A standalone reference for every major consulting framework used at McKinsey, Bain, BCG, and leading strategy firms. Use this alongside the Claude skill or as a standalone study guide.
- The Consulting Mindset
- Problem Structuring
- Strategy Frameworks
- Market & Competitive Analysis
- Financial Frameworks
- Operations & Execution
- Organization & People
- Digital & Technology
- Framework Selection Guide
- How to NOT Use Frameworks
Before any framework, internalize these principles. They separate career analysts from partners.
- So what? — What is the insight, not just the data?
- Why so? — What evidence supports this claim?
- Now what? — What should the client actually do?
80% of impact comes from 20% of drivers. Before doing analysis, ask: what is the 20% that matters most? Consultants who chase the 80% fail.
Don't gather data and then form a view. Form a view first, then gather data to test it.
- Form hypothesis: "Profit decline is driven by raw material inflation, not revenue loss"
- Identify killer analyses: "If true, COGS/unit will have increased faster than price"
- Gather evidence: run the analyses
- Confirm or pivot: update the hypothesis based on what you find
Before any analysis, ask: "If I had to recommend right now, what would I say?" This forces clarity and prevents boiling the ocean. Your Day 1 Answer becomes the hypothesis you test.
Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive
Every problem decomposition must pass two tests:
- ME Test: Can every item be placed in exactly one category? No overlaps.
- CE Test: Does every possible item fit somewhere? No gaps.
Common MECE splits:
- Revenue vs. Cost
- Internal vs. External
- Supply vs. Demand
- Organic vs. Inorganic
- Short-term vs. Long-term
- Price vs. Volume
- Fixed vs. Variable
Anti-MECE traps:
- "People, process, and technology" — overlapping (a process issue is also a people issue)
- "Marketing and sales" — often not truly separate
- "Risks and opportunities" — not exhaustive for a full strategic picture
The workhorse of consulting problem-solving. Two types:
Diagnostic Tree (Why-based) — for root cause analysis
Why is EBITDA margin declining?
├── Revenue declining?
│ ├── Volume declining?
│ │ ├── Fewer customers? (churn, acquisition)
│ │ └── Lower purchase frequency?
│ └── Price/mix declining?
│ ├── Price concessions to retain customers?
│ └── Mix shift to lower-margin products?
└── Costs increasing?
├── Variable costs up?
│ ├── COGS/unit inflation (raw materials, labor)
│ └── Higher variable selling costs
└── Fixed costs up?
├── Capacity expansion ahead of demand
└── Overhead growth (headcount, facilities)
Solution Tree (How-based) — for opportunity identification
How can we grow revenue 20% in 3 years?
├── Grow existing customers
│ ├── Increase purchase frequency (loyalty programs, usage triggers)
│ ├── Increase basket size (cross-sell, upsell)
│ └── Reduce churn (NPS programs, service improvement)
├── Acquire new customers
│ ├── New customer segments (demographics, firmographics)
│ ├── New channels (DTC, partnership, marketplace)
│ └── New geographies (regional expansion, international)
└── Launch new products/services
├── Adjacent offerings (product line extensions)
└── New business models (subscriptions, platforms, services)
The single most important communication framework in consulting.
Structure:
GOVERNING THOUGHT (the answer — one sentence)
├── Key Point 1 (supports governing thought)
│ ├── Evidence / Data
│ └── Evidence / Data
├── Key Point 2 (supports governing thought)
│ ├── Evidence / Data
│ └── Evidence / Data
└── Key Point 3 (supports governing thought)
├── Evidence / Data
└── Evidence / Data
Rules:
- Always lead with the answer (the governing thought), never build to it
- Each level must be MECE
- Ideas at each level must be summaries of ideas below
- Order within groups: time-based, structure-based, or importance-based
Common failure modes:
- Starting with context instead of the answer ("As background, the company was founded in...")
- Presenting analysis instead of conclusions ("Revenue declined in Q3 and Q4...")
- Burying the recommendation at the end after the audience has stopped listening
For any executive communication — deck opening, board update, client email, elevator pitch:
- Situation: What is true? The established context that the audience agrees with.
