McKinsey Approach To Problem Solving - 2023-04-22
McKinsey Approach To Problem Solving - 2023-04-22
to Problem Solving
An Umbrex Toolkit
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About the McKinsey Approach to Problem Solving
McKinsey & Co. has built a reputation as one of* the most respected management consulting firms in the world
based on the strength of its approach to solving problems.
And, in fact, it is taught to every consultant joining McKinsey during their first week at the firm.
At Umbrex we believe anyone can learn this approach, and we hope to make it available to a wider audience.
And the document includes problem-solving templates you can use in your own document.
* McKinsey consultants and alums might strike the “one of” in this sentence.
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Table of Contents
The McKinsey Approach to Problem Solving
Problem Solving Process
Define the Problem
Problem Statement Worksheet
Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet
Structure the Problem
Hypothesis Trees
Issue Trees
Prioritize Issues
Plan Analyses
Create a Workplan
Synthesize Findings
Craft Recommendations
Communicate
Distinctiveness Practices
Harness the Power of Collaboration
About Umbrex
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The McKinsey Approach
to Problem Solving
1. Define problem Will our definition of the problem solve the core issue?
2. Structure problem Break down the problem into elements that are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE)
3. Prioritize issues What questions are most critical? If we get the answer, would that change our final recommendation?
4. Plan analyses What sources of info will we need, how will we get them, how long will it take, who will do it?
5. Conduct analyses What’s the simplest way to prove or disprove the hypothesis?
7. Craft recommendations Make it clear what the client should do, and why.
8. Communicate Map the stakeholders, involve them in the process, build alignment such that they own the solution
1. Define problem
2. Structure problem
3. Prioritize issues
4. Plan analyses
5. Conduct analyses
6. Synthesize findings
7. Craft recommendations
8. Communicate
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Define the Problem
2. The problem definition will serve the guide all of the team’s work, so it is critical to ensure that all key
stakeholders agree that it is the right problem to be solving.
3. There are often dozens of issues that a team could focus on, and it is often not obvious how to define the
problem.
5. Your choice of problem statement will serve to constrain the range of possible solutions.
6. Constraints can be a good thing (e.g., limit solutions to actions within the available budget.) And constraints
can be a bad thing (e.g., eliminating the possibility of creative ideas.) So choose wisely.
7. The problem statement may ignore many issues to focus on the priority that should be addressed.
8. The problem statement should be phrased as a question, such that the answer will be the solution.
Scenario: A mother, a father, and their two teenage children have all arrived home on
a Friday at 6 p.m. The family has not prepared dinner for Friday evening. The
daughter has lacrosse practice on Saturday and an essay to write for English class
due on Monday. The son has theatre rehearsal on both Saturday and Sunday and will
need one parent to drive him to the high school both days, though he can get a ride
home with a friend. The family dog, a poodle, must be taken to the groomer on
Saturday morning. The mother will need to spend time this weekend working on
assignments for her finance class she is taking as part of her Executive MBA. The
father plans to go on a 100-mile bike ride, which he can do either Saturday or
Sunday. The family has two cars, but one is at the body shop. They are trying to save
money to pay for an addition to their house.
Before starting to solve the problem, the family first needs to agree on what problem they want to solve.
Examples:
2. How can the family schedule their activities this weekend to accomplish everything planned given that they
only have one vehicle available?
3. How can the family increase income or reduce expenses to allow them to save $75K over the next 12
months to pay for the planned addition to their house?
A statement of facts does not focus the A question guides the team towards a
problem solving solution
It is 6 p.m. The family has not made 1. What should the family do for dinner on
plans for dinner, and they are hungry. Friday night?
1. What should the family do for dinner on Friday night? Broad question opens possible solutions to cooking,
reheating leftovers, ordering delivery, going out to eat, etc.
2. Should the family cook dinner or order delivery? Focus on a binary decision
3. What should the family cook for dinner? Solutions now exclude externally prepared meals
4. What should the family cook for dinner that will not Solutions now exclude meals with expensive ingredients
require spending more than $40 on groceries?
