How to read a case

A case is a short account of a real decision: a business, a choice it faced, and the facts that were known at the time. You are not asked what happened next. You are asked what you would do, and why. Reading a case well is a skill, and it can be learned in a few sessions.

Read it twice, with a different aim each time

On the first pass, read for the story. Who is deciding, what are they deciding, and by when? Close the case and say the decision aloud in one sentence. If you cannot, you have not found it yet.

On the second pass, read for evidence. Now take a pen. Mark every fact that would change the decision if it were different, and every claim that is only an opinion. A manager who says “customers love us” has given you a mood, not a fact.

Build the decision on one page

Before the class, write a half page that holds four things:

The decision, in one sentence.
Two or three realistic options, including doing nothing.
What must be true for each option to work.
Your pick, and the single fact that would change your mind.

The last line matters most. It turns an opinion into a position you can defend and revise when someone brings new facts.

Bring the numbers, but not only the numbers

Most cases carry a table or two. Do the simple arithmetic: what does one customer cost to win, what does one sale leave after costs, how long can the business run on its cash? Rough answers are enough. They tell you which options are even possible, and they stop a good story from carrying you past a bad margin.

Then look at the people

Every decision is made by someone with a team, a boss and a reputation. Ask what each option asks of them. A plan that is right on paper and impossible for the people involved is not a good plan.

Finish by writing one question you still cannot answer. Bring it to the discussion: it is often the most useful thing you can offer. Afterwards, note what changed your mind and why.

Talk to disagree well

In a cohort discussion, the best contribution is rarely the first one. Listen for the strongest version of the view you doubt, then say what you would need to see to be persuaded. You will learn more from one good disagreement than from ten polite agreements.

Do this with every case and you will notice a change at work. Briefs and proposals start to look like cases, and you start asking the questions above before anyone asks you.

Keep reading.

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