3. Move Work Forward

Guiding Question: Is the work actually progressing toward a decision?

The third imperative is about execution. Clear thinking and right answers mean nothing if the work doesn’t get done. Consultants are valued for their ability to make progress, especially when conditions are uncertain.

Core Actions

3.1 Create a Workplan (4) 🔺

Convert structured thinking into owners, deliverables, and deadlines

Convert your structured thinking into a concrete plan with owners, deliverables, and deadlines.

Recruiting Application	Client Work Application
Build a recruiting workplan: networking targets, application deadlines, case practice schedule	Build a project workplan with clear milestones and owners for each workstream

Workplan Components:

Element	Description
Workstream	Major area of work (e.g., “Market Analysis”)
Key Question	What are we trying to answer?
Analyses	Specific work to be done
Owner	Who’s responsible
Due Date	When it’s needed
Dependencies	What must happen first

POD/POW Rhythm:

• POD (Plan of the Day): What will you accomplish today?
• POW (Plan of the Week): What must be done this week?

Start each day and week with explicit plans.

TipSession 15 Activity: Create a Workplan

Recruiting: Build recruiting workplan with milestones

Create a comprehensive recruiting workplan with specific milestones and deadlines.

Help me build a recruiting workplan for the next [X weeks/months]:

**My Recruiting Goals**
- Target firms: [List your target firms by tier]
- Target timeline: [When do applications open? Close?]
- Current status: [Where am I now?]

**Workstream 1: Networking**
- Target contacts per week:
- Key milestones:
- Specific actions by week:

**Workstream 2: Resume**
- Key milestones (v1, v2, final):
- Feedback cycles planned:
- Deadlines:

**Workstream 3: Case Practice**
- Target cases per week:
- Practice partners:
- Milestones (# of cases, mock interviews):

**Workstream 4: Applications**
- Application deadlines by firm:
- Materials needed for each:
- Prep timeline:

**Weekly POW Template**
Create a template I can use each week with:
- This week's priority tasks
- Status on each workstream
- Risks or blockers
- Help needed

Client Work: Build project workplan: analyses, data, timeline

Create a workplan for your semester project with clear deliverables and deadlines.

Help me build a project workplan for [COMPANY NAME]:

**Project Goals**
- Final deliverable: Capstone Presentation
- Intermediate deliverables: P1 (diagnostic), P2 (benchmark), P3 (hypothesis)
- Key constraints: [Timeline, team size, data access]

**Workstream Structure**
For each deliverable, define:

1. **P1: Company Diagnostic (Due: Week 8)**
   - Key analyses needed:
   - Data sources to gather:
   - Milestones by week:

2. **P2: Competitive Benchmark (Due: Week 10)**
   - Key analyses needed:
   - Data sources to gather:
   - Milestones by week:

3. **P3: Value-Add Hypothesis (Due: Week 12)**
   - Key analyses needed:
   - Data sources to gather:
   - Milestones by week:

4. **Capstone (Due: Week 15)**
   - Integration work needed:
   - Presentation prep:
   - Milestones:

**Dependencies**
What needs to be done before what? Flag critical path items.

**Risk Register**
What could go wrong? What's the mitigation?

3.2 Own Your Workstream

Take full responsibility from question to answer

Take full responsibility for your piece, from question to answer, not just task completion.

Recruiting Application	Client Work Application
Own your job search from outreach to offer, and don’t wait for others to drive it	Own your analysis from question to answer because you’re responsible for the insight, not just the spreadsheet

Ownership looks like:

• Anticipating what’s needed before being asked
• Flagging risks and issues proactively
• Delivering complete work, not half-finished drafts
• Following up on outstanding items

Ownership does not look like:

• Waiting for instructions
• Handing off incomplete work
• Letting things fall through cracks

TipSession 16 Activity: Own Your Workstream

Recruiting: Own job search—audit progress, build accountability

Audit your recruiting progress and build systems for accountability.

