You've spent 30 minutes analyzing a retail client's declining profitability. You found the root cause: a pricing strategy that's bleeding margin in the wrong customer segments. You have charts, data, a complete breakdown.
The partner walks in. 'What'd you find?'
You start explaining your analysis process. 'Well, first I looked at the revenue trends over the past three years, and I noticed that while overall revenue was flat, there were some interesting patterns in the regional data, so I broke it down by geography and...'
The partner's eyes glaze over. 'Just tell me what we should do.'
You freeze. You did great analysis. But you buried the insight.
This happens constantly in case interviews. Smart candidates do brilliant analysis, build perfect frameworks, calculate everything correctly. Then they present it like a research paper instead of a business recommendation.
Here's what separates good analysts from great consultants: analysts do analysis. Consultants communicate impact. The analysis is table stakes. Your job is to make the CEO understand what matters and why they should care.
This lesson is about that translation, the skill that determines whether your great thinking creates actual value.