The CEO walks into the room: what is your recommendation?
The synthesis starts with the answer. One sentence saying what the client should do, then two or three arguments resting on the numbers found during the case, then risks and next steps. The whole thing takes sixty to ninety seconds, and the interviewer should be able to stop listening after the first sentence and already know what you recommend.
What the interviewer is assessing
- The answer first. Summarising in order everything you did during the case is the most widespread mistake, and the most heavily penalised on this question.
- A position. "It depends" or "more analysis is needed" are not recommendations. A yes, a no or a choice between options is expected.
- Arguments with numbers. The figures you calculated during the case must reappear here, otherwise the calculation served no purpose.
- Clear sight of the limits. One or two risks, briefly stated, and what you would do next to clear them.
How to build your answer
- 1
Ask for thirty seconds
You are allowed a short moment to organise your notes. Find your conclusion and circle the two or three numbers that support it. - 2
Give the recommendation in one sentence
Start with "I recommend that...". The sentence should answer exactly the question asked at the start of the case, in its terms. - 3
Support it with two or three reasons
Announce how many, then give each reason with its number. Go from the most important to the least. - 4
End with risks and next steps
One or two risks, then concrete next steps: what needs checking or launching first.
How a good answer starts
"I recommend that our client open in Spain, starting by buying a local chain rather than opening its own gyms. Three reasons support this.
The first is market size: by our estimate the low-cost segment there is still small compared with France, which leaves room. The second is the economics: on the assumptions we used, a gym pays back in a little under four years, which meets the five-year threshold the client set. The third is the entry mode: an acquisition gives it sites immediately, and sites are the hardest resource to obtain. I see two main risks, incumbents reacting on price and the difficulty of integrating a local team. As next steps, I would identify two or three targets and test our attendance assumption in one pilot city."
This example is made up: it shows the tone and the construction, not a script to memorise. Your answer has to come from your own experience or from the data the interviewer gives you.
Common mistakes
- Telling the case in order: "first we looked at the market, then...". The client wants the conclusion, not the project diary.
- Not deciding, or deciding and then taking it back in the next sentence under a pile of caveats.
- Bringing in a new idea that was not analysed during the case.
- Talking too long. Past two minutes, the synthesis is no longer one.
Follow-ups to expect
"What would make you change your mind?"
Name the assumption your conclusion depends on most and the level at which it would flip.
"The client is not convinced. What do you say?"
Go back to your strongest argument and its number, then offer a quick check that would reduce the doubt.
"What would you do in the next thirty days?"
Give two or three concrete actions in order, with the one that clears the biggest risk first.
Frequently asked questions
What if I did not have time to finish the analysis?
Recommend anyway, from what you know, and say clearly what remains to be checked. "Based on what we have seen, I recommend this option, subject to confirming that point" is a real answer.
How does this relate to the Minto pyramid?
It is the same principle: the conclusion at the top, the supporting arguments below, the facts at the base. The end-of-case synthesis is the most direct spoken application of that way of communicating.