Curriculum
Learn a framework, try an example and use it to make a decision.
Framework library · Reading room · Strategy games · Consultant’s field guide · Cheat sheets · Readings and videos
77 results
- Market entryMarket entry
Choose a route to market based on reach, contribution and how much you can afford to learn.
- Contribution and break-evenEconomics
Find the volume at which a higher fixed cost pays for itself.
- Diagnose a profit declineProfitability
When sales rise but profit falls, reconcile the change before prescribing a fix. Start with revenue less variable and fixed costs, then split revenue into price, volume and mix.
- Read industry structureCompetition
Define the industry by customer substitution, then examine who can capture the value. List the alternatives customers can switch to and the suppliers, buyers, rivals and entrants that affect terms.
- Estimate the demand response to pricePricing
Price elasticity compares the percentage change in volume with the percentage change in price. Use it to estimate the volume trade-off, then calculate contribution with variable cost included.
- Find the bottleneckOperations
Throughput is constrained by the step that cannot keep up with arrivals. Measure effective capacity during the busiest period, allowing for downtime, changeovers and failed work.
- Allocate scarce capitalPortfolio
Compare projects by incremental cash flows, timing and scarce resources. When capital is limited, a project can pass its own hurdle and still lose to a better use of the same capacity.
- Measure retention by cohortGrowth
Group customers by first purchase period or acquisition route. Compare the share returning at the same elapsed time so that new customers have equal opportunity to reorder.
- Design channel incentivesDistribution
A distributor can be rewarded for placing stock, for selling through to an end buyer or for servicing the account. Choose a measure that matches the behaviour you need and can audit.
- Design an experiment around the decisionResearch
Write the decision and outcome first. Assign comparable units to alternatives, choose a measurement window and analyse people in their assigned group. Track harms such as refunds alongside the primary outcome.
- Find missing voices in a sampleResearch
Define the population and the list or process you use to reach it. Report who was excluded, who did not respond and how the missing groups could change your decision.
- Evaluate an AI pilotDigital strategy
Select tasks where the assistant can be compared with the current process. Measure resolution quality, error cost, reviewer time and coverage. Keep escalation available for ambiguous cases.
- Use scenarios to change a commitmentRisk
A scenario combines assumptions that could move together. Sensitivity analysis changes one input at a time to see which assumptions matter most. Use both to choose a commitment you can revisit.
- Write a board recommendationCommunication
Lead with the choice, its objective and the evidence that distinguishes the options. Specify what you need the board to approve and the condition that would bring the decision back.
- SWOT and TOWSStrategic diagnosis
Separate internal strengths and weaknesses from external opportunities and threats. Pair them into actions, such as using a strength to pursue an opportunity, then rank the actions by evidence and reversibility.
- PESTLE analysisStrategic diagnosis
Scan political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental change. For each relevant signal, write the mechanism, timing and decision it affects.
- Porter’s Five ForcesCompetition
Define the industry, then assess rivalry, entrants, substitutes, and the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers. Identify which force can change price, cost or investment requirements.
- Value chain analysisCompetition
Map primary activities and supporting capabilities from inputs through service. Locate where cost accumulates or customers perceive difference, then inspect links between activities.