HOW TO SOLVE PROBLEMS - How do consulting firms work (hypothesis-based problem solving explained)
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 28. 07. 2024
- How to solve tough problems? How do consulting firms work? How does hypothesis-based problem solving work? What methodology do consulting firms use on their projects? What is the consulting approach to problem solving? These are the questions that I answer in this video. I talk about hypothesis-based consulting, this is a consulting 101 skill that every consultant should master for a successful management consulting career. Solving problems is crucial for every business professional, becoming a good problem solver is key. Whenever you build issue trees or work with the MECE principle, it is often embedded into a hypothesis-based problem solving approach. The skill of hypothesis-based problem solving is crucial to solve business problems. This video is a consulting day in a life as you will apply this skill every day in consulting. Learn what it means to work in consulting, in a MBB consulting firm such as McKinsey, BCG or Bain. When you create management consulting presentations, this principle is relevant as well.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:16 Intuition for hypothesis-based problem solving
04:21 Practical example for hypothesis-based thinking
07:03 Hypothesis-based problem solving explained
09:57 Wrap-up
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Nice
I suggest you give a simple real world example problem that everyone can relate to. Then apply the iterative approach to show the problem can be solved.
For example, a 40 guy that has a body fat ratio of 25% would like to get a six pack in 6 months. What must he do ...
Thanks for your video âïž
Can I get this sample slide deck? I love this and i'm working on a new project I think this would be perfect to have on hand. I love your videos and use your recommendations regularly. I already have 7 of the books on the recommended reading list you posted on another video. Thanks bro.
Your English is So German. đ
The reason for that is probably that I am German ;) Thanks for watching! Best, Heinrich
The "consulting" is sooo German
@@thomasferradini3549 Yess!!!
"I think, that your english so german is."
â@@FirmLearning nur so mal als Frage, ist dir der starke deutsche Akzent mal zum Nachteil geworden?
As a product of on the job learning with no tertiary qualifications, this channel has been a godsend. This is top tier content for people like me
Hi Adam, thanks so much for your kind comment. Glad to hear the videos are helpful! All the best to you - Heinrich
My two tips about consulting in general :
1. be good at digging information and creative storylines
2. Be a good storyteller
1. be good at bsing
2. that's it
ftfy
As an ex Mckinsey consultant, I really enjoyed how you explained the conceptual problem solving approach. Your channel is amazing.
Super happy to hear from fellow alumns here in the comments! Thank you man, appreciate it! :) Best, Heinrich
Watching this video is very concerning to me as it shows a Consultant is just bsing every single word he says. As somebody who is working in the start up industry i would not hire or pay someone with that kind of approach!!!
@@lukaseberhart9958 I watched his video, and I do not find any BS. He explains clearly one approach (among others) for problem solving: Hypothesis based problem solving, which domainated many branches of the science, medicine etc. Only recently (say since 2000) data-driven problem solving has found its place, gradually. I have trained my students and post docs in both. When you or someone in your startup does data analytics, ML, AI, visualization etc, a human in the loop (or a superior AI system that I am ceratin you don't know about) will formulate hypotheses, and then the rest goes along what Heinrich summarized...... Now, it is not my place or task to tell you about your startup (my company revenue comes from companies like you, so it will cost to know what I know and what I would recommend), yet I can say your hasty call to judgement is not going to attract VC and stakeholders who are needed to finance your startup.... Regards, AA
@@lukaseberhart9958 The most important part is to obviously develop a robust business hypothesis ;)
I would love to see more videos on this structure with different applications/subject areas. I loved the video!
This is a great way to do management consulting. Make your job as simple as possible, rely on all the info and effort from people doing the work, and redefine the problem to be one that can appear to be solved by a report.
Yeah this video really did just argue for creating a "solution" before talking to anyone involved or knowing anything about the situation, and then only discarding it reluctantly if the data goes completely the opposite way to your assumptions. Make up a story and then justify it, looking only for positive reinforcement.
Way better to actually consult first, people in the situation have a lot more knowledge that the consultant in this model has discarded and under valued.
Also, the consultant has no idea in this model if they're even solving the right problem.
A benefit of this approach is that it's quite efficient to think you know the answer before you begin, as you don't have to spend time finding out what you don't know you don't know yet đ
Pure Gold. Not only the content but the high-quality way in which it has been explained
Thanks Thomas, much appreciated!! Best, Heinrich
Just commenting to say 'Super Sache, treuer Heinrich!' and I do mean that. Insightful and somehow enjoyable at the same time.
