CASE LOG · BRAINSTORM AND DRILLS
Ask for a moment, then two buckets
A brainstorm in a case is a short, structured list, not a stream. The six steps below are the shape the facilitator described; the worked example beside each step comes from the brainstorm in the case log.
Part of the case log. The number sense and scratch sheet live on the numbers page; full prompts to run the drills against come from the case generator.
The opening drills page runs the hear-the-prompt rehearsal with feedback →
Brainstorming etiquette in six steps
- Ask for a momentThirty to sixty seconds of silent writing is expected. Asking for it reads as composure, not hesitation.From the workshopWhen the interviewer asked how to make the current show more profitable, the caser asked for 30 to 60 seconds before saying anything.
- Name two buckets before listingTwo labels said aloud before the first idea. The labels tell the interviewer the list is organized, and they make the next idea easier to find.From the workshopTwo groups, named first: the show itself, and around the show.
- Aim for six to eight ideasThree or four under each label. A list of twelve reads as unfiltered; a list of three reads as thin.From the workshopSix ideas: change the seat mix, test price elasticity, add shows; then new concessions, an opening act, and tickets bundled with the hotel.
- Say the two best and whyPick two and give the reason in one clause each. The reason is usually a fact already on the page.Applied to the same brainstormThe seat mix, because category C only half fills while category A sells out at the highest price; and adding shows, because the act performs only 40 weeks a year.
- Mark what you would test firstOne idea gets a next step: the data that would confirm it, or the question that would kill it.Applied to the same brainstormThe seat mix first. The evidence is already in the occupancy figures, so the test is whether moved seats sell at the category A price.
- Close with a sentenceOne sentence that hands the turn back to the interviewer, so the brainstorm ends on purpose rather than trailing off.Applied to the same brainstormThose are the six; the seat mix is the one with evidence behind it, so that is where I would start, and I am happy to go deeper on any of them.
The worked brainstorm, as two buckets
The brainstorm from the case log, laid out the way it was delivered: the question and the evidence on the page, two labeled groups with three ideas each, and the close.
How could we improve the current show's profit?
Premium seats sell out; the lowest-price section is half full; the act performs 40 weeks a year.
About 55 seconds writing, about 80 seconds delivering.
The show itself
- Change the seat mix: move seats from category C, which only half fills, into category A, which sells out at the highest price.
- Test price elasticity: can prices be raised in any segment or for any shows.
- Add shows: the act only performs 40 weeks a year, so ask whether the duo would do more.
Test next → Willingness to pay and demand, before changing seats, prices or show frequency.
Around the show
- Bring in new concessions.
- Add an opening act beforehand to bring more people in.
- Bundle tickets with the hotel.
Test next → Whether concessions, an opening act or hotel bundles add profit after their extra costs.
The seat mix idea was tied back to the observation flagged before the revenue math, which is what made it the natural first test.
Fifteen drills, by skill
Fifteen drills, each isolating one habit. The time box is the whole drill including the debrief. Solo drills need a timer; partner drills need a partner who reads prompts and interrupts. The facilitator's advice was to find the weakest step and drill it.
5 solo 10 with a partner 15 drills
Listening and replay 2
Replay drill: a partner reads any prompt once; restate client, situation and question in under 30 seconds, then ask one objective question and one time-frame question, in that order.
Four-reminder margin: while a partner reads a prompt, write only business, geography, objective and time frame in the margin, then say which of the four was obvious from the prompt and did not earn a question.
Clarifying 2
Odd-word drill: for ten casebook prompts, underline the one loaded word (stale, struggling, considering) and write the clarifying question it earns and why.
Three-question cap: for five prompts, write every clarifying question that comes to mind, then cross out until three remain, keeping the objective question each time and noting what the cut questions would have cost in time.
Hypothesis 1
Hypothesis out loud: write a one-line hypothesis at the top of the page before the framework, then after each data drop a partner hands over, say whether you are leaning toward it, away from it, or it could go either way.
Framework in 90 seconds 2
Framework timer: write a three-bucket framework with the hypothesis on top in 90 seconds, read it across then down in under two minutes, then rewrite the framework after every practice case as he did when it was his weakest step.
Areas, not buckets: read a finished framework aloud across then down in bullets while a partner counts every time you say bucket, slip into a full sentence, or fill a pause; repeat until the count is zero.
Exhibit reading 2
Units first: before any arithmetic on a table, say its title, units, time period and the one outlier, then the so-what in one sentence; three tables, two minutes each.
Planted mistake: a partner builds one ambiguous input into the data (per person versus aggregate, per week for 40 versus 52 weeks) and you practice the recovery, thanks for the clarification, let me go back through each line, without saying sorry.
Mental math 2
Narrated math: take a seats, occupancy, price table and compute per-show then annual revenue aloud, naming every shortcut you use, ending with does that sound right to you.
Break-even reflex: every time a prompt mentions an upfront or switching cost, compute payback before anything else and state your rule of thumb for an acceptable horizon.
Brainstorm 1
Two-bucket brainstorm: on a how-else question, ask for a moment, write two bucket names before any idea, put three ideas under each in 45 seconds, then deliver in 80 seconds and end on the one you would test first.
Recommendation in 60 seconds 2
Sixty-second recommendation: answer, two reasons with one number, two risks each paired with a next step, then thank the interviewer; run it on the last three cases you did.
Running recommendation: during a full practice case, keep one sheet for final answers and add a line to it after every total, so the prep at the end is a read-back of that sheet rather than a scramble.
Presence 1
Correction without apology: a partner interrupts a narrated calculation three times with a correction; each time, thank them, fix the line and keep moving with no sorry, then end the run by thanking the interviewer however it went.