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14 The McKinsey Mind

somebody else’s problems and trying to apply it to me. My
problems are different.” We knew that wasn’t the case; we
were just trying to get the thoughts started, giving ourselves
a systematic checklist for what the key issues are and how
to present those key issues. You have to be careful about
introducing frameworks because they can carry a fairly neg-
ative connotation, especially if they are overused. Instead of
reusing an old framework, use the concepts from the frame-
work to generate new ideas that help solve the problem at
hand.

Finally, remember that structure is only the beginning. You still
need to develop a strong hypothesis, devise and perform the right
analyses to draw your conclusions, and communicate those con-
clusions effectively. We will address these issues further on in the
book, beginning in the next section of this chapter, with formulat-
ing the initial hypothesis.

EXERCISES
• If you can, think of some frameworks that are commonly
used in your business or that you learned elsewhere. Can
you apply them to your current work? If not, how could
you apply them?
• Look at your organization. Can you lay out your sources
of profit in a MECE logic tree? How about the process by
which you generate products or deliver services?
• Think of a common, but complex, nonbusiness process,
say, a wedding or a vacation. Can you come up with a
MECE structuring of all the tasks that need to be done in
order for this process to work? What are the key elements
of the process (e.g., for a wedding, getting the guests there