Lieber Tom, thanks for your comment :) Super happy you find the video helpful! Best, Heinrich
Hi, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences. These are very good videos and lots of stuff you donât learn at the university. I really liked the note taking video. My notes were all over the place earlier. Now theyâre already much more efficient thanks to you :)
Hi Gustav, thank you for your comment. Super happy to hear that the videos are helpful!! All the best to you - Heinrich
Business world in that high level is rarely transparent. As an aspiring consultant this content is extremely valuable, thank you for this project.
The way you have filled the video description is just how a consultant works- comprehensive and neatly aligned. Thanks a lot for the video. :)
Guess I take this as a compliment ;) Thank you for watching Anugrahit!! Best, Heinrich
Yes! Especially in Product Management! Great video!
Yes agree! Thanks for watching. Best, Heinrich
Talk to current employees. Get their solutions and thoughts. Put them in a power point and use technical jargon and phrases in every sentence. Insert hundreds of millions of dollars in benefit. Invoice for a 7 or 8 digit bill. Thats how it works.
Hi Peter, while there is some truth to that, I do think that consultants are able to add more value than what you are describing :) But of course, respect your experiences. Best! Heinrich
This is sometimes alot of the value a consultant can provide, to reflect the ideas of low ranked staff to management together with a solid business case. Management will listen to the consultant but would not have listened to the low ranked staff. The solutions were already there but never would have been implemented unless the consultant did the connecting work and translation.
Wow, great vid with loads of information in a short amount of time! Would love to see some more examples of this method. Thanks for the excellent content!
Your positive eagerness comes across the screen. Good stuff! Thanks!
this is exactly what i have been looking for more than 2 months, got lucky today! thanks firm learning!
Great video! I've enjoyed all of your videos (that I've seen thus far), and this one is my favorite. Thank you!
Hi Liam, thank you, this is great to hear. Thanks for being a regular viewer of the channel :) Best, Heinrich
Hynrick, does a good job, for the amount of time. Keep it coming. Excellent work.
Great content, Heinrich. I used these kind of structures for my case interviews and I got an offer from BCG, therefore, I recommend the use of them.
Heinrich, love the insight and information like this in particular.
Ich find Ihre Videos beeindruckend. Echt Klasse Heinrich!
Great content, Just found your channel and love it! Can I ask you to please do a video on the process of project management. You have a video on how to store documents, but Iâm thinking more about how to define a project, create the milestones, the Gantt chart, and all the rest. Iâm sure that at high levels youâve learned some best practices about how not to over complicate, yet not leave yourself exposed by under planning. Thanks so much!
Hi Ozzie, thank you for the comment! Super happy to hear that you find the videos helpful. Yes indeed, planning to do such a video more focused on general project management in the future. Stay tuned! :) Best, Heinrich
As a Sr. engineer I can say that I miss this structured approach in several Root Cause Analysis (RCA) reports I analyzed and even elabored myself. Thanks for sharing this knowledge. Hope I'll be able to apply it soon.
Thank you, Heinrich! Even ĂĄ a student, I find the problem-solving process my lecturer requires me to follow is hectic and unrealistic. This video is exactly what I need. Keep up with the good work!
Super happy to hear you find this video to be helpful - thanks Than! Best, Heinrich
Helpful video, produces with good intentions. Thank you Heinrich!
I love your videos! Youâre so didactic! Iâm Brazilian and your accent with English itâs very easy to understand. Basically right now Iâm focusing on learning Storytelling. Iâm a procurement coordinator in a carrier company. Thanks for your content.đ§đ·
Eu moro na Alemanha, o sotaque de muitos alemães é realmente forte. Porém, ele pronuncia as palavras com clareza e num bom ritmo. Sucesso nos teus estudos!
This is one of the best consulting materials channel. - from another ex-Deloitte consultant.
Amazing work here man - you covered most of the skills my mentor from Mckinsey actually taught me.
Thank you, super happy to hear from fellow consultants that the material is helpful :) Appreciate it! Best, Heinrich
Iâm glad I found this channel.
I absolutely love this type of videos!!!
Happy to hear that - thank you Camila! :) Best, Heinrich
Great video! Could you please record a follow-on video and walk through a real-life example where you applied this approach to a client program/project?
