Case Interview: Essential Tips and Tricks (Part 12 of 12) | caseinterview

Summary

本视频脚本深入探讨了商业分析中的关键提示和良好习惯，强调了在分析任何数字时寻找历史趋势的重要性，以及与行业其他部分进行比较的必要性。视频中提到，仅一个数字本身没有意义，重要的是通过比较获得洞察力。此外，还讨论了如何通过分割不同的业务单元来避免总数和平均数的误导性，以及如何通过不同的方式来分割收入、成本和竞争对手。视频还提供了一些实用的建议，比如在遇到难题时大声思考，以及如何通过练习来提高分析技能。最后，视频鼓励观众根据自己的优势和兴趣选择职业道路，而不是盲目追求他人眼中的成功。

Takeaways

• 📊 **寻找趋势**：获取数字时，要了解历史数据，因为单一数字没有意义，只有通过比较才能获得洞见。
• 📈 **行业比较**：当获得一个数字时，要与行业其他部分比较，以判断问题是公司特有的还是市场结构性的。
• 🔍 **深入分析**：如果市场在增长而公司利润没有增长，需要深入探究原因，不能仅停留在表面数据。
• 🚫 **避免误导**：总数和平均数可能非常误导，要通过细分来获取更准确的信息。
• 📉 **细分市场**：通过产品、渠道、客户类型、垂直市场和地区等不同方式来细分收入，以便更准确地理解业务。
• 📋 **实践练习**：通过阅读商业出版物和分析数据来练习开篇和结论，以及在不同媒介上绘制框架图。
• 🤔 **思考出声**：当遇到难题时，大声思考可以帮助澄清思路，有时还能得到他人的帮助。
• 🧐 **忽略先验知识**：在分析问题时，要忘记先前的知识，避免假设性思维，确保提问正确问题。
• 📚 **战略规划**：使用框架分析你的职业选择，思考你的竞争优势是否适合咨询行业。
• 🚀 **职业选择**：如果你不喜欢案例面试，那么可能也不会喜欢咨询工作，选择你喜欢并擅长的工作。
• 💼 **销售技能**：咨询公司的合伙人需要具备销售技能，这是业务成功的关键，但常被忽视。

Q & A

为什么说一个数字本身没有意义，需要对比历史数据？

数字本身只是一个绝对值，没有提供任何关于趋势或变化的信息。通过与历史数据进行比较，可以揭示出这个数字背后的含义，比如增长、下降或其他趋势，从而提供洞察力并指导决策。

在分析一个公司的财务状况时，为什么要与整个行业进行比较？

与整个行业比较可以帮助我们识别问题是公司特有的还是市场普遍存在的。如果是公司特有的，可能与运营有关；如果是市场普遍现象，则可能是市场结构或需求变化导致的。

为什么说平均数和总数可能会误导人？

平均数和总数可能会掩盖掉重要的细节，因为它们不能反映出不同部分或个体之间的差异。例如，一个地区的平均犯罪率可能很低，但如果所有的犯罪都集中在某个特定区域，那么对于住在那个区域的人来说，情况就完全不同了。

在分析数据时，如何进行有效的分段？

可以按照收入来源、产品、渠道、客户类型、垂直市场或地区等进行分段。在成本分析中，可以按照固定成本与变动成本、价值链的每个环节等进行分段。这样可以更准确地识别问题所在，而不是仅仅看到整体情况。

在咨询行业中，为什么需要具备销售技能？

在咨询行业中，随着职位的提升，管理技能和客户技能变得越来越重要。特别是在成为合伙人后，销售技能尤为关键，因为合伙人需要能够吸引和维护客户，为公司带来业务。

为什么说如果你不喜欢案例面试，可能也不会喜欢咨询工作？

案例面试是模拟咨询工作的一部分，如果你在面试过程中感到不舒服或不喜欢这个过程，那么在实际工作中也可能会有同样的感觉。咨询工作需要分析问题、提出解决方案并说服客户，这些都是案例面试中会涉及的技能。