- Complication: What changed? Why is action needed now? The burning platform.
- Resolution: What should we do? The answer.
Example:
- Situation: "Our retail division has delivered 8% annual growth for the past 5 years."
- Complication: "However, our three largest competitors have launched loyalty platforms in the last 18 months, and our churn rate has increased 4pp — threatening this growth trajectory."
- Resolution: "We recommend launching a tiered loyalty program in Q2, targeting our top 30% of customers, with an expected churn reduction of 2pp and $45M in retained revenue."
Analyzes industry attractiveness and competitive dynamics. The stronger the forces, the lower the industry's structural profitability.
| Force | Key Questions |
|---|---|
| Threat of New Entrants | Capital requirements? Regulatory barriers? Brand strength? Network effects? Switching costs? |
| Supplier Power | Supplier concentration? Switching costs? Forward integration threat? Substitutes for inputs? |
| Buyer Power | Buyer concentration? Price sensitivity? Switching costs? Backward integration threat? |
| Threat of Substitutes | Functional alternatives? Price-performance ratio of substitutes? Switching costs? |
| Competitive Rivalry | Number of competitors? Industry growth rate? Product differentiation? Exit barriers? |
When to use: Industry attractiveness assessment, market entry decisions, identifying where to position for competitive advantage.
The strategic insight: Don't just rate each force — identify which 1-2 forces dominate the industry, and how your strategy exploits weakness where others see only threat.
The simplest and most powerful strategy triangle.
- Company: What capabilities, assets, and advantages do we have? Where do we lose margin? What is our core competency that is defensible?
- Customer: Who are they? What jobs are they hiring our product to do? How do they decide? What do they value most?
- Competitor: Who are they? What's their strategy? Where are they vulnerable? What is their cost structure?
The insight: Sustainable competitive advantage lives at the intersection of what you're great at, what customers value, and what competitors can't easily replicate.
Diagnoses organizational alignment. Every element must reinforce the others — misalignment is the root cause of most transformation failures.
| Hard S's (Easier to Change) | Soft S's (Harder to Change) |
|---|---|
| Strategy — the plan | Shared Values — culture |
| Structure — org chart | Skills — capabilities |
| Systems — processes, IT | Style — leadership approach |
| Staff — people, talent |
When to use: Post-merger integration, organizational transformation, diagnosing why a strategy isn't executing.
The trap: Leaders change strategy and structure but ignore the Soft S's. Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
Maps growth strategies by market/product novelty — risk increases as you move away from the core.
| Existing Products | New Products | |
|---|---|---|
| Existing Markets | Market Penetration — grow share in current markets (lowest risk) | Product Development — new offerings for existing customers |
| New Markets | Market Development — existing products in new markets/segments | Diversification — new products in new markets (highest risk) |
The insight: Most companies underinvest in Market Penetration (the safest path) and overestimate their ability to succeed at Diversification (the riskiest).
Portfolio analysis for multi-business companies. Allocate investment based on position.
| High Market Share | Low Market Share | |
|---|---|---|
| High Market Growth | ⭐ Stars — invest heavily, future cash cows | ❓ Question Marks — invest selectively or exit |
| Low Market Growth | 🐄 Cash Cows — harvest cash, fund Stars | 🐕 Dogs — divest or manage for cash |
The trap: Most companies keep Dogs too long (emotional attachment, political protection) and under-invest in Question Marks (short-term thinking).
More nuanced than BCG — evaluates each business on Industry Attractiveness vs. Competitive Strength (each rated High/Medium/Low). Gives 9 cells vs. BCG's 4.
When to use: Large diversified corporations managing complex portfolios where BCG's simplicity misses important nuance.
Stop competing in crowded markets (red oceans). Create uncontested market space.
The ERRC Grid:
- Eliminate: Which factors the industry takes for granted can be removed entirely?
- Reduce: Which factors can be reduced well below industry standard?
- Raise: Which factors can be raised well above industry standard?
- Create: Which factors the industry has never offered can be introduced?