5. To cook vegetable lasagna, what do they need to pick up Solution is tightly bounded
from the supermarket?
6. How can the family prepare dinner within the next hour Additional constraint added will exclude solutions that require
using ingredients they already have in the house? ingredients not available in the house
Phrased as a question
Stakeholders aligned that this is the right question to solve
Focuses the team on the priority issue
Implies a specific outcome
Will often include a deadline
Incorporates appropriate constraints on the universe of potential solutions
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Problem definition worksheet This template can help a team
evaluate various proposals for
the problem definition
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Examples of problem definitions
1. How can Alfa Manufacturing…..
2. How can Bravo Hair Salon….
3. How can Charlie Bank….
4. How can Delta Lawncare….
5. How can Echo …..
Much of the value of the Problem Statement Worksheet comes from the thought processes and discussions
generated. There are several ways to maximize its value:
• Basic question. Make the question SMART: specific, measurable, action-oriented, relevant, and time-
bound.
• Context. What are the internal and external situations and complications facing the client, such as
industry trends, relative position within the industry, capability gaps, financial flexibility, and so on?
• Success criteria. Understand how the client and the team define success and failure. In addition to any
quantitative measures identified in the basic question, identify other important quantitative or qualitative
measures of success, including timing of impact, visibility of improvement, client capability building
required, necessary mindset shifts, and so on.
• Scope and constraints. Scope most commonly covers the markets or segments of interest, whereas
constraints govern restrictions on the nature of solutions within those markets or segments.
• Stakeholders. Explore who really makes the decisions — who decides, who can help, and who can block.
• Key sources of insight. What best-practice expertise, knowledge, and engagement approaches already
exist? What knowledge from the client, suppliers, and customers needs to be accessed? Be as specific as
possible: who, what, when, how, and why.
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Stakeholder Analysis
Worksheet
• Who will be affected? • How might • Will stakeholder be likely • Who from our team will be
(Could name an individual recommendations impact to support, object, or be designated to engage this
or a group) this stakeholder, either indifferent to stakeholder
positively or negatively? recommendations?
• Whom do we need to • How and when should we
engage? • What issues to they have • What do we want this engagement this
regarding the project/ group or individual to think stakeholder?
• Whom do we need to business? or do?
inform? • What could we do or say
• What values and • What can they do to that would resolve their
motivations can we build support our objectives? issues?
on?
• How might they block our • What communication
• What values and objectives? approaches would work
motivations may cause best with them?
conflict? • How can we minimize any
potentially negative • What messages to use?
impact?
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Stakeholder analysis Use multiple pages if
required
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Stakeholder analysis: [name of stakeholder] For a more detailed
analysis – one page per
stakeholder
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Stakeholder analysis: [name of stakeholder] For a more detailed
analysis – one page per
stakeholder
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Structure the Problem
Support or
Assert a possible
Hypothesis tree disprove the Implement
recommendation
recommendation
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Hypothesis tree: Alpha Manufacturing, Inc.
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Hypothesis tree: [name of problem]
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text Text
Text
Text Text
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Issue Trees
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Issue tree: Alpha Manufacturing, Inc.
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Issue tree: [template]
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
Text Text
Text Text
Text
Text
Text
Text
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Prioritize Issues
High impact
Focus
limited
resources
Potential impact
here
Use
Low impact
existing
knowledge
Timing /steps /
Issue or hypothesis Analysis Sources of insight End product
responsibility
List the issue to be Indicate what analysis What sources will we use What should the output Who is responsible?
investigated or the will be done to provide to generate the look like?
hypothesis to be tested insights that would necessary insights? What steps will that
answer the question or Draft the chart we person need to take?
test the hypothesis If we need data, where expect to produce (with
will we get it? Is the dummy data) When can we expect the
data available internally? results?
Can we buy the data?
Get it free off the
Internet?
If we need to interview
experts, how will we find
them?
If we need to conduct a
survey, how will we run
it?