在咨询公司中，为什么需要具备管理技能？

随着职业发展，咨询师需要管理团队和项目。管理技能包括领导力、团队合作、时间管理和客户管理等，这些技能对于成功地领导项目和团队至关重要。

为什么说创业精神和咨询工作之间存在差异？

创业精神往往需要对未来做出基于直觉的猜测，而咨询工作则侧重于分析现有数据并提供基于事实的建议。创业者可能更注重创新和冒险，而咨询师则更注重结构化分析和风险管理。

在咨询公司中，如何通过练习提高自己的技能？

可以通过阅读商业出版物中的案例，练习构建框架和分析问题。此外，还可以练习在不同媒介上绘制图表，如白板、翻转图和图表纸，以及练习解决数学问题，特别是涉及大数字的估算问题。

为什么说选择职业时应该考虑个人的竞争优势？

个人的竞争优势是指那些让你在特定领域或工作中表现出色的独特技能或特质。通过利用这些优势，你可以在职业生涯中取得更大的成功和满足感。如果忽视这些优势，即使在表面上成功的职业道路上，也可能感到不满足或不成功。

在咨询公司中，为什么销售技能对于合伙人来说很重要？

合伙人在咨询公司中负责业务发展和客户关系，这需要他们具备强大的销售技能来吸引新客户并维护现有客户。销售技能包括沟通、说服和建立信任的能力，这些都是赢得业务和保持公司增长的关键。

Outlines

00:00

📊 数据分析的关键提示

第一段主要强调了数据分析时需要记住的几个关键点。首先，要找到趋势并比较历史数据，因为单一的数字没有意义，只有通过比较才能获得洞见。其次，当获得一个数字时，应该将其与行业其他部分进行比较，以判断问题是公司特定的还是市场结构性的。此外，提到了总数和平均数可能具有误导性，强调了细分的重要性。最后，介绍了一些常见的细分方式，如按收入来源、产品、渠道、客户类型、垂直市场和地区进行细分。

05:00

📈 成本分析与职业规划

第二段讨论了成本分析中的常见细分模式，如固定成本与变动成本，并强调了价值链中不同环节的成本。同时，提到了按客户类型、渠道、地区和产品线对竞争对手进行细分的重要性。此外，还提出了在遇到难题时“大声思考”的方法，以及如何通过框架分析个人职业选择。最后，强调了在实践中忘记先前知识的重要性，以及如何通过练习开场、分析和结论陈述来提高咨询技能。

10:02

🎨 实践技巧与媒体练习

第三段着重于实践技巧，包括在不同媒体上进行绘图练习，如白板、翻转图、图表纸等。提到了练习框架图和供需曲线的重要性，以及在解决数学问题时在白板上进行绘图的好处。此外，还讨论了处理大数字的数学练习，以及在面试中如何通过写下来避免错误。最后，提供了一些最终建议，包括战略性规划职业生涯，以及如何利用框架分析个人职业选项。

15:02

🚀 职业选择与咨询行业

第四段深入探讨了职业选择，特别是咨询行业。强调了即使有能力进入顶级咨询公司，如果不喜欢咨询工作的本质，也应该选择离开。提到了即使不喜欢案例面试，也可能意味着不会喜欢咨询工作。此外，讨论了咨询公司不聘请的类型，包括创意非线性思考者和具有短注意力跨度的人。最后，提出了选择职业时应考虑个人兴趣和激情，而不仅仅是社会期望。

20:03

📧 反馈与慈善建议

第五段作为结尾，提供了反馈和慈善建议。提到了视频和信息将在caseinterview.com上提供，并鼓励观众发送电子邮件分享他们的经历和建议。此外，还推荐了一个慈善机构，并鼓励观众如果觉得视频有用，可以进行捐赠。最后，表达了愿意回答更多问题，并感谢观众的参与。

Keywords

💡趋势分析

趋势分析是指对历史数据的比较和分析，以识别和预测未来可能发生的变化。在视频中，提到了在获取任何数字时，都需要找到历史数据进行比较，因为单一的数字本身没有意义，只有通过比较才能获得洞察力，进而推动进展。例如，视频提到了Omega公司的收入持平，但市场整体在增长，这就需要深入分析原因。

💡行业比较

行业比较是指将公司的数据与整个行业的情况相比较，以判断问题是公司特有的还是市场结构性的。视频中强调，当获得一个数字时，要问自己这个数字在行业中的比较情况，从而确定是操作问题还是市场问题。例如，如果公司的利润没有增长，但整个市场的利润在增长，就需要深入探究原因。