Classic example: Cirque du Soleil eliminated animals and star performers (cost), reduced tent spectacle, raised production quality and artistic experience, created an adult theme and theatrical narrative — creating a new market between circus and theater.
Identify where value is created, where costs accumulate, and where competitive advantage can be built.
Primary Activities (directly create value):
- Inbound Logistics — receiving, storing, inventory management
- Operations — converting inputs to outputs
- Outbound Logistics — distribution, order fulfillment
- Marketing & Sales — understanding customers and driving purchase
- Service — post-sale support
Support Activities (enable primary activities):
- Firm Infrastructure — finance, legal, management
- Human Resource Management — recruiting, training, compensation
- Technology Development — R&D, process innovation
- Procurement — sourcing raw materials, equipment
The question: At which link in the chain do you have advantage? Where does the margin pool? Where are you leaking value?
Macro-environmental scanning — the forces outside your control that shape your strategy.
| Factor | Examples |
|---|---|
| Political | Government stability, trade policy, subsidies, political risk |
| Economic | GDP growth, interest rates, inflation, currency, unemployment |
| Social | Demographics, cultural shifts, health consciousness, urbanization |
| Technological | R&D breakthroughs, automation, AI, digital platforms, 5G |
| Environmental | Climate change, carbon regulation, resource scarcity, ESG pressure |
| Legal | Employment law, antitrust, data privacy (GDPR), consumer protection |
The trap: PESTEL is often done as a list of facts. The value is in identifying which 2-3 factors will most reshape your industry in the next 5-10 years, and what that means for your strategy.
- TAM (Total Addressable Market): Total global demand if every potential buyer used your category
- SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market): The portion you can realistically reach given geography, channel, and capability constraints
- SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): The realistic market share you can capture in the planning horizon
The discipline: Build TAM/SAM/SOM from the bottom up (real data) and top down (market research) and triangulate. Never just pick a number from an analyst report.
Top-Down: Start from the total population or economy, apply filters.
- US pet insurance market: 90M dogs × 4% insured × $600 avg premium = $2.2B
Bottom-Up: Start from the individual unit of sale, scale up.
- Pet insurance market: 5,000 veterinary clinics × 20 insured pets each × $50/month = $3B/year (cross-check)
Always do both. The gap between them reveals assumptions to challenge.
- Segmentation: Divide the market into distinct groups with different needs
- Geographic, demographic, psychographic, behavioral, firmographic (B2B)
- Targeting: Select the most attractive segment(s)
- Evaluate: size, growth rate, profitability, competitive intensity, strategic fit
- Positioning: Define how you want to be perceived in the target segment's mind
- Relative to competitors, on dimensions the segment values most
Plot competitors on two key axes to find white space and identify your position. Choose axes that matter to customers (not axes that make you look good).
Example axes: Price vs. Quality | Speed vs. Customization | Feature richness vs. Simplicity
Customers don't buy products — they hire them to accomplish a job. Understanding the job changes how you compete.
- Functional job: What task is literally being accomplished?
- Emotional job: How does the customer want to feel while doing it?
- Social job: How do they want to be perceived by others?
Classic example: People don't buy a quarter-inch drill — they buy a quarter-inch hole. They don't even want the hole — they want a picture hung on the wall to impress guests.
For B2B sales or competitive strategy:
- Why do you win? What capability, relationship, or offer tips the decision?
- Why do you lose? Price? Features? Sales execution? Brand?
- Who are you losing to? Which competitor is taking your deals?
- What does the pattern say about where to invest?
The most common case interview and real-world diagnostic tool.
Profit = Revenue − Costs
Revenue = Price × Volume
Price: Is price declining? Competitive pressure? Mix shift?
Volume = # Customers × Purchase Frequency × Units per Purchase
Costs = Fixed Costs + Variable Costs
Variable Costs = Volume × Unit Cost
Fixed Costs: Have they stepped up? New capacity? Overhead bloat?
The discipline: Always disaggregate one level deeper than feels necessary. Revenue is not the answer — Price × Volume is. And Price is not the answer — mix-adjusted price is.