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Plan analyses [template]
Timing /steps /
Issue or hypothesis Analysis Sources of insight End product
responsibility
xxx xxx xx xxx xxx
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Analysis plan [Detailed approach] For a more detailed
analysis – one page per
issue or hypothesis
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Analysis plan [insert issue or hypothesis here] For a more detailed
analysis – one page per
issue or hypothesis
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Create a Workplan
The project workplan Is the key Instrument used to control the progress of the study
• It should be reviewed often to ensure direction remains sound and deadlines are not missed
• It should be updated after key progress reviews or team discussions
• Regroup and plan for next cycle after every team review and client progress review
• Determine responsibilities for key analyses and balance workload, ensuring that the critical path of work is sequenced
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12
YOUR TITLE
YOUR TITLE
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Workplan template – next five weeks
Subtitle
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Workplan – week of [date]
Subtitle
xx xx xx
xxx
xx xx xx
xxx
xx xx xx
xxx
xx xx xx
xxx
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Synthesize Findings
This is the most difficult element of the problem-solving process. After a period of being immersed in the
details, it is crucial to step back and distinguish the important from the merely interesting. Distinctive problem
solvers seek the essence of the story that will underpin a crisp recommendation for action.
McKinsey’s primary tool for synthesizing is the pyramid principle. Essentially, this principle asserts that every
synthesis should explain a single concept, per the “governing thought.” The supporting ideas in the synthesis
form a thought hierarchy proceeding in a logical structure from the most detailed facts to the governing
thought, ruthlessly excluding the interesting but irrelevant.
While this hierarchy can be laid out as a tree (like with issue and hypothesis trees), the best problem solvers
capture it by creating dot-dash storylines — the Pyramid Structure for Grouping Arguments.
Although synthesis appears, formally speaking, as the penultimate step in the process, it should happen
throughout. Ideally, after you have made almost any analytical progress, you should attempt to articulate the
“Day 1” or “Week 1” answer. Continue to synthesize as you go along. This will remind the team of the question
you are trying to answer, assist prioritization, highlight the logical links of the emerging solution, and ensure
that you have a story ready to articulate at all times during the study.
Governing
“So what?” to build a thought A logical structure to the
governing thought supporting arguments
CO
M
M
UN
IC
SIS Major arguments Major arguments AT
E IO
N TH N
SY
It is at this point that we address the client’s questions: “What do I do, and how do I do it?” This means not
offering actionable recommendations, along with a plan and client commitment for implementation.
The essence of this step is to translate the overall solution into the actions required to deliver sustained impact.
A pragmatic action plan should include:
• Relevant initiatives, along with a clear sequence, timing, and mapping of activities required
• Clear owners for each initiative
• Key success factors and the challenges involved in delivering on the initiatives
Crucial questions to ask as you build recommendations for organizational change are:
• Does each person who needs to change (from the CEO to the front line) understand what he or she needs
to change and why, and is he or she committed to it?
• Are key leaders and role models throughout the organization personally committed to behaving
differently?
• Has the client set in place the necessary formal mechanisms to reinforce the desired change?
• Does the client have the skills and confidence to behave in the desired new way?
[Complication – what has changed or will change, and what will be the impact]
• Text
• Text
• Text
• Text
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Distinctiveness Practices
No matter how skilled, knowledgeable, or experienced you are, you will never create the most distinctive
solution on your own. The best problem solvers know how to leverage the power of their team, clients, the
Firm, and outside parties. Seeking the right expertise at the right time, and leveraging it in the right way, are
ultimately how we bring distinctiveness to our work, how we maximize efficiency, and how we learn.
When solving a problem, it is important to ask, “Have I accessed all the sources of insight that are available?”
Here are the sources you should consider:
• Your core team
• The client
• The client’s suppliers and customers
• Internal experts and knowledge
• External sources of knowledge
• Communications specialists
The key here is to think open, not closed. Opening up to varied sources of data and perspectives furthers our
mission to develop truly innovative and distinctive solutions for our clients.
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