💡细分市场

细分市场是指将整体市场按照不同的标准划分成更小的、具有共同特征的部分，以便更准确地分析和理解市场。视频中提到，总体和平均数值可能会误导人，而通过细分可以揭示出更具体的信息。例如，视频中提到总销售额持平，但细分市场A增长了100%，而市场B下降了25%，这就需要对这些细分市场进行深入分析。

💡成本分析

成本分析是指对企业成本的详细审查，包括固定成本和变动成本，以及它们在价值链中的位置。视频中提到，通过成本分析可以了解不同类型的客户、购买需求和价格点，从而更准确地把握市场动态。例如，如果收入下降，可以通过成本分析来确定是哪些客户群体的购买行为发生了变化。

💡竞争对手分析

竞争对手分析是指对市场上其他竞争者的策略、产品、客户和地区等方面的分析，以了解竞争对手的优势和劣势。视频中提到，通过按渠道、地区、产品线和客户细分竞争对手，可以发现在不同细分市场中的竞争状况，从而制定更有效的竞争策略。

💡思维外化

思维外化是指在解决问题时将自己的想法和思考过程表达出来，以帮助自己和他人更好地理解问题和寻找解决方案。视频中提到，当遇到难题时，可以通过思维外化来梳理思路，有时候这还能得到他人的帮助和指导。例如，视频中提到，如果遇到一个从未见过的问题，可以先表达出自己的困惑，然后尝试将其分解成更小的部分。

💡战略规划

战略规划是指对个人职业生涯的有意识的规划和决策，以确定最适合自己的发展路径。视频中提到，每个人都应该分析自己的竞争优势，并思考如何利用这些优势。例如，如果一个人喜欢分析问题并享受案例面试，那么咨询工作可能更适合他。反之，如果一个人不喜欢案例面试，那么咨询工作可能并不适合他。

💡销售技能

销售技能是指在商业交易中说服客户购买产品或服务的能力。视频中提到，尽管销售是企业利润的重要来源，但商学院往往不教授销售课程。然而，无论是成为合伙人还是企业家，销售技能都是必不可少的。例如，视频中提到，即使是咨询公司的合伙人，也需要具备销售技能，因为他们需要吸引和保留客户。

💡职业选择

职业选择是指个人根据自己的兴趣、技能和价值观选择职业道路的过程。视频中强调，人们应该选择自己喜欢并擅长的工作，而不是仅仅因为社会期望或压力而选择某个职业。例如，视频中提到，如果一个人不喜欢案例面试，那么他可能也不会喜欢咨询工作，因此应该考虑其他更适合自己的职业选择。

💡非线性思维

非线性思维是指不按照常规或直线方式思考问题，而是采用跳跃式或创新的方式来寻找解决方案。视频中提到，虽然非线性思维在某些情况下是有益的，但在咨询工作中，决策过程需要清晰和易于跟随，因此非线性思维可能不适合咨询行业。例如，视频中提到像史蒂夫·乔布斯和理查德·布兰森这样的企业家可能不是优秀的咨询顾问，因为他们的思维方式可能过于跳跃和创新。

💡慈善捐赠

慈善捐赠是指个人或组织将资源（如金钱、物资或时间）无偿给予慈善机构或需要帮助的人。视频中提到，如果观众发现视频内容有用，建议他们向慈善机构捐款。例如，视频中提到了一个名为'WWE Title match'的慈善机构，并鼓励观众如果觉得视频有帮助，可以向该机构捐款。

