the finals.
Tell the same story as all the headlines of the presentation.

Example A
Executive slide
[Setting the stage]
What is the current situation for the firm?
[Identify the problems(s) or opportunity]
[Propose solution]
Argument 1
Argument 2

Example B
Executive slide
Setting
the stage

Identify
problem

Solution

Impact

Arg. 1
Arg. 2

[Discuss impact/implications]
Financial and strategic impact
2013

16

Powerpoint dos & donts

Introduction

Overview

This following sub-section is a collection of dos

and donts regarding the visual setup of your
slides. Since you only have 10 slides, it is vital
that nothing is lost in translation, meaning do not
succumb to the usual Powerpoint mistakes.
The following examples are not an exhaustive
list of all powerpoint mistakes but a collection of
some of the most common mistakes that can
easily be avoided.
By making sure that your slides look more like
the do-examples and less like the dontexamples you increase the possibility for the
reader to understand the slides as it was
intentionally meant to be understood.
On the right you will find a list of the following
slides.

2013

Notation on graphs
Key takeaway in header
One message pr. slide
Less is more in graphs
Less is more in effects
Supporting the message
Illustrate instead of excessive
use of bullets

pp 18
pp 19
pp 20
pp 21
pp 22
pp 23
pp 24

17

Remember notations on your graphs

M DKK

Do

Dont

600

600

500

500

400

400

300

300

200

200

100

52,6

41

0
-100

2007

2008

-20
2009

2010
r

Revenue

-2
2011

100
-10
2012

0
-100

52,6
2007

41
2008

2
-20
2009
2010

-2
2011

-10
2012

EBITDA

Source: Annual report 2012

Note:

Only include data labels if they are needed to prove your point.
Also remember to include your source in the bottom of the slide. This adds credibility to your presentation.

2013

18

Make sure to put the key takeaway from your slides

in the header
Do

Dont
Recent financial development

600

600

500

500

400

400
M DKK

M DKK

Case Company has faced stagnating revenue growth and

swindling margins since financial crisis in 2009

300
200
0

-100

2009
r

Revenue

2013

2010

EBITDA

2011

2012

270

200
100

2008

410

300

100
2007

526

-100

123
52,6
2007

41
2008

2
-20
2009
2010
r

Revenue

180

170

-2
2011

-10
2012

EBITDA

19

Tell only one key message pr slide

Do

Dont

CaseCompany has not recovered from financial crisis and

current plan will not meet 2015 turnover target

CaseCompany has important revenue drivers, but it has resulted in poor postcrisis growth and cost savings initiatives from previous strategy plan will not be
able to satisfy shareholder expectations of USD 1 bn in turnover by 2015
Prot

Recent performance

Turnover forecast

Cost
2015 Target

Driver 1
Driver 2
Driver 3

Revenue
Driver1
Driver2

Cost saving ini;a;ves from 2015-Plan

Note:

Reduce overhead by 10%

Divest subsidiary1
Procurement Savings Plan
Tager: 50M DKK
Outsource of produc;on to India

Due to the limitation of 10 slides pr solution it may prove neccesary to cram more information into every slide, but it is strongly recommended
to only deliver one key message per slide

2013

20

Less is more when it comes to data presentation

Do

Dont
Revenue split into carrier type and region

Note:

Design your graph so the reader quickly and easely can read it

2013

21

Less is more when it comes to colours and effects

Do

Note:

Dont

and it looks unprofessional

2013

22

Make sure only things that back up the message of

the slide is included
Do

Dont

Design for social change

requires three key initiatives
Structure new business models to diversify
withholding and manage assets
Gravitate to situation-oriented business
models
Find new eco-friendly consumer-oriented
byproducts

Note:

Images should only be included if they help to make a point clearer. Here this is hardly the case, even on the left-hand slide the value-added
from the images is limited.

2013

23

A gure is worth a thousand bullets

Do

Note:

Dont

Excessive use of bullets dilutes their purpose. A bullet point is a short concise point dont put 20 short concise points on one slide. Not only
is it tedious to read, it also hide the message of the slide.

2013

24

Practicalities
Description

Content:

This section describes some the most important

practicalities that lies outside the actual problem
solving process and case solution. That being
said, the practicalities included and described in
this section has a high probability of making the
24 hours of case solving easier. If ignored, there
is a high probability of making the case solving
hours more difficult.

Time management
Quotes from the
insiders

pp 26
pp 27

Time management:
Due to the time pressure, a good plan will
ensure that the team makes the most of the
available time.
Quotes from the insiders:
This section includes some insiders tips for what
things the team would be like to have under
control before the actual case launch.

2013

25

Draw up a time plan before the case launch

Description
The time plan does not have to be as specic as this one,
but a rough time plan will certainly prove helpful as it
will help the team to not spend too much time on
unnecessary tasks. E.g. analysis of market irrelevant for
the case solution, spending too much time on date
search etc.
Also the team should note that the time plan will almost
certainly not be held, as unavoidable events will happen
during the case solving. However, making a time plan
will keep reminding the team that time is precious and
spending it unwisely is not recommended.
Lastly, this time plan is not the golden rule as to how to
allocate the 24 hours but only an example. The golden
rule that does persist is, the more specic the time plan,
the more it will help throughout the process.

Example
Develop inital hypothesis
2hr checkup.
Are we aligned?

Brain
storm

10:00

11:00

Retest hypethesis

Ini;al data research

12:00

2hr checkup

13:00

2hr checkup

14:00

15:00

Gather slides

Develop solu;on

16:00

17:00

Develop solu;on

21:00

22:00

23:00

24:00

18:00

19:00

Final version

Sleep

20:00

2013

Struc-
turing

01:00

02:00

Buer/
rehearse

08:00 09:00

26

Quotes from the insiders

Remember to buy
snacks, snacks,
snacks & more
snacks.
It is very wise to save some time in the end for
iteration, going through every slide asking the
questions: What do we want to tell with this slide
and will the reader understand it.

Practice makes perfect. It was so evident that the

more training cases we did, the better we got.

Know your data sources.

Having the best data available
is a competitive advantage.

My ve cents on practicalities would denitely

be to assign team roles and know each others
relative strengths and weaknesses. Having the
discussion before the launch as well as a time
manager saved us time.
2013

Set up the master slide before

the case launches. We wasted at
least 3 hrs. setting up and
agreeing on the layout.

27

Additional reading
Online

Ofine

Here we have listed external sources and additional

reading that is also useful for the case solving team.

Choosing the right kind of chart:

http://extremepresentation.typepad.com/files/
choosing-a-good-chart-09.pdf

How to structure your argument:

Barbera Minto The pyramid principle

Presentation design advice:

Gary Reynolds Presentation Zen
Nancy Duarte - Slideology

Previous cases:
http://www.casecompetition.com/case_solving/
previous_cases

www.caseinterview.com

www.bcgperspectives.com

Data sources:
http://www.eiu.com/
http://research.thomsonib.com/

2013

28