Summary : The Mckinsey Mind – Ethan Rasiel & Paul Friga

Ideally, you want people to debate your ideas, not your sources of information.

McKinsey consultants use the acronym MECE meaning “Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive” to remind themselves every problem needs to be broken down into distinct components that don’t overlap but taken together cover every relevant issue.

McKinsey consultants have an unquenchable appetite for facts and rank learning how to gather data effectively as one of their main consulting skills.

Look for the path of least resistance by being hypothesis driven; make assumptions and get answers that are ‘directionally correct’

Forget about absolute precision – and instead use back-of-the-envelope or ballpark estimates where these will suffice. Making the distinction between an educated estimate and conclusive data often costs more than it’s worth.

You may find the problem is not really what you first though but is something entirely different.
It will be possible to do a “Quick-and-dirty test” as an early screening – Ask “What assumptions need to be true for this hypothesis to hold up?” If any of those assumptions are obviously false, then it follows the hypothesis cannot be valid, saving you the time of doing more detailed analysis.

make decisions quickly– enabling more facts to be gathered and analyzed.
You may find the problem is not really what you first though but is something entirely different.
It will be possible to do a “Quick-and-dirty test” as an early screening – Ask “What assumptions need to be true for this hypothesis to hold up?”

Future research becomes oriented more towards gathering the facts needed to prove or disprove the hypothesis.
You will be able to see potential blind alleys more readily – and avoid wasting time on irrelevant issues.
A consultant can come quickly up to speed with an unfamiliar industry.
A team can work on the one hypothesis – rather than having each person in the team head off in random directions.
Conclusions can start to be drawn early– again saving time analyzing an infinite number of alternatives.
You will be able t

By having an initial hypothesis (even if it later comes to be proven wrong), your ongoing research and analysis will be more efficient and effective.
By suggesting a hypothesis for the solution at this stage:
Future research becomes oriented more towards gathering the facts needed to prove or disprove the hypothesis.
You will be able to see potential blind alleys more readily – and avoid wasting time on irrelevant issues.
A consultant can come quickly up to speed with an unfamiliar industry.
A team can work on the one hypothesis – rather than having each person in the team head off in random directions.
Conclusions can start to be drawn early– again saving time analyzing an infinite number of alternatives.
You will be able to make decisions quickly– enabling more facts to be gathered and analyzed.

Once a problem has been reduced to its essential components, the next step is to then form a hypothesis as to the most probable solution. By having an initial hypothesis (even if it later comes to be proven wrong), your ongoing research and analysis will be more efficient and effective.
By suggesting a hypothesis for the solution at this stage:
Future research becomes oriented more towards gathering the facts needed to prove or disprove the hypothesis.
You will be able to see potential blind alleys more readily – and avoid wasting time on irrelevant issues.
A consultant can come quickly up to speed with an unfamiliar industry.
A team can work on the one hypothesis –