Highlights

强调了理解数字背后趋势的重要性，数字本身没有意义，只有通过比较才能获得洞察力。

在分析数字时，需要与行业其他部分进行比较，以确定问题是公司特有的还是市场结构性问题。

当收入持平时，深入探究原因，了解市场其他部分的增长情况，找出差异。

警告说总数和平均数可能具有误导性，强调了细分数据的重要性。

通过一个案例说明了如果不进行细分，可能会错过关键的业务增长点或衰退点。

提供了一些常见的收入细分方式，如按产品、渠道、客户类型、垂直市场和地区。

讨论了成本细分的常见模式，如固定成本与变动成本，以及价值链的每个环节。

建议在分析客户类型时，可以根据人口统计学、购买需求和价格点进行细分。

强调了在分析竞争对手时，按渠道、地区、产品线和客户进行细分的重要性。

提倡在遇到难题时大声思考，这有助于澄清思路并可能获得他人的帮助。

通过一个关于个人生活决策的案例，展示了如何将复杂问题分解为可管理的部分。

提醒要忽略先前的知识，以避免假设性思维影响提问和分析。

讨论了练习案例的不同方面，包括开场、分析和结论，并推荐了练习材料。

强调了在不同媒介上练习绘图的重要性，包括白板、翻转图和图表纸。

建议练习处理大数字的数学问题，并强调了写下来的重要性。

提供了关于职业规划的框架，鼓励个人思考自己的竞争优势和职业选择。

指出了咨询行业倾向于重视特定技能，并非适合所有人，并鼓励找到个人的热情所在。

提到了即使在商业学校，销售技能也是一个被忽视的重要领域。

最后，鼓励为慈善机构捐款，以支持他们的有效和成本效益高的运作。

Transcripts

I want to talk about a few key reminders

okay so these are things you just want

to drill into your head over and over

and over and over again and and get it's

a these are the good habits you want to

have first thing is find a trend so

always when you get a number

what's the historical number because a

number by itself doesn't mean anything

you have to compare it against something

and it's the comparison that gives you

the insight which then allows you to

progress get in on how long with or what

not second thing is when you get a

number you want to compare to the rest

of the industry and we were trying to

drive at is it a company specific issue

which tends to be operationally oriented

or is it a market issue which is like

something structural happening with

market demand right shifts and segments

emerging markets that kind of thing so

whenever you get a number always ask

when it feels like it's relevant I'm

look to ask for what the comparable is

for the industry okay

so on the earlier case I had a profit

was flat for the Omega Omega I think it

was why did I keep drilling down revenue

when revenue was flat - had I not known

about the rest of the market I probably

wouldn't have okay it's like

mathematically elegance there's no

change in costly change in revenues and

the change in profits you know we're

done right when we know what's happening

nothing's happening okay but the rest of

the markets growing okay so there's a

differential and we don't know why so

and since this seems like it's a growth

case right or profit increase case the

rest of the markets increasing profits

were not that's what I kept drilling

down on revenues so try to understand

what's going on there without that

without that comparable I wouldn't have

done that okay so that's why it's

important to look for comparisons

particularly to the rest of the industry

okay

totals and averages are very very

misleading so that's why you have the

segments

so it's like on your block on average

it's a fairly safe neighborhood but you

know there's only been like 10 robberies

out of you know out of a hundred

thousand people so on average it's safe

okay

but all ten robberies will of your house

okay so when you separate it out it's

not safe for you because the guy who

robbed you really hates you so the

conclusion you ought to move right I'm

so so that it's misleading right so you

always want to split things out and if

you're ever stuck it just split segments

and when you get a kids have no idea try

to find some way to break it into parts

even if it screw they're not quite like

the best way to break it up at least get

you going yeah basically if you don't

segment you basically miss the whole

point you don't have to I'll read this

is sort of more of a note for myself let

me give you an example

um total sales are flat okay and 7a

represents 20 percent of sales so very

small piece and segment B represents 80

percent so the majority segment a is

going 100 percent per year which is

useful information to know and segment

DB decline by say 25 percent okay on on

the company overall is flat but you have

one business unit that's crashing and

burning and you get one that's doubling

every single year you over a year okay

if you did not segment that out by

business unit you would have missed the

entire point would miss the whole thing

you would say well it's a flat growth

business no no it's not it's one that

sort of dying and one that's growing

dramatically that's very that's a very

big deal if you don't segment you don't

find that out okay all right

like I said again always segments I mean

it's really important oh how do you

segment so here are some common ways you

you typically don't you typically get

this information provided to you and

this I think is actually comes right off

the chart on the last page of the

framework piece page so you have you

think you have that yeah you should have

that somewhere in there but just so

you're familiar with what things to look

for sometimes you might ask for a little

bit

but around revenues it's sort of by

revenue source

so by product by channel by type of

customer by vertical market by region

and those are sort of very common ways

of segmenting revenues and when you're

when you're trying to break up revenue

sort of in a profitability framework

it's you know total revenues and then

looking at revenues per unit sometimes

you'll find that on that profitability

case one of the one of the weird

interactions will get is sometimes that

you'll find the revenue is down the

revenue per unit is the same and units

shipped have really fallen right excuse

me

actually I sort of misstated at forget

that for a psychologist it will just be

confusing

