You're in a case interview. The interviewer says: 'Our client is a new ride-sharing app. They think they can capture 50% of the U.S. market in the first year.'

You nod. You start structuring. You build a framework. You do the math.

Ten minutes in, the interviewer stops you. 'Do you think that's realistic?'

You freeze. You've been so focused on HOW to capture 50% that you never stopped to ask: SHOULD we believe this is possible?

You just spent 10 minutes analyzing a fantasy.

This is the trap. You're so focused on the analysis that you forget to question the premise. You treat every number like gospel.

The best consultants have something you can't learn from frameworks: a BS detector. That internal voice that says, 'Wait, that doesn't sound right.' When someone claims their startup will hit 100 million users in year one, they pause. When a client projects 90% market share, they ask questions.

This isn't cynicism. It's business intuition: the market sense that separates consultants who can analyze from consultants who can think.