Case_In_Point_7th_Edition_Page001_183_2

Leave that for the long-term.
Student: They could market the Hog to women.
Interviewer: They’d have to be pretty big women. The Hog is a hard bike to handle. That’s why only 2%
of Harley owners are women.
Student: Then they could market the garb. Women like to look—
Interviewer: What else?
Student: They could raise the price of garb and the price of replacement parts. We know that people
are going to continue to buy those items.
Interviewer: What else?
Student: I’m not sure. They could lay people off?
Interviewer: Are you asking me or telling me?
AnaIysis: Whenever you are answering a P&L case and they ask you for strategies, you want to do two
things: (1) write revenue-based strategies and cost-based strategies on your paper, and (2) ask for a
moment to jot down some ideas.
By writing revenue-based strategies on your paper, you are showing the interviewer that you are wellorganized
and thinking two steps ahead. It is easier to think of some ideas if you are looking at a
heading on a piece of paper instead of a blank page. It also keeps you from pingponging back and forth
between revenue-based and cost-based ideas. You want to present all the revenue-based ideas first,
then the cost-based ideas.
The reason to ask for a moment to jot down some ideas is that it allows you to think of ideas in any
order, but present them in the right order. It also gives you some place to go. Keep in mind that the
interviewer has probably given this case ten times. He knows every answer that you can think of and he’s
heard them all before. There is a good chance that he will cut you off as soon as he knows where your
answer is headed. It is very difficult for people to drop their secondary thought and then come up with a
new thought right away. When cut off in mid-thought, people tend to panic, scramble and then shut down.
They can’t think of another idea to save their lives.
If you take the time to jot down some ideas and he cuts you off, then you can just look at your notes and
give him another idea. It takes a lot of stress out of the process and makes you look more professional.
Also, if you hit a wall and can’t think of anything, try looking at your first page of notes. Remember, the
student told us a couple of great things about the economy: interest rates are way down and the dollar is
still down against the yen.
Let’s take it from the top.
Interviewer: Come up with some short-term strategies.
Student: Can I take a moment to jot down some ideas?
Interviewer: Absolutely.
The student writes revenue-based and cost-based strategies on her paper, then jots down some
ideas.
Student: Okay. I’d like to break them down by revenue-based and cost-based. I’ll start with revenue-