all right on costs the common

segmentation patterns are fixed versus

variable that's important cost within

each segment of a value chain

you know while materials manufacturing

distribution so on and so forth see when

you're segmenting by by customer type so

if we know revenues are declining or

shrinking you can sort of break out

types of customers by demographics by

purchasing needs by price points the

sort of an infinite number of ways to do

that and again usually we just sort of

mention the word segment they will tell

you which one to use and actually give

you the data

this usually what happens and in terms

of competitors segment them by channel

by region by product line and by

customers there because you'll get

particularly customer summary you'll get

wide variations in who you're competing

against by its by segment and so it's

important to know that okay last two

reminders think out loud so if you're

stuck just start thinking of what you're

thinking like this is confusing it seems

counterintuitive that this is happening

and I'm just wanting to choose what

should we do next okay and sometimes

they'll help you okay sometimes they'll

think you're on the right track and

there's sort of encouragement in the

particular direction so if you ever

stuck just think out loud so it could be

like if you get a weird case you're like

geez that I've never seen this one

before you do the home this is

interesting thing and say wow this is

really interesting

I'm sort of wondering how to get started

my inclination is to break up this

problem into its pieces and then and

they might if you're lucky they might

suggest how to do that because sometimes

some kinds of problems are very hard

they're not it's not like a pie chart

you sort of very easily and cleanly

break things up sometimes they're not

like logical building blocks so a case

could be I'll give you an random one

totally random you probably ever get

this a friend of you comes to you and

says should I marry Joe that's the case

okay well you want a break so my first

reaction was tree that's interesting I'm

gonna do this so my first reactions well

that's

a pretty big question should I marry Joe

okay why don't we break it up into its

pieces okay maybe well what do you see

what do you see is your life to be what

do you want your life to be like in 20

years okay well I want to be living here

in California I want to have this level

of lifestyle I want to have three kids

and I want to I don't know go on

vacation three times a year travel great

let's look at Joe across these four key

areas that's your framework right I've

done this before

I mean it's relationship troubleshooting

consulting style and so let's look at

Joe at each of these four areas okay

Joe is hates travel well okay that's

interesting Joe doesn't want to have

kids you want three he ones zero okay

that's interesting Joe hates California

thinks a bunch of wackos you know loves

in Northeast we'll never move well

that's interesting and all aside you

sort of do this whole process I would

say I think you're nuts if you think

you're going to marry drug uncle Mary

drove for very long okay

here are four reasons why first he

doesn't want to live where you are he

doesn't want to travel doesn't want to

have kids is a polar opposite of you

what are you doing go on and move on and

I've literally said this to somebody

dead serious didn't move on what took a

long time to move on but I structure the

case while I presented the subway but

you can see that's that's I mean it's

that's that's the structure right same

principles right same principles and but

but that's sort of like client friendly

way of doing things now and this was

also like a guy thing right we're trying

to solve the problem right

and whereas an equally valid approaches

like talking about feelings right how do

you feel about Joe what do you want you

know what do you want like yeah that

works too but it's not client friendly

right in terms of the context of control

okay last thing is be real care for

again reminding yourself ignore previous

knowledge you know it can sort of screw

you up to know too much because if you

know nothing you know to ask questions

if you're assuming things implicitly you

will sometimes not ask the questions you

should be asking

okay practicing how to practice talked a

little about this earlier I'll touch on

a couple things and then just focus many

on things I didn't mention earlier when

you practice cases I find it's

practically speaking it's easy to split

up the practicing of the opening the

practice of analysis and practicing of

the clothes and the reason I like

splitting it up is because you can

practice the opening and close on your

own okay you don't need anybody else to

do that and it's literally getting a

Wall Street Journal whatever it is a

business publication and looking at the

business situation and figuring out okay

how would I frame this problem what's

the framework that I would use same

thing if the articles detail enough that

has data you can practice closing it and

stating your conclusion three supporting

arguments and and so on okay I'm just

gonna now the reason you have to

practice sometimes practice analyzing

separately is because it really helps to

have a partner and you need something to

basically sort of play the role player

of the interviewer and the key way to do

that if you're going to partner up with