Liked and subbed! Really great videos for those who wants to pivot to consulting or even apply this to any job scope! Keep up the good work! :)
Hi, thank you for your comment, much appreciated. Great to hear you find the videos helpful :) Best! Heinrich
This video is fantastically helpful, thank you! Your explanation between consulting and academic problem-solving is spot on! :)
Super happy to hear that, thank you for your comment!
Great information, do love how you specify step-by-step information so it is easy to understand. Thank you so much for sharing!
Super happy to hear that, thanks for watching Shanti! Best, Heinrich
This could apply to so many teams and companies outside management consulting!
Love it! Keep the content coming!
Really helpful! I am recently looking for ways to improve my problem solving skills
Great - indeed hope this video helped you with this. Thanks for watching!! Best, Heinrich
Amazing video. Many thanks for taking time to break the approach down for better understanding
Hola Heinrich! Thank you for your videos, I been learning a lot, tomorrow I have my first big case interview with a consultant company ( fingers cross) and your videos have been helping me a lot! btw im friends with Caro :)
Super happy to hear that, thanks MarĂa. Hope your interview went well!! And say hi to C ;) Best, Heinrich
I love the hypothesis based problem solving! Very logical and efficient. Loved the explanation. Thanks.
Great to hear the video is helpful, thanks Ivna :) Best, Heinrich
Thanks Heinrich, very helpful!
Bloody awesome ! Thank you for the vidéo !!!
Excellent!!! Thanks for sharing!!! This is very insightful for people who want to solve problems in the business world.
Thanks, Heinrich, very clear video! I recently joined a small consulting company and we specialise in public sector clients with more scientific policy-oriented research, usually with very clearly defined frameworks (and budgets) of the required work. Would you say these (and other) tools that you present in your channel are applicable for such environment and clients?
As a soon to be grad looking to break into consulting/business analytics.... thank you!
Thank you for watching Dhruv, happy to hear it was helpful! Best, Heinrich
Thanks for this video Heinrich! All the best
Thank YOU for watching! Best, Heinrich
Very insightful, thanks!
Very good content! Watching you from Brazil!
Your videos are very helpful and your English is clear, I believe is a background benefit on your consulting experience.
Hi Thiago, thank you for your kind comment. Always great to hear from viewers around the world :) Best from Germany! Best, Heinrich
Very informative. Perfectly paced. Well done!
Thank you Heinrich for the content. It;s top notch content that all people in busness should consume.
Great video Heinrich! Would it be possible if you create a detailed step-by-step case solving simulation video based on this framework? From pre-read materials, day-1 meeting, brainstorming sesh, etc. Would be great for us to be able to grasp the practical aspects.
Danke schön!
Hi Winar, thanks for your comment. Indeed great suggestion, might do something like this in the future! Best, Heinrich
Yes, would be great to have a concrete example regarding this video.
Super helpful! Thank you đ
Great value, high quality, informative, excellent video thank you Heinrich.
Thank you Rosco, super happy to hear that!! Best, Heinrich
Great stuff. Just applied it on a recent consulting gig.
Happy to hear that Senthu!! Thanks for watching! Best, Heinrich
Enjoyed your videos. Thank you!
Such a great video and explanation! Thanks so much. Really helpful!
Great topic - stay tuned :) Best, H
Love your channel. Keep the great work!
Super happy to hear that - thanks for watching Ivan! Best, Heinrich
Currently binge watching videos on this channel :) Really useful stuff!
Great to hear that. Thank you for watching Lisa! :) Best, Heinrich
Nice video, Heinrich!
Two questions, to what degree does creating hypotheses biases you to confirm them (and of course you have to try to remain objective, but we're human)?
Second, if you only look at data to verify or discard a given hypothesis, to what degree does that impact the discovery of creative or alternative solutions?
Thanks!
Aldo
Aldo my man!!
Yes fully agree, this approach might lead to a confirmation bias. Super important to have a good problem solving process in place for this to work - and creating a culture where team members are encouraged to dig deep.
Also agree that this approach is not well suited to come up with super creative, out of the box solutions. Though frankly in MBB consulting it is rarely important to be super creative. In most cases the work is more focused on optimizations and solid analysis.
Best!! Heinrich
@@FirmLearning Thanks, I actually have similar question. Because disproving a hypothesis you suggested to client on day one, will invite challenge from client about consultant's credibility and the outcome. Afterall MBB projects are expensive, they do not expect to pay for disproved ideas. Instead, they want solutions and get fixed ASAP. When I did consulting (which couldn't last long), I felt very uncomfortable to give hypothesis. as data discovered later may go the other direction. How would you recommend?
