TALK LIKE A CONSULTANT - MECE principle explained
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
- In this video of my talk like a consultant series, I explain the MECE principle. MECE is a key concept for professional communication, both for oral and written communication. MBB consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) teach the MECE principle in their mandatory onboarding programs for new consultants. As a former McKinsey consultant myself, I talk about how to talk like a consultant. I teach you the fundamental consulting communication skills that management consulting firms depend on. These are crucial management consulting skills, the MECE principle is essential for every aspiring management consultant. This communication skills training teaches essential strategy consulting skills, these are presentation skills relevant for professional oral and written communication. MECE stands for mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive, it is an important problem solving framework - learn these important problem solving strategies in this video.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:14 Memes on MECE principle
02:18 What does MECE mean?
04:17 Example of MECE principle
05:48 Exercise: Learn to use the MECE principle
11:49 Wrap-up
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I am firm that firm learning has helped my learning.
Thanks, super happy to hear that!! :) Best, Heinrich
Thank You!!!
I am firm that firm learning has helped me build a firm foundation in skills important at my firm.
Not a consultant, nor a junior but always grateful for learning, especially when it's this helpful and immediately applicable. Heinrich - danke Dir.
Dude, your videos have made me so much better at work. People are starting to notice and it’s a direct result of your videos. I cannot thank you enough.
Comments like this make my day, super happy to hear the videos are helpful! Much appreciated!! Best, Heinrich
The Magic reference made MECE so much easier to understand. Thanks! I really enjoy your content.
:) Happy to hear that, thanks Tony! Best, Heinrich
An explanation, which is simple, yet effective!
This is incredible, as an engineering consultant I use these principles without knowing the MECE framework, but sometimes I tend to get bogged down in the details of solving the problem and lose my overall strategy. Knowing this principle now is helping me to produce a concrete plan of action and to assure my self that I’ve minimised any unknowns in my inputs.
Glad to hear you liked the video, appreciate it! Best, Heinrich
Orthogonality!
@@DisdainforPlebs Orthogonal Functions and complete space where every cauchy sequences converges:)
Had been binge watching your videos. It really help me alot! I have a presentation proposing a new method in my work area to BODs soon, I'm glad i found your videos. Your explanation is easy to follow. Look forward to more content from you.
Super happy to hear that thank you. Lots of success to you with your presentation!! Best, Heinrich
Do you want to learn to create slide presentations like top consulting firms? I created an online course, teaching you the slide writing skills I learned in consulting: link.firmlearning.com/slidewriting
Would be interested in a expanded series, even if some videos aren't new material but just further explanation of previous ones!
really enjoy and appreciate these technical writing videos! very helpful 👍
Thanks for your feedback, appreciate it! Best, Heinrich
Thank you Heinrich for being MECE on the MECE content :) I've been wondering what MECE means and your explanation has helped me to understand it. Now it's time to put it into practice!
Hi Hartono, thank you for your kind comment. Great to hear the video is helpful! All the best to you - Heinrich
I found your channel just yesterday and I am really appreciating it. Great job! Thanks for such content. Regards straight from Brazil.
Thanks for watching Vagner. Great to hear the video is helpful :) Best, Heinrich
Your videos are super insightful. Thank you for putting in the effort to create them.
Thank you Darine, super happy to hear that!
Top content--super crisp, valuable, and actionable!
Happy to hear that thanks!! Best, Heinrich
Valuable content! I’d love to see more videos on specific problems to solve and applying the best logic 👌🏼🙏🏼
I am glad that you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching! Thanks for the note.
Yes, please do make the series on talking like a consultant!
Thanks for the feedback!
I am learning a whole lot with you, Sir! Thank you
Super happy to hear that thank you man! Best, Heinrich
MECE is such a helpful yet simple logic principle. I wish more people learned this at school. Thanks for your great content as always!
Yes agree, MECE is important for structuring pretty much any document / presentation etc. !
Awesome video Heinrich! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Oliver appreciate it!! :) Best, Heinrich
Thank you for the video! Great MtG collection :)
This was explained so well. Thank you so much
as a recent MBA grads, thank you for sharing this info...wünderbar..
Hi Farhan, thank YOU for your comment. Appreciate it! Best, Heinrich
Thank you very much! Useful concept and will definitely use it 👍
Happy to hear that - thanks Sara! Best, Heinrich
even being already, a long time in that kind of business, Heinrich understands on a high-level way to describe complicated tools, practises in a straightforward way. Congrats Heinrich, please go on.