somebody and be the interviewer is like

I did earlier is you pick the conclusion

you pick the clothes you want to hear

all right as the interviewer and then

you make up the rest as you go along to

be consistent with your conclusion and

so you can do it fairly fast without

having to sort of do a lot of math that

those cases tend to be a little more

conceptual unless you have a couple

numbers from your article that's why I

like the articles they've done they have

real numbers in there so the math sort

of all ties up ties together and adds up

properly and again I'd Business Week a

lot and then portfolio magazine seems

very promising too it's a newer magazine

okay sort of real practical stuff

practice drawing and practice drawing on

different types of media whiteboard flip

chart graph paper and then practicing

drawing different kinds of things the

things one practice drawing or framework

diagram that's fairly straightforward

definitely I should go practice the

supply demand curves right because

that's very easy to screw up sometimes

drawing solving math problems on a board

so I've done that a couple times it's

like less so on on like business

situation cases unless that's an

estimation question in the middle

sometimes they'll say why don't you go

and draw that up on the board and what

they're doing is they when they have it

on the board they can see if you're

doing it right where sometimes you go if

you're sometimes you feel faster than

they are they can't tell if you're right

so if you just do a sufficient

confidence sometimes they won't know but

having it drawn on the board it's harder

to hide so sometimes I have you drawn on

the board and we didn't touch on this

really in terms of the estimation stuff

but practicing the math of large numbers

so as someone asked about this earlier

what I would do is I would just sort of

pick a bunch of random big numbers you

know 4 million times 250 16 billion

times of 30% and just write a whole

bunch of problems down and just sort of

do my head and just practice them mean

it's rough like I can't do them very

well these days because I just like I'm

just going to calculate it right but in

fact actually it's pretty useful in real

life and and you got to be sort of

fairly proficient at it or it has a

negative impact on how you're doing the

interviews and it's just practice yes

it's always acceptable numbers down

in it is better to write them down and

get it right than to like get it wrong

yeah and and on the scale of one to ten

ten being you did it all on your head

writing it down and doing it would

probably be like seven or eight so not

the end of the world at the end of the

world

that's what they call it back of an

envelope so it's like you just do on a

small piece of paper so that's fine I

don't think that's a big deal if you

have to what you do want to write down

is want to make sure if you can either

sort of literally do the math problem

there that's sort of one way but at a

minimum you should write down the

numbers because if you if you're trying

to juggle three or four or five large

numbers one that has six zeros for that

have two zeros and three they have three

zeros like you forget the first one had

six zeros right so just writing down the

base facts is fairly useful too in that

that was always acceptable fighting

sounds always taking us as always

acceptable all right

let me wrap up on some final tips and

then I'm happy to we'll wrap up formally

after this and if you have specific

things you want to talk about happy to

do that and answer questions for the

group we'll go over different kind of

case and this is sort of me on my

soapbox okay I have this concept of

strategic planning for your career okay

so you can and I have done this use a

framework for analyzing your career

options right and and sadly I probably

did not do enough of this and it's sort

of sad because I should know better so

one of the things you talk about in

business school is strategic competitive

advantage right so what's the avange

that company a has over Company B and

does that Vantage actually give them any

kind of benefit in serving that

particular market okay

same deal for you guys okay your skills

are an asset and you all have different

skills and what you want to think about

is what is your competitive advantage

and do you actually leverage that skill

by going into consulting okay something

to think about consulting tends to value

very particular skills okay it's not the

end-all be-all and if I have a lot

number friends who were good enough to

get into McKinsey but they hated it and

they left okay and if you're going to do

that you might as well not gone the

first place that sort of wastes time and

the weird thing is the ones who hate it

they like really hated it and they went

like total like opposite of what you can

do in consulting because it just wasn't

them so there was just because you can

doesn't mean you should and the things

they were doing sort of appeal to some

of their talents and passions sort of

with a better fit consulting despite

what tends to be a the common prevailing

thought consulting is not the end-all

be-all I mean amber you know

interviewing for these jobs and it was

like you know I know we've sort of took

it way too seriously

right there are lots of options out

there so if there is I don't know if

there is but if you ever sort of feel

like you know you got to do consulting

