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Structure Over Stress: Winning Frameworks For Summer Placements & Beyond

Structured problem-solving is the single most valuable skill MBA students (read: future managers) can develop — both to ace interviews and thrive in high-impact careers afterward. Whether you're navigating a tough case interview, designing a market strategy, or solving real-world business challenges, success hinges on your ability to break down complexity, prioritize issues, and communicate clearly.

In fast-paced, ambiguous environments, structure isn’t just helpful — it’s essential. Mastering this mindset early on not only helps you stand out during summer placements but also lays the foundation for long-term relevance across career paths.

In this article, I’ll walk through three frameworks/thinking approaches that can help you:

Make First-Principles Thinking second nature
Apply MECE (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive) logic across contexts
Experiment with alternative approaches that suit your style

1. Profitability Tree

Let’s start with the most fundamental use case: diagnosing profitability.

In this article, you will find a couple of screenshots from the IIM Bangalore Casebook 2023-24 (Vol. 13b). These are among the most comprehensive MECE structures I’ve come across for tackling profitability-driven case contexts.

Illustration 1 (Source: IIMB Casebook 2023-24)

Illustration 1 (above) offers a deep dive into the revenue side of business affairs, clearly indicating a formulaic approach (ensures an intuitive MECE frame) to getting to the core of revenue-side challenges.

For the cost side of the equation, there are many fancy ways to visualize, a few being:

Fixed & Variable Costs
Direct & Indirect Costs
Allocated vs. Unallocated Costs

However, in my experience, the most holistic approach is to look at cost attribution across the distinct activities of the value chain.

Illustration 2 (below) is a case-in-point to ensure that. The approach is MECE and born out of straightforward first-principles thinking.

Illustration 2 (Source: IIMB Casebook 2023-24)

2. The 7 Ps of Marketing

The 7 Ps of Marketing—an extension of the traditional 4 Ps—offer a comprehensive framework for crafting and evaluating a company’s marketing strategy. They are especially useful in market entry cases, product launches, go-to-market strategies, and customer experience design.

Here’s a quick refresher for the 7 Ps:

Product – What you’re offering: features, quality, design, and innovation.
Price – The value exchange: pricing strategy, discounting, perceived value.
Place – Channels and distribution: how the product reaches the customer.
Promotion – Communication strategy: advertising, sales, digital outreach.
People – Everyone involved in service delivery and customer interaction.
Process – The flow of service delivery: speed, consistency, and efficiency.
Physical Evidence – Tangible cues that reinforce brand and service quality (e.g., packaging, website, store layout).

Pro Tips: A couple of nuances while leveraging this framework:

Not every “P” is not equally relevant in every problem context. Hence, it is important to identify and prioritize the most applicable set of “Ps” for the situation. For example:
In a case focused on improving customer acquisition, you might explore changes in Promotion, Price, and Place.
If the goal is to enhance customer retention, consider focusing on People, Process, and Physical Evidence.

In an era where experience design is becoming increasingly important for organizations, this framework will be your entry point to build/modify/grow in those contexts.

3. The Ansoff Matrix

Whether it is a Growth Strategy case in a consulting interview or a grilling question on augmenting serviceable base in a product interview, the Ansoff Matrix is a dependable and structured conversation starter.

It helps structure decisions around how a company can expand—whether through safer, incremental moves or bolder, riskier strategies. The four growth options (Illustration 3 below) in the matrix are:

Market Penetration: Selling more of existing products to existing markets.
Low risk: Focus on increasing share, usage, or frequency (e.g., promotions, pricing).
Product Development: Offering new products to existing markets.
Medium risk: Useful when customer loyalty is strong, but needs are evolving.
Market Development: Entering new markets with existing products.
Medium risk: Can involve geographic expansion, new segments, or new channels.
Diversification: Introducing new products to new markets.
High risk: Requires strong capabilities and a clear strategic rationale.

Illustration 3 (Source: IIMB Casebook 2023-24) offers a visual walkthrough of this matrix.

Closing Advice: Let the Frameworks Guide You, Not Box You In

As I close this piece, I want to emphasize that the frameworks shared here are proven starting points for building structured problem-solving skills. That said, there are many ways to approach a problem, and these tools should guide—not limit—your thinking.

I hope this piece serves as a launchpad for your problem-solving journey — not just a lesson on a handful of frameworks. To help you get started, here are a few prompts to explore. Use a framework, a formula, or any creative tool you can imagine. The only rule? Make it MECE and easy to communicate with your audience! Give these a try:

India’s largest cement maker is facing a steep rise in costs over the past 10 months. Using the Profitability Framework, identify the root causes and recommend a short-term cost containment strategy.
An iconic Italian luxury handbag brand has been facing stagnant revenues for the last two quarters. As their strategy consultant, how would you reignite growth? Think bold, think structured—perhaps through the lens of the Ansoff Matrix.
A beloved Turkish dessert brand is preparing to make its grand debut in India—and it wants to deliver an unforgettable customer experience from day one. As their marketing advisor, how would you craft a winning entry strategy? Use the 7 Ps of Marketing to design a delightful, differentiated experience.

Need help with case prep, summer placement strategy, or anything slowing down your MBA momentum? Let’s fix it—Book a 1:1 session with Siddhant Bhagat on Unstop and maximize your MBA journey.

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Siddhant Bhagat

Siddhant works as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG); driven by curiosity and passion for structured problem-solving across diverse industries and challenging client contexts.