Thank you for your kind words. Very happy to hear that the videos are helpful! Best, Heinrich
Thanks again Heinrich, great content
Great to hear that - thanks for watching! Best, Heinrich
Thank you Heinrich, very nicely explained :) from a fellow consultant.. cheers
Hi Rushabh, super happy to hear that - thanks mate! Best, Heinrich
Great idea with the video series. Just as long as you organize them in the MECE manner 😄
Please do not be too strict with me ;) Thanks for watching! Best, Heinrich
Soo helpful, great job
super valuable and well structured!
Thanks Linus, great to hear that! Best, Heinrich
Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank YOU for watching Flavia, this is much appreciated! Best, Heinrich
This jut BLEW me away and I´m a LSSBB consultant. Communication is certainly one thing I need to improve on. Good Job Heinrich, I should hire you to coach me too :)
Hi Markus, thanks for your comment. Great to hear the video is helpful :) Best, Heinrich
Thanks for the explanation! Best regards from Portugal.
Sure thing - thank YOU for watching Carlos, much appreciated! Best, Heinrich
I would love to see a talk like a consultant series.
Thank you, yes will create more videos in this series! Stay tuned :) Best, Heinrich
Thanks! I reckon you do a few more videos on MECE, working through examples of what follows/violates the principle.
Hi Tom, thanks for the suggestion! Yes, agree that this is a topic I could go deeper on in future videos! Best, Heinrich
Awesome Vid. I would love to see more MECE examples
Well noted, thanks Jared! Best, Heinrich
Thanks a lot,
Super helpful thank you!
Hi Jinxing, thanks for your kind comment! Super happy to hear the videos are helpful. Appreciate it, all the best to you! Heinrich
These are golden sheesh!
Thanks for watching!! :) Best, Heinrich
Hey Heinrich, I have to say that out of all the Consulting channels, I find yours most enjoyable to watch! One can grasp that you actually both enjoy producing this content and put a lot of effort into it. Love your positivity, thank you, and keep it up! BW from Munich. ;)
Hi, thank you for your comment! Super happy to hear you find the videos enjoyable. Indeed it is a pleasure for me to do all these videos for all of you :) THANK YOU! Best, Heinrich
thank you for the sharing. very useufl
Great to hear it is helpful, thank YOU for watching!
Sir, today I learnt a lot from you
Thank you
Hi, thanks for your comment. Very great to hear that!! Best, Heinrich
Sehr gut !
Value adding principle, i have also dealt with this principle in my profession.
Thanks for sharing! Yes fully agree, MECE is a very crucial principle when structuring your thoughts and ideas! Best, Heinrich
Thanks for the video Heinrich.. it will be good to have a second more in-depth video on this topic and further drill down. Perhaps give multiple examples. Just a thought.
Hi Yunush, thank you for the suggestion! Yes might create an additional video on this topic in the future! Best, Heinrich
Sales before production! Thanks for the video btw, I will use it :-)
:) Thanks for watching Joel!! Best, Heinrich
Another helpful video. Well done. Liked and subscribed.
Much appreciated - thank you Tamarin! Best, Heinrich
I always liked the alternative, ABC not D. All Bases Covered, nothing Duplicated. Not as accurate, but sometimes an easier way to get this across
Hi Simon, nice did not know that one. Like it as well! :) Best, Heinrich
I like this
Dear Heinrich, I have been quite a follower from the very beginning of your journey. I have request for a video content!
1) Difference between In house consulting vs MBB or big 4 consulting ?
2) How to do transition from an In house consulting career > Consulting major firm.
P.S as In house consulting i am referring to Business consultant or Industry consultant for IT/ enterprise software companies.
Will highly appreciate if you could make a video on it :)
Hi Samin, thank you for your comment and also your content suggestion. Inhouse consulting is indeed an interesting topic, worked together with inhouse consulting teams in several of my projects. Thanks, might pick that up in future videos! Best, Heinrich
Well done, vielen dank
Thank YOU for watching Tom :) Best, Heinrich
Dude your accent makes this even more interesting
Hi, Haindrich
I have been working for 15 years in auditing and is very important to present the content of your work a way stakeholders understand it this way. Until I understood I had hard time dealing with their complains (stakeholders) because topics overlapped each other..
Glad to hear you liked the video, appreciate it Santiago! Yes, being MECE is definitely important. Best! Heinrich
Near the end of the video, Heinrich mentioned that MECE principle should be followed in presentation and communication. Building upon that, I find it rather more helpful to think in MECE as it would make presenting and communicating in a MECE-fashion much more natural and intuitive. However, how can we do so? How can we train ourselves to think in MECE?