or you didn't you're not successful in

some way total BS and I have soared a

lot of perspective now on that here's an

interesting insight if you don't enjoy

case interviews who probably won't enjoy

the job it's Rachel I happen to like the

case interviews so having done six to

you when I was recruiting that I had a

lot of fun I learned a lot too so I

remember sisal in cases from years and

years ago down to particular gross

margin numbers because I thought it was

a really insightful really interesting

real-life situation that I wanted to

remember so if you don't like the

process I'm here to tell you I'm fairly

confident you won't like the job okay so

we're thinking about okay let me talk

about who doesn't get hired by

consulting firms yeah I would say

creative non linear thinkers there are

good business people but they don't make

decisions in a way that's easy for

others to follow so they jump around a

lot short attention span boom maybe one

day on products one day on services one

day on margins one day on cost position

in one day on strategy one day in HR but

they've got em all right all of them

made the right call on each one but you

can't follow them okay so they're good

business people good leaders even good

CEOs but they're terrible consultants

okay

so I want try to take the judgement

value out of it that kind of person

there are billionaires who do this right

but they

make lousy consultants yeah again

consult something the NWO so Steve Jobs

Richard Branson those type of

individuals you know very respected CEOs

probably not great consultants okay

particularly visionaries visionary is

about sort of making a guess on the

future with no data okay it's sort of

polar opposite of consultants but like

consulting firms are terrible at so we

market forecasts of new technologies as

consulting firms are biased towards

analyzing data attendee pretty good at

it when there's no data really hard to

get it right then your interview in the

realm of educated guessing so venture

capitalists that's sort of like I mean

they're not analyzing markets just know

like there's no market share right and

they're getting to things like

qualitative stuff like people making

bets this timing issues a lot more

speculative in nature you can be very

successful but that doesn't make a good

consult okay because again it's not

client friendly last couple things

my prevailing thought and belief in life

is that you didn't succeed at whatever

you do so you might as well pick

something you like doing don't do

something just because everyone itself

says you have to do or should take me in

any years to learn that and for those of

you definitely go into consulting this

is interesting insight let's we'll don't

realize this you get hired for your

analytical skills so doing cases is very

indicative of a kind of work you do in

your first two years you get promoted

based on management skills and client

skills and you go all the way up to the

top based on sales skills okay and

that's like a five-letter dirty word i

was find interesting because III did an

analysis sadly of i took up the course

catalogs for stanford harbor and wharton

like four or five years ago and one see

how many of them actually had a sales

course harvard did not have a sales

course stanford didn't have a sales

course Wharton had one sales management

course and I thought having been an

entrepreneur which is no department that

I haven't talked about at all I thought

that was kind of odd you know because of

my well there's two things that create

profits revenue sales minus costs and if

none of the business schools don't teach

sales then that seems like it's kind of

like half the P&L and probably arguably

the more important half and it very much

is a skill but it's sort of like I call

it the blue-collar skill like you hire

the caught in the high school dropout

right so you sort of be your sales guy

but ironically everyone wants to be a

partner to bank

I want to be a partner at a consulting

firm and guess what you do as partners

you sell okay so I thought at least I'd

be clear intestine to know it but what

you're getting into law firms to like a

great lawyers you know it's because they

know how to bring in the rainmakers

I just thought those sort of interesting

irony okay and that's basically all I

have in terms of formal things you can

as a reminder all this information will

and the video will be available at case

interview com

let me know how things go yeah send me

an email

Victor a case interview comm anymore

just doesn't work today but it'll be

working in a couple days or probably

tonight and particularly things go well

and if you have suggestions let me know

as well

I don't always check it my assistant PI

checks it but I do like to sort of

hearing the feedback and as a final

reminder the charity I like if you guys

found this thing useful is visit WWE

Title match on a shin fifty bucks

whatever you want to do they they're

very very efficient with their funds I

help them out on some things and they

they sort of are very effective what

they do and very cost efficient so I

would remind you to to do that great so

I'll I'll wrap up formally now and happy

to answer more questions I'll do it for

the for the room so if you want to stick

around answer more questions on certain

specific I'm happy to do that otherwise

enjoy the rest of your afternoon thank

you

you