Decomposes Return on Equity (ROE) into three drivers:
ROE = Net Profit Margin × Asset Turnover × Financial Leverage
= (Net Income / Revenue) × (Revenue / Assets) × (Assets / Equity)
The power: Two companies with identical ROE can have completely different business models. One earns it through high margins (luxury goods), another through high asset turns (grocery retail), another through leverage (banks). DuPont tells you how returns are generated — and therefore what levers exist.
The foundation for assessing any business's health and scalability.
| Metric | Formula | Healthy Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) | Sales & Marketing Spend / New Customers | Varies by industry |
| LTV (Lifetime Value) | Avg Revenue × Gross Margin × Avg Lifespan | LTV:CAC > 3:1 |
| Payback Period | CAC / (Monthly Revenue × Gross Margin) | < 18 months |
| Contribution Margin | Revenue − Variable Costs | Positive and growing |
| Rule of 40 (SaaS) | Revenue Growth % + EBITDA Margin % | > 40 |
Enterprise Value = Σ [FCF_t / (1 + WACC)^t] + [Terminal Value / (1 + WACC)^n]
Free Cash Flow = EBIT × (1 - Tax Rate) + D&A − CapEx − ΔNWC
Terminal Value = FCF_n × (1 + g) / (WACC − g) [Gordon Growth Model]
Key sensitivities: Revenue growth rate, EBITDA margin, WACC, terminal growth rate. Always run a sensitivity table on WACC vs. terminal growth — the range tells you how confident you can be in the valuation.
Break-Even Volume = Fixed Costs / (Price − Variable Cost per Unit)
Break-Even Revenue = Fixed Costs / Contribution Margin %
When to use: New product launch, pricing decisions, capacity investment cases.
The backbone of any financial due diligence or valuation:
- Income Statement: Revenue → EBITDA → EBIT → Net Income
- Balance Sheet: Assets = Liabilities + Equity (must balance)
- Cash Flow Statement: Operating + Investing + Financing cash flows
The three statements are linked: Net income flows to retained earnings on the balance sheet; capex and working capital changes flow through the cash flow statement to the balance sheet.
Value Stream Mapping: Map every step in a process. Classify each step as:
- Value-add: Customer would pay for this
- Non-value-add but required: Compliance, regulatory, safety
- Pure waste: Eliminate immediately
The 8 Wastes (DOWNTIME): D — Defects | O — Overproduction | W — Waiting | N — Non-utilized talent T — Transport | I — Inventory | M — Motion | E — Extra-processing
DMAIC: Define → Measure → Analyze → Improve → Control
| Horizon | Timeframe | Focus | Investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 — Defend & Optimize | 0-12 months | Core business performance | Efficiency |
| H2 — Build & Scale | 12-36 months | Emerging opportunities | Growth |
| H3 — Explore & Transform | 36-72 months | Future options, new models | Optionality |
The trap: Companies over-invest in H1 (safe) and H3 (exciting) while starving H2 (where sustainable growth actually comes from).
Clarifies decision rights and accountability in any project or organization.
| Role | Meaning | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Responsible | Does the work | Multiple people can be R |
| Accountable | Owns the outcome | Only ONE person per task |
| Consulted | Provides input before decision | Two-way communication |
| Informed | Kept in the loop | One-way communication |
The discipline: If a task has no Accountable, no one owns it. If it has multiple Accountable, no one owns it. Both are failure modes.
For any major recommendation, the action plan should have three layers:
| Layer | Timeframe | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Wins | 0-3 months | Low effort, visible impact — builds momentum and political capital |
| Core Initiatives | 3-12 months | Main value drivers requiring real investment |
| Structural Changes | 12-36 months | Foundational shifts in org, technology, culture |
The most cited model for large-scale organizational transformation.
- Create a sense of urgency — why change now?
- Build a guiding coalition — who are the change champions?
- Form a strategic vision — what does the future state look like?
- Enlist a volunteer army — communicate the vision broadly
- Enable action by removing barriers — structural and political
- Generate short-term wins — celebrate early momentum
- Sustain acceleration — don't declare victory too early
- Institute change — anchor new behaviors in culture
The failure mode: Most transformations stall at Steps 5-7. Leaders underestimate the energy required to sustain change after early wins.