Looking forward for your answer.
This guy is growing fast
Thanks for watching! Giving my best to continue to deliver value via my videos. Thanks for being part of my journey! Best, Heinrich
He deserves it.
@@alfredoalfaro5000 Thanks Alfredo ;) Best, Heinrich
Thanks for putting these videos together! They are GREAT!!! Question on this video, in the Outline Example 2, would it be more MECE to put all the short term measures in one section and all medium term measures in another? Why is the example MECE if there are over laps?
Hi Mike! Yes, agree that ordering them in the way that you describe would be MECE as well. There are usually many different ways to structure things in a MECE way. Best! Heinrich
thanks
MECE principle a good value addition for consultants
Fully agree! Thanks for watching Nandha! Best, Heinrich
Such a hidden gem I've found. Thank you for your insights!
Hi Bryan, great to hear you find it helpful. Appreciate it!! Best, Heinrich
Second day watching your videos.... And i have to say, :) your accent reminds me of the Terminator haha :)
Haha thanks mate ;) Best! Heinrich
Hi Heinrich, greetings from Malaysia! Stumbled upon your site and very much like the videos and immediately subscribed! Would you have any videos that deep-dive into the formulation of issue trees from the key line and down 2-3 layers? I'm especially keen to understand inductive reasoning when applied to issues trees, for instance, how categories of ideas can be grouped in different ways and how each different grouping of ideas can infer different things to generate insights. Cheers!
Hi Eugene, thanks for joining and watching the channel, much appreciated! Already have a video on "how to solve tough problems" that also touches on some of these aspects. But indeed formulation of issue trees is another important topic, might pick this up in the future for a new video! Best! Heinrich
finished watching
Appreciate it - thank you Sandipan! Best, Heinrich
This has become my favorite Saturday Learning session. I'm a German in San Francisco working in technology consulting, but all these communication principles can be very well applied there too. Question: did you need your previous employer's permission to share all these insights or are all these methods / "recipes" considered creative commons public domain information?
Hi Ben, thanks for watching. Super happy to hear that!! This knowledge is not proprietary of any specific firm, e.g., I also learned it in university. But of course, working in consulting for some years helped me to better understand it. Lots of success to you! Best, Heinrich
You can find this and a lot of other info in the book McKinsey way, McKinsey mind and the case interview workbook
Please share more these commonly used then more edge case specific framework and examples.
Hi Louise, thanks for your comment! Understood, might pick that up in future videos! Best, Heinrich
I just discovered this channel, and it’s a gem! Coming from academic and industry background, it took me a year to get used to the dynamics of the consulting environment. The content from Heinrich is very helpful. Keep up the good work!
Hi Arda, very happy to hear that the channel is helpful. Thank YOU for watching!! Best, Heinrich
0:30 young graduates lack most the communication skills but which values the most in jobs.
6:45 you define some low-hanging fruits.
7:15 how to draft a table of content.
Very good indeed.
Thank you for your comment. Super glad to hear that! Best, Heinrich
@@FirmLearning purchased your Udemy course so looking forward to learning more. Let me know what you have in the pipeline course wise.
@@dy2cakc1 Thank you! Will for sure announce it here on RUclips if I release a new program :) Indeed working on a great new course experience, but will still take some time until completion (too much to do in my full-time job ;) - Best! Heinrich
nice video
Thanks! Glad that you enjoyed it Osama!
I was really enjoying your videos, but you play MTG and now I have to subscribe.
❤️
Hi Heinrich, I am fascinated with your explanation on MECE.
Can you please suggest where i can learn the MECE principle with samples online?
There are many different materials about the MECE principle online. I suggest you do some research and pick the one that suits you best! Thanks for watching!
Thanks arnold
;) Thanks for watching Mitchel!
Hi Heinrich, thanks for this insightful video.
I had a specific question on CE (collectively exhaustive) component of MECE. In the case of case interview where you are not a subject matter expert on the topic - how do you deal with CE in a practical sense?
I have been told previously - read widely and gain experience. Are there any other strategies you would do yourself when faced in that situation "on the spot assessment?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Cassandra, if you are not an SME, it will of course not be possible to think of any given detail in a case. Try to be exhaustive on a higher level with overarching business situation frameworks. If then on the detail level you are missing some points, this will not ding you in the interview. Best! Heinrich
I collect trading cards too :3 I like watching you cuz besides the fact that you have great content, you're so cute. Lol
Guess I take this as a compliment ;) Thanks! Best, Heinrich
Thanks alot for this info! Can I ask if this is appliciable in the health sector? For example, physiotherapy, Health innovation, health apps, physiotherapy products? I might need to look up some more information about firm learning.