@@kennethwu1989 Your gut was correct.
A very helpful video about problem solving, fast paced, as expected. It would be great to see more videos about this method.
Hi Tamarin, thank you for your comment. Yes, more videos on topics like this to come in the future :) Best! Heinrich
@@FirmLearning Please, more frameworks that bring clarity and simplicity to problem-solving / thinking. Thank you, sir!
Great stuff Heinrich
Great video and especially the top down apporach partđ
Thank you, that was insightful!
Thanks, happy to hear it was helpful! Best, Heinrich
Great video! I have one question and would like to hear your perspectives. I get that there is the analytical part of problem solving requiring quantitative logic and detailed analysis, etc. - these are key success factors for a junior analyst; the other higher level skill is more of being able to connect the dots, to storyboard, to synthesize info and communicate effectively - these are arguably more important and are what takes the junior to the next level (e.g. partners being able to structure issues and address client comments impromptu are really cool and inspirational). What recommendations would you have for junior consultants looking to advance to the next level?
Hi, yes overall agree with what you describe! Usually this is indeed a skill that you learn on the job. You might start with being asked to prepare a structure for a presentation. Then this is a first opportunity to develop a storyline and iterate on it with guidance from your project lead. Then later you might be responsible for a whole module / workstream and the project lead will ask you to develop the whole analysis roadmap and storyline for the workstream. The more you do it and get feedback on the work, the better you will become :) Of course, understanding some key concepts like what I talked about in this and other videos on my channel is helpful as well, but nothing can replace actual practical experience. Best! Heinrich
This was an amazing video. Thank you.
Great and insightful video, thank you for making this!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this. It made me understand problem structuring.
Excellent channel and work Heinrich, really helpful!
Great to hear that, thank you Brian! Best, Heinrich
Amazing content! as always.
Love the video!! New sub from Chile!!
Super happy to hear you like it - thank you Paulina! Best, Heinrich
Thanks got the great effort you put in
this is the first time I watched your video. It was well structured and very helpful content. Thank you!
Btw, I'm also English second language, and love your accent. the fact that language can't a barrier !
Super happy to hear you got value out of it! Best, Heinrich
Super insightful!
Thanks for sharing this great video. I am wondering if big consulting companies are already making use of predictive analytics and machine learning to come up with new hypotheses and outputs in their decisions? Thanks!
Quick one, Heinrich: How do you know whether you have "Collectively exhausted" all drivers of a particular problem? At some point don't you have to simply choose a basket of what you think the most important drivers are and go with them? Can't there always be some subjective component constantly challenging the notion that you have "exhausted" all factors? *** This is the one part of MECE that always gets me.
Hi, yes fully agree that these problems exist. In practice, you will often adopt a more heuristic approach by conduction interviews with experts etc. in the beginning to develop a structure that is "good enough" for what you are trying to achieve. Of course, errors might happen und might also occur that you later change the structure because you learnt new thing. Best! Heinrich
Very very good video - this is very important topic and I think everyone should learn this approach. Explaining this in 10 min. is very difficult, and you did very well!! However, you missed out to mention the potential traps and risks of this approach. In my humble opinion, it is always good practice to mention possible downsides as there is no "right way for anything" it always depends & there have been many examples where MBB companies failed with this approach at significantly large projects. For everyone that wants to improve problem-solving I would recommend the book "cracked it" its fantastic. Hypothesis-driven approach is also covered (including the risks that this approach involves)
Thanks for your comment - definitely some truth to it. Also did not know the book you recommend, have added it to my reading list ;) Best, Heinrich
This approach is similar to what I have used for market-driven product development projects. I will be revisiting this one and others. Thank you.
Makes sense, thanks for sharing Bethicia! Best, Heinrich
Thank you very much for this video.....
Thank you for sharing the tips
Thank you so much. Enjoy learning from your videos
Super happy to hear that - thank you for watching! Best, Heinrich
Hi Heinrich, thanks for this video! I have a quick question. In your example about entering a new market, what are the key drivers of the decision? Growth, affinity, attractiveness? To me, it seems like they are the hypotheses that you want to validate already... In this example, it seems hypotheses and key drivers (and even key questions) are mixed. Thanks for the help!
