Summarizing the Case
Last impressions matter as much as first impressions. I don’t have a study to refer to for this, but you certainly want to close out strong.
I admit: there are definitely times that, as a case interviewer, I’ve mentally checked out and crossed a candidate off the list by the time we’re halfway through their structure delivery, and by this point I’m just waiting for them to wrap up as quickly as possible so I can get back to my day. (Your interviewer always has more pressing issues to attend to. Out of the corner of their eye, they’re watching client emails pile up and whatever messaging system the firm uses is flashing an alarming number of unread messages that they’re dying to get to.)
Can a structured, insightful and poised summary change my opinion? It sure can. The summary is your last opportunity to demonstrate how thoughtful and organized you can be. If you’re looking to underscore that you understand strategy, here’s your chance. If you feel you want to squeeze in more evidence that you have listened deeply to your client, you still have time. The summary section of the case interview allows you to re-emphasize that you have the skills to be a consultant, and with the help of some recency bias, your interview may remember the clarity of your summary better than that of your initial framework.
"So, what would you recommend to the client?"
Your interviewer may nudge you towards wrapping up the case by asking a version of this question. There could be some added touch of drama about how you either run into the CEO in the elevator and they ask you how it’s going, or how the CEO needs to board a flight all of a sudden so your 30-minute presentation needs to be 5 minutes instead. If you aren’t asked the question but you feel like you’ve come to a conclusion based on 1) all the things you think are relevant to the issue; 2) the information you were given and were told is available; 3) time left for the scheduled interview, you could also move towards concluding without being prompted. “I think I have sufficient information here to make a recommendation to the client. Before I do, is there anything else you think we should look into?” Turn that question back on your interviewer - remember they are your “collaborator” as well as your “client” in this role-play! - and either move into more analysis or towards the conclusion.
The Case Recommendation Template
Your recommendation should contain four parts, in this exact order:
Your answer
Why
Risks
Next steps
Contrary to my advice on the initial framework, I strongly suggest you adopt this formulaic approach to closing out your case. You need all these four components to a comprehensive answer, and there is no other logical way to present them. Comprehensive here meaning: you want to demonstrate you’ve thought through all the aspects, and took the time to connect the dots and also consider future implications.
So first - your answer.
I hope you remember exactly how the original question was phrased. Not because you should repeat it verbatim, but because you need to clearly restate the crux of the issue that you just looked into today. (Let’s go back to the Ross 2013 Case #2 that I like so much.)
You can give a brief summary:
“Today we were asked to evaluate if and how our client should enter the low income segment of the market.”
“With regards to our client’s question of whether or not they should enter the low income segment of the market, my answer is…”
Or you can jump right in:
“Our client should / should not enter the low income segment, because…”
Either way is fine. The key here is to take a stance. You are not allowed to sit on the fence at this moment, because you were hired to do the work and make a decision. You cannot recommend that I, your client, sift through the information that you gathered, and make up my own mind. (Well, you can, but you won’t ever be hired again.) Whatever qualms you have - imperfect data, incomplete research, way too many unknowns - that’s life! We can only make the best decisions that we can at the moment we need to with the information that we have at the time. And luckily, we retain the right to modify our decisions, pivot if need be, should different information surface at a later date. Pivoting, quitting, changing course - these are valid and valuable decisions and business actions. I’d even go so far to say as they’re oftentimes underrated strategies. In all aspects of your light, you should fight very hard to shy away from saying “in light of new information, I change my mind.” Do not hold on to what no longer serves you! So for now, pick a definitive answer.
Next, why.
Immediately after your answer, tell me why. Back it up.
“...because this segment presents a $2M revenue opportunity.”
“There are 3 key benefits to pursuing this strategy:...”
If there’s a quantified component you can refer to here, all the better. Money talks, after all. What’s better than telling me there’s a $2M potential? That it’s 5x more lucrative than my next best option. If you’ve already done the math, you can succinctly summarize it in one sentence.
Only include the most relevant reasons and the biggest value-adds. You may have gone through lots of details in your analysis, in which case it’s very unlikely that everything is equally important and impactful and therefore not everything should be included. Prioritize! Do not overwhelm me with nuances. Your ability to understand what’s most important to your client is a critical success factor as a consultant.
Third, risks.
Risks are anything that could go wrong, but also all the inherent uncertainties. This is your disclaimer, cover-your-ass section. Did you have to make some assumptions in your analysis today? (Yes, yes you did.) Did you get all the answers to your questions? (No, likely you didn’t.) Most excellent - you can list some risks. Addressing these risks will improve your analysis and strengthen your recommendation. You want to call out these risks not only because you’re being practical and honest, but also because it sets you up neatly for the last part where you softly sell future services to mitigate these risks.
Generally, there should be no surprises in your entire recommendation. Everything you say in the recommendation has already been discussed, analyzed, vetted, etc. The only exception may be risks. You may not have had the occasion to discuss risks during the rest of the interview so far. If that’s the case, you will be pulling out “new information” for your risks section, which is okay. You should always point out some risks, rather than state there are none.
The risks could be:
We didn’t have enough historical sales data to analyze, so the trend we have preliminarily identified may be misleading or not fully representative.
We haven’t done any market research so our understanding of the market is incomplete.
Changing our package size may increase the cost of packaging, thereby reducing our profits, or it could alienate our existing customers and lead to brand erosion.
Our analysis was based on a crude estimation of xyz, and while directionally accurate, $5B is a huge investment, so we definitely want to refining that analysis with more accurate numbers.
Pick 2-3 risks, order them by size of potential impact, and then dovetail that (as the last sample risk statement does,) into…
Finally, next steps.
Because nothing is perfect and there can always be more analysis done, there are always more consulting projects to be sold. The “next steps” section is where you cleverly suggest how you can further help your client - likely by addressing the key risks you just warned them about. You’ve already thought ahead!
If the risk is…
We made some broad assumptions about the low income segment purchasing drivers as part of our analysis.
Then the next step could be…
We recommend running some focus groups to confirm those assumptions and refine our understanding of those consumers’ true motivations.
If the risk is…
Changing packaging could be disruptive to our existing operations and have unanticipated costs.
Then the next step could be…
Conduct a thorough analysis of how we can implement changing packaging to assess feasibility and, if feasible to proceed, build a roadmap to update our operational processes.
If the risk is…
We have not considered potential competitive responses from our competitors in our forecast.
Then the next step could be…
Hold a strategy workshop to elicit other market changes that could result from our proposed change and update our forecast and planned approach to incorporate new learnings.
So to recap, at the end of your case interview, you finish with a recommendation that contains four parts, in this exact order:
Your answer
Why
Risks
Next steps
You always want your main point to go first. Imagine if you were in a video call and the internet suddenly cuts out halfway through your recommendation: you want your client (read: interviewer) to have at least heard the answer to their question - the part they care most about! You can always come back to explain risk and next steps. Prioritize getting out the what and the why upfront.
What you never want to do is bore someone by talking through your methodology in detail (e.g. “I started by looking at ABC, and then I discovered XYZ so I…” No thanks - if your executive audience is interested in some particular nitty-gritty, they will ask you. (In real life, you may even get derailed and never get to the rest of your prepared presentation!) Never assume you have the luxury of time to “get to it later” - if it’s important, get to it first.
As with the other parts of the case interview, structure is everything. It’s perfectly okay to respond to the prompt to make a summary by asking for a minute (never more) or just state that you’d like to take a minute to summarize your recommendation. Rarely will you be pressured with a, “No, there’s no time, you have to go now.” Even in those occasions, luckily there’s an easy template to follow to hit all the main points and sound collected.