Kind regards,
David
Hi David! Yes, do believe that the concept is relevant independent of the industry you work for. For sure, consultants working in Pharma / Health do apply it :) Lots of success to you! Best, Heinrich
so, when do you include the hypothesis then?
let’s see some more coffee mugs !
Challenge accepted :) Best, Heinrich
Summarize your data in such a way that subject matters are not repeated. Keep it simple. If somebody needs more details, they will reach out.
Great summary, thanks for watching Sandeep! Best, Heinrich
Hey Heinrich, thank you so much for your channel ! I am a bit puzzled though, and I have two questions regarding MECE :
- In most cases, it seems to me like it is never really possible to breakdown totally mutually exclusive elements. For instance in this exercise, the short vs. medium term distinction is duplicated in each intervention area. But isn't the time horizon a category in itself? Wouldn't a manager also like to see things from this perspective, i.e. separate all the measures that can be done on the short term from all those on the medium term ? Likewise regarding the process category, would it not be possible that the same types of process may apply in different areas (e.g. staff reduction, digitalisation, IA software implementation, etc...)...
- Do you have more tips concerning the method for applying MECE, and top-down communication ? Mindmaps ? I find it hard to apply those principles, especially orally, without having prepared, scribbled, drafted and restructured beforehand.
Thank you so much again! Take care
Hi,
Thanks for your comment! Indeed there are always several ways to structure elements in a MECE way. MECE is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a good structure. Indeed it is always important to ask oneself how it makes sense for the audience etc. to look at it.
How I use do to it in more complex cases is that I write down all the elements that I need to order first in a list, and then try to drag them around in different ways until I found the best option.
Best! Heinrich
Great channel Heinrich, I have learnt a lot, just wanted to ask why such a bad taste in the house when you are probably quite rich? -Just an architect here...
Thanks for watching!! Unfortunately it is neither my house, nor am I super rich.. but you might be right that my taste is not that great ;) Best! Heinrich
You’re great Heinrich, your friends are lucky to have such a smiling and bright friend
How do you figure out how to break out in MECE format when you've never worked in a certain industry? It will be easy to make MECE if you're expert in the industry where you know the business processes, etc. But assuming you're a fresh grad with no knowledge of the industry. How do you do it? Thank you
Hi Ditra, thanks for watching! Do not think that the MECE principle is directly related to your industry expertise. If you have no idea what you are doing, you will have an issue independent of whether you know the MECE principle or not :) But fully agree that domain knowledge goes a long way...! Best! Heinrich
Is the MECE principle distinct from the Pyramid principle, or are they the same?
No it is not the same, check out the book "The Pyramid Principle" from Barbara Minto (included in my book recommendations linked in the video description) to learn more! Best, Heinrich
Hey Henry! I really need you to Nswer this , kindly take your time and please answer briefly:-
A brand new Consulting club is going to commence at my college in coming 2-3 months and I'm going to head that consulting club. Could you please tell me , as students who are studying Business administration for graduation, what activities, events and competitions should the club carry out for it's members ? Please brief if possible :)
Hi Arya, some ideas: talks from alumni of your university working in consulting, case study competitions, case interview trainings / service to pair students up with other people preparing for interviews, workshops with consultants from consulting firms, recruiting events with consulting firms, panel discussions with business leaders... hope this helps - lots of success to you! Best, H
@@FirmLearning thank you man !
Hi Heinrich, after watching this video, I have a question for you. I’m trying to introduce two products (namely anode and cathode) in a product introduction ppt.
The structure I have for now is like this
Anode
-manufacturing
-specialities
-application
Cathode
-manufacturing
-specialities
-application
By applying MECE method I’m thinking reorder the structure like this
Manufacturing
-anode
-cathode
Specialities
-anode
-cathode
Application
-anode
-cathode
So, does the latter organization is better?
Hey! Thanks for the question. Regarding the MECE principle, both structures are MECE as far as I can understand it. Therefore I would make it more dependent on the context that you are working in. The most important / relevant distinction should be used as the first level. From what you are writing, if the products are in focus (anode / cathode), sounds to me like option 1 would be a bit better suited. Best! Heinrich
@@FirmLearning Hi, Heinrich, I got it. Thank you very much!
How would you say that MECE assists with a Growth Mindset?
Hi! Frankly do not think that these concepts are directly related. What link do you see? :) Best! Heinrich
👍🏽
Thank YOU!! Heinrich
Can you recommend the best book on the MECE principle ?