Hi Robin, good point! Usually in these cases there will already be a tried and tested framework that you will use as a starting point. The more senior consultants / partners on the team will help you with the overall approach. Of course, you might need to do some changes based on the individual client's situation. In this way yes, it is an interative process as well. Best! Heinrich
Great videos, very informative! Liked the fact you included a practical example for the one day answer. Would have liked to see a practical example for your problem structuring. Do you cover this in another video?
Hi Dorian, thanks for your comment. Good idea, might pick this up in a future video! Best, Heinrich
@@FirmLearning one other great topic to cover could be the role that innate biases play in shaping your hypothesis
Very helpful video, thank you!
Great video! Thanks Heinrich!
Hi Oliver, thanks for your comment! Super happy to hear that the video is helpful :) Best! Heinrich
This is a great episode.
I discovered your channel just now.
You have done great work.
I start my position as a first-time consultant in two weeks.
Do you have a video about the fundamentals for a consultant?
I am going to be more into IT and cybersecurity implementations.
As an Industrial Engineering Management student from the Netherlands i get so much insights on how to function into a firm, I am a little bit worried about my research intership next year but with these video's I know how to properly solve problems into a firm. Your solving does kind a look like the DMAIC-method.
Hi, thanks for your comment great to hear it is helpful. Not too familiar with DMAIC but looks good as well. All the best to you for your start! Heinrich
â@@FirmLearning
DMAIC is a Lean 6 sigma framework
Nice video mate!
Smashing the like button as always! đ»
Thank you Gabriel, that is very much appreciated! Thanks for watching! Best, Heinrich
Great work!! Can you make another video of this but giving examples for each of the steps on the chart? Thanks!
great content - thanks!
Thank Heinrich, very valuable video. Could you please make another video on this topic with some examples that I believe will be greatly helpful?
This is gold. Keep it up!
Thanks man, appreciate it! Best, Heinrich
thank you for this video it was really helpful for my final year assignment
Thank you so much for such a helpful video. It feels a whole new world after I have watched this video, realizing I have had a wrong approach for all the case study I am learning.
Again thank you so much đ„°đ„°đ„°
Hi Audrey, thanks so much for your comment. Great to hear the video was helpful.. all the best to you for your case prep!! Best, Heinrich
Thanks for the vid! Great content
Ps: The accent just makes the content so much betterđ
Thank you, happy to hear you like the video and the accent ;) Best! Heinrich
Thank you for making great content sir :D,
greeting from Indonesia :D
Hi Yustika, thank you for watching, appreciate it! Greetings from Germany ;) Best, Heinrich
Thank you! This was very usefull!
Thank you Karina, appreciate it! Best, Heinrich
Very useful content, thanks. Keep up the great work.
Thank you Sharaf - much appreciated. Thank YOU for watching! Best, Heinrich
Awesome knowledge Sharing. TYSM !
Hi Heinrich, absolutely love the content and concise explanation. I have a couple of questions and would love to hear your answers on them.
1. Does this same framework apply if you're doing a diagnostics piece? Say for example you want to understand an industry well and fast - can you apply this?
2. How do you come up with a good day 1 answer or framework if there's a lack of contextual knowledge?
3. If the hypothesis is disproved / incorrect - how do you swap it out with another module and have the storyline in tact?
4. Adding on, how do you come up with a storyboard from this framework?
5. What do you do when you get stuck?
Hi Josh, thank you for your questions! Let me try to offer some thoughts on them:
1) Indeed in a diagnostics project you usually have a clear set of analyses that you want to do. In these projects, this type of project solving approach is less relevant.
2) Usually coming up with these day 1 answers is the job of the partner / the more senior consultants on the team who have already experience in the industry and maybe even working with the client. Can see how this might be more tough if you are the young business analyst on the team :)
3) This should be an interative process - sometimes you just need to adjust the hypothesis a little but but your conclusions are still intact, then everything still holds. Sometimes you indeed need to change your conclusion and therefore also your storyline.
4) The good thing about this is that you should be able to come up with a story rawling on day 1 - you from the beginning have your recommendation with the underlying rationale. Of course, if something changes, then you need to update the storyboard accordingly.
5) Depends on where exactly you get stuck. Usually if e.g., you are lacking certain pieces of data and cannot get hold of any relevant proxies, you try to substitute quantitative data with qualitative insights, e.g., expert interviews.
Hope this helps. Lots of success to you man!!
Best, Heinrich