"Crack the Case"...

I spent this Saturday afternoon today working though a "Crack the Case" exercise along with 50 other students conducted by the reputed Strategy Consultant firm, Bain & Co.

This was an exercise at working through a case wherein a Private Equity firm is considering the buyout of a hardware company that manufactures grids and false ceilings.

The two divisions had vastly different dynamics in terms of existing market share, profitability, future growth prospects, distribution inefficiencies, etc.

We had to work through essentially two questions:

1. Should the PE go ahead with the buy?
2. If so, what steps should it take to increase sales and reduce costs? Essentially, how can it improve the firm's competitive advantage?

A total of 2.5 hours were given to analyze significant quantities of data, arrive at a set of key value drivers and finally, a set of recommendations to address the stated questions.

The evening ended with a 5-minute presentation on the fruits of our labour followed up by a 5-minute Q&A session. Overall, a very good experience.

The larger gain however, was a peek into the daily workings of an established strategy consulting firm. This is what they do day in and day out and the biggest take from the exercise is that each of us gets to go back and ask ourselves: Do I really wanna do this? Do I want to work with firms and industries such as waste management, that I really care little about?

The motivation to work for a Strategy Consultant firm, I have concluded, comes primarily from the thrill of the intellectual challenge. No question about it. 'Course, the great renumneration doesn't hurt. One also has the power to preside over the strategic direction that companies take. The drawbacks involve working with industries that you neither know nor care much about. Also, one does not get to execute one's charted strategy and coming from the telecom industry, where I sent most of my time executing, this is a significantdifference and one that I must think long and hard about.