The Pyramid Principle from Barbara Minto covers it! Best, Heinrich
Is there a way to apply MECE to non-consultant enviroment?
I think it would have been funnier to show the memes in the end, when we know what mice actually means :)
Fair point, maybe next time thanks Alexander :) Best! Heinrich
I'm watching this video the forth time, still have no clue how to implement in my own projects:)
Hi, sorry to hear that! Any specific questions I can help you with? Best, Heinrich
@Firm Learning Hi, how do you slice up the project when there are more ways to do it? How do you find the best way?
Like in your example, wouldn't a structure like below work just as good? (And still mece). 1 and 4 are the same..
2. Short term measures
- production
- sales
- purchasing
- overhead
3. Medium term measures
- production
- sales
- purchasing
- overhead
hello,,, how about as a consultant you are ask to find a solution to enhance the costumer service ,
I have a problem in my firm, it's a bank, a problem of conversion rate, how can i make a tree of hypothesis mece in this case? I didn't find anything on the internet about conversion, and my boss ask me to explain the changes overtime of conversion, and i try to make it mece, but it is really hard.
Hi Mathias, thanks for your comment. Of course difficult to give general answers on how to structure this. Would probably start by researching possible drivers of conversion rate in your sector and then start ordering them into groups. Lots of success to you! Best, Heinrich
@@FirmLearning thnks man
@@Caneladaful I would also recommend for you to make a "process" of conversion itself and map out in line what steps go into converting a customer, this is effectively your structure where you look into dissecting and optimizing each step that goes into conversion
@@hashaamjaved2669 ooow.. Man this is powerfull. I was try to search the causes breaking each of the client segmentation like value, state, type of sell (digital or by a person). So my hypotheses was kind like this "the problem is in the low value clients". I'll try to make like you tell, thanks man, you really help me.
Mathias Machado not a problem man, making a process is a good way to have a MECE framework
Im a data analyst and struggle to apply MECE when presenting findings when the segments overlap. Can you give me an idea of how to handle this situation (made up for this comment). Ive been asked to look at why our churn rate is increasing. Is it something to do with the location (country), tenure on the platform, or number of users per organisation. My analysis would look at the combinations I.E users by country, or tenure by country. Those combination answers could be repeated in each section of the report. Do I repeat them each time for each heading?
I get that your general structure /toc should be mece.....but individual answers will and should be full of redundancy as they are likely looking at the same topics/data from a different perspective ! A STEM PhD thesis will never be mece for example. This really only works for rather one dimensional problems.
al i exactly
Hmm I am currently writing on my PhD as well and we for sure try to make our papers MECE / follow a logical structure. Though I agree that e.g., in the introduction you repeat some things that you will later talk about as well. In this strict sense yes, you might repeat some elements. Best! H
Hola bonita noche. El principio MECE no es para solucionar problemas; Es un principio para "plantear" posibles soluciones identificando potenciales problemas Mutuamente Excluyentes.
Good point thank you for sharing Jorge! :) Best, Heinrich
@@FirmLearning for utt
OMFG xD Bei MtG hattest du mich. Erst recht bei Mirrodin.
Good old times ;) Danke fürs Zuschauen David! LG, Heinrich
How are the chances for some with a STEM degree in the consulting biz?
Hi Izar, STEM background is no problem at all, at MBB there are lots of people with these backgrounds, probably even a plus if the rest of your profile meets the criteria as well, as STEM people are supposed to be good in quant (which is always a plus as a consultant) ;) Best! Heinrich
@@FirmLearning Does a profile with a lot extracurricular of lectures in politics and eco coupled with a few foreign languages meet those criteria then ?
Where you can(should) apply this principle as well: In the outline of your Bachelor or Master thesis 😊
Thanks for watching:)
You should try and make sure that there isn't too much overlap between your chapters but they should flow into each other well.
@@FirmLearning True! But having this principle in the back of your head prevents that the thesis becomes a soup of indistinguishable chapters and thoughts :)
i understood the topic but how much money do they charge ???
;) Thanks for watching!! Best, Heinrich
excuse me brother where are you from
isn't this called Clustering?!?
Every time he says coNzuktantZ and coNZultenZu I belly laugh. Otherwise good content.
;) Thanks for watching Gigi! Best, Heinrich
Hi! Helpful video but too much advertisement!!
Hi Valerio, thanks for your feedback! Will continue to work on the perfect balance. Best, Heinrich
The way you say violation makes it sound like not following the MECE principle is like breaking the law lmao
Haha well guess it is ;) Thanks for watching! Best, Heinrich