Individual-level change management — how one person adopts a change.
- Awareness — of the need for change
- Desire — to participate and support the change
- Knowledge — of how to change
- Ability — to implement the required skills and behaviors
- Reinforcement — to sustain the change
When to use: Diagnosing why individuals are resisting a change. Where in ADKAR are they stuck?
Assess the workforce on two dimensions:
| Low Potential | Medium Potential | High Potential | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Performance | Reliable specialists — retain | Key contributors — develop | Stars — invest heavily |
| Medium Performance | Core workforce | Solid performers | Emerging leaders |
| Low Performance | Exit or transition | Coach aggressively | Assess the fit |
- Structure follows strategy (not the reverse)
- Optimal span of control: 5-8 direct reports
- Minimize layers between CEO and front line (< 6 ideally)
- Decision rights must match accountability — whoever is accountable must have authority
- Avoid matrix structures unless the coordination benefit clearly outweighs the complexity cost
For any capability or technology decision:
| Path | When to Choose |
|---|---|
| Build | Core differentiator; high strategic importance; you have the capability and time |
| Buy | Commodity capability; speed matters; proven solutions exist; faster ROI |
| Partner | Complementary strengths; shared risk; market access you lack; regulatory expertise |
Rate your organization across five dimensions:
- Customer Experience — digital channels, personalization, journey design
- Operations — process automation, data-driven decisions, supply chain digitization
- Business Model — digital products, platform plays, data monetization
- Organization & Culture — digital talent, agility, risk tolerance
- Technology Infrastructure — cloud, data architecture, security, APIs
- Network effects: Does value increase as more users join? (Winner-take-all dynamics)
- Multi-sided platforms: Who are the sides? Who subsidizes whom? (e.g., Google subsidizes users to reach advertisers)
- Switching costs: Once locked in, how hard is it to leave?
- Data moats: Does data from one user make the service better for all users?
| Business Question | Start Here | Also Consider |
|---|---|---|
| Why is profit declining? | Profitability tree | DuPont, Value chain, Cost disaggregation |
| Should we enter Market X? | 3C's + Market sizing | Porter's Five Forces, PESTEL, Ansoff |
| How to grow revenue 20%? | Ansoff + Solution issue tree | STP, JTBD, Three Horizons |
| Should we acquire Company Y? | 3C's + Synergy analysis | DCF, Value chain, McKinsey 7-S |
| How to optimize operations? | Value stream mapping | DMAIC, 8 Wastes, Benchmarking |
| How to build a competitive strategy? | Porter's Five Forces + 3C's | Blue Ocean, BCG matrix, PESTEL |
| How to restructure the organization? | McKinsey 7-S + Kotter | RACI, Talent 9-Box, ADKAR |
| How to price a new product? | Value-based pricing framework | Competitive positioning, Price elasticity |
| How to manage digital transformation? | Digital maturity assessment | Build/Buy/Partner, Three Horizons |
| How to evaluate our business portfolio? | BCG Growth-Share Matrix | GE-McKinsey 9-Box, Value chain |
The biggest mistake consultants make — especially junior ones — is framework fetishism.
Don't do this: "For this problem, I'll use Porter's Five Forces, which consists of: Threat of new entrants..."
Do this: "To understand whether this market is worth entering, I need to assess three things: is there structural space for a new player, do we have a right to win, and what's the realistic entry path? Starting with the structural question — the market has two dominant players with 70% share and relatively low switching costs for buyers, which suggests..."
The frameworks are scaffolding — they help you build the structure. But the client doesn't see the scaffolding. They see the building.
- Choose based on the problem, not what you know best — don't use Porter's Five Forces when the real question is a profitability diagnostic
- Customize — always — a real issue tree is never textbook-perfect; it's calibrated to this company, this industry, this problem
- Form a hypothesis first — frameworks help you structure the analysis, not replace your judgment
- Synthesize, don't describe — "the five forces suggest" is not insight; "the structural barriers to entry are collapsing, which means the current 22% margin is not defensible" is
- Kill your framework if needed — if the structure isn't working, rebuild it
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