Help me audit and own my recruiting job search:

**Progress Audit**
For each workstream, assess where I am:

1. **Networking**
   - Conversations completed: [#]
   - Target: [#]
   - Quality of conversations: [High/Medium/Low]
   - Follow-ups pending: [List]

2. **Resume**
   - Current version: [v1/v2/final]
   - Feedback received: [Yes/No]
   - Action items remaining: [List]

3. **Case Practice**
   - Cases completed: [#]
   - Target: [#]
   - Areas of strength: [List]
   - Areas for improvement: [List]

4. **Applications**
   - Deadlines coming up: [List]
   - Materials ready: [Yes/No]
   - Gaps to fill: [List]

**Ownership Gaps**
- What's falling through the cracks?
- Where am I waiting for others instead of driving?
- What am I avoiding?

**Accountability System**
Help me design:
- Weekly check-in structure
- Tracking system for progress
- Commitment devices to stay on track

Client Work: Practice status updates—own the insight, not just tasks

Practice giving status updates that demonstrate ownership of insights, not just task completion.

Help me practice owning my workstream through status updates:

**Current Project Status**
[Describe where you are on your current deliverable]

**Reframe: From Tasks to Insights**
Instead of: "I completed the financial analysis"
Practice: "The financial analysis revealed [insight] which means [implication]"

**Status Update Exercise**
Write a 5-bullet status update for your TA/manager:
1. **Status**: [On track / At risk / Behind]
2. **Key Insight**: What have you learned?
3. **Progress**: What did you accomplish (framed as insights gained)?
4. **Issues**: What's blocking you?
5. **Next Steps**: What will you deliver next?

**Feedback**
Review my update:
- Does it show ownership of the answer, not just tasks?
- Is the insight clear and actionable?
- Would a manager feel informed and confident?
- What would make this update stronger?

3.3 Sequence for Early Insight

Generate useful findings as early as possible

Structure your work to generate useful insights as early as possible. Don’t save everything for the end.

Recruiting Application	Client Work Application
Start networking early because insights compound over time	Sequence analyses to test critical hypotheses first, and don’t save the hard questions for last

Front-Loading Principles:

1. Kill bad ideas fast: Test the most uncertain assumptions first
2. Build on early wins: Let initial findings guide later work
3. Show progress: Regular updates maintain confidence
4. Create options: Early insights allow course correction

3.4 Reprioritize Dynamically

Adapt to new information without losing momentum

The plan will change. Good consultants adapt without losing momentum.

Recruiting Application	Client Work Application
Adjust your recruiting strategy as you learn, and if a firm isn’t a fit, redirect energy	Reprioritize analyses as you learn because new data might make some questions irrelevant

When to Reprioritize:

• A key hypothesis is confirmed/killed (changes what matters)
• New information surfaces (changes the problem)
• Constraints shift (timeline, resources, scope)
• Client feedback redirects focus

3.5 Anticipate Risks and Bottlenecks

Identify problems before they become crises

Anticipate problems before they become crises.

Recruiting Application	Client Work Application
Know your recruiting bottlenecks: what could derail your timeline?	Identify project risks early: what could go wrong? What depends on what?

Risk Management:

Risk Type	Example	Mitigation
Data	Can’t get the data we need	Identify alternatives early
Timeline	Key analysis takes longer	Start early, build buffer
Stakeholder	Decision-maker changes view	Prewire, get early input
Technical	Model doesn’t work	Test approach before building

3.6 Manage Up

Surface what your manager needs to know

Keep your manager informed with updates that surface what they need to know.

Recruiting Application	Client Work Application
Update your TA on recruiting progress, proactively, not just when asked	Keep your EM informed so they’re never surprised

Good Update Structure:

1. Status: Where are we? (On track / At risk / Behind)
2. Progress: What did we accomplish?
3. Issues: What’s blocking us?
4. Asks: What do we need from you?
5. Next Steps: What’s coming next?

Keep it brief. One page. One minute.

TipSession 18 Activity: Manage Up

Recruiting: Prepare concise TA update

Practice managing up by preparing a concise update for your TA.

Help me prepare a concise update for my TA:

**My Current Status**
[Brief description of where you are in recruiting]

**Draft Update**
Using the 5-part structure, draft my update:

1. **Status**: Am I on track, at risk, or behind on:
   - Networking:
   - Resume:
   - Case practice:
   - Overall timeline:

2. **Progress**: What have I accomplished since our last check-in?
   - [Specific accomplishments]

3. **Issues**: What's blocking me or causing concern?
   - [Specific blockers]

4. **Asks**: What do I need help with?
   - [Specific requests]

5. **Next Steps**: What will I focus on next?
   - [Specific priorities]

**Format Check**
- Is this under 1 page / 1 minute to deliver?
- Am I being specific, not vague?
- Am I surfacing issues, not hiding them?
- Am I proposing solutions, not just problems?

**Practice Delivery**
Help me refine this to be crisp and confident.

Client Work: P2 workshop—competitive benchmark

Apply managing up skills while working on your P2 Competitive Benchmark deliverable.

Help me prepare my P2 Competitive Benchmark for [COMPANY NAME]:

**P2 Requirements**
3-slide deck:
1. Competitive Landscape
2. Benchmark Analysis
3. Strategic Implications

**Slide 1: Competitive Landscape**
- Who are 2-3 key competitors?
- How should I visualize market positioning?
- What's the right framing for this slide's message?

**Slide 2: Benchmark Analysis**
- What 4-6 metrics should I compare?
- How do I present this visually (table vs. chart)?
- What's the action title for this slide?

**Slide 3: Strategic Implications**
- What are the key insights from the benchmark?
- Where is my target company winning vs. losing?
- What does this mean for strategy?

**Feedback on Draft**
[Paste your draft slides or key content]

Review my P2:
- Is my competitor selection justified?
- Are my metrics relevant and well-researched?
- Are my slides executive-ready?
- Are my strategic insights meaningful?

3.7 Move Without Certainty

Progress with best-available information

Perfect information never arrives. Move forward with what you have.

Recruiting Application	Client Work Application
Case interviews: make progress on ambiguous prompts without asking for more data	Make analytical calls with incomplete data, state assumptions, and keep moving

Working with Ambiguity:

Wrong Approach	Right Approach
Wait for perfect data	Use best available, note limitations
Ask endless clarifying questions	Make reasonable assumptions, state them
Freeze when uncertain	Form a hypothesis and test it
Seek false precision	Use ranges and sensitivities

The 80/20 Rule:

You can often get 80% of the insight with 20% of the work. Know when “good enough” is good enough.

TipSession 17 Activity: Move Without Certainty

Recruiting: Case—navigate ambiguous prompts

Practice making progress on ambiguous case prompts without asking for more data.

Help me practice moving without certainty in a case:

**Exercise Setup**
Give me an ambiguous case prompt—one where important information is missing or unclear.

**My Approach**
[I'll work through this and share my approach]

**Feedback Questions**
Once I share my approach:
1. Did I make reasonable assumptions (stated explicitly)?
2. Did I keep moving instead of freezing?
3. Did I identify what information would change my answer?
4. Did I use ranges/sensitivities appropriately?
5. Did I avoid false precision?

**Follow-Up Pressure**
Give me a follow-up that increases ambiguity or uncertainty. Help me practice staying confident while acknowledging limitations.

Client Work: Make analytical calls with incomplete data

Practice making analytical calls when you don’t have all the data you’d like.

Help me practice making analytical calls with incomplete data:

**My Current Analysis**
[Describe an analysis you're working on where you're missing data]

**What I Have**
- Available data: [List]
- Data I wish I had: [List]
- Proxies I could use: [List]

**Making the Call**
Help me:
1. **State assumptions explicitly**: What am I assuming in the absence of data?
2. **Use reasonable proxies**: What similar data can I use?
3. **Bound the answer**: What's the range of possible outcomes?
4. **Identify the sensitivity**: What assumptions matter most?
5. **Note the limitations**: What caveats should I include?

**Draft Analysis**
Based on available information, my conclusion is [X] because [reasons].
Key assumptions: [List]
Confidence level: [High/Medium/Low]
What would change this: [List]

**Feedback**
- Is my approach reasonable given the constraints?
- Am I being appropriately humble about uncertainty?
- Am I still making progress toward an answer?

Putting It Together

The Move Work Forward actions flow:

Workplan → Own → Sequence → Reprioritize → Manage Risk → Update → Progress Without Certainty

Execution is a continuous cycle, not a one-time event.

Practice This Week

1. Workplan exercise: Create a recruiting workplan for the next 8 weeks, including networking, resume, case practice, and applications
2. Managing up exercise: Write a 5-bullet update on your recruiting progress as if you were updating your TA
3. Ambiguity exercise: Take an ambiguous case prompt and make progress without asking clarifying questions by stating your assumptions