case study interview books

Case Interview Secrets

A former mckinsey interviewer reveals how to get multiple job offers in consulting.

In Case Interview Secrets, you’ll discover step-by-step instructions on how to dominate what many consider to be:

• the most complex;
• most difficult;
• most intimidating corporate job interview in the world;

The Infamous

Case interview.

See all buying options

Secrets to Ace Your Next Case Interview

(from a former mckinsey case interviewer).

My CaseInterview.com Preparation Program provides you with free instant access to videos, frameworks, and the largest collection of free case interview training resources available online. This includes:

• Video Program – My Case Interview Secrets video program — 6 hours of training videos on how to pass the case interview;
• Downloads – PDF downloads of frameworks and slides from my Case Interview Secrets video program;
• E-Newsletter – My Case Interview Secrets e-newsletter – Tips and advice from me on how to best practice and prepare for the case interview;
• Math Practice Tool — Brush up on your case interview math with my interactive case interview math practice tool
• Partner Matching Service – Find other candidates around the world to practice case interviews with live for free. Also included is a library of cases to use in case interview practice.

We’ll never spam you or share your email. Unsubscribe at any time.

Hundreds of readers have got offers from McKinsey, Bain or BCG

“With Victor’s help, I went from not knowing anything about consulting to securing offers from McKinsey and BCG .” –Mihnea Munteanu, University of Michigan

“I received six offers–from McKinsey, BCG, Booz, Deloitte, A.T. Kearney, and Marakon . Everything Victor said was right!” –Michael Yang, Northwestern University

“Despite having a liberal arts degree from a state school, I landed a dream job with L.E.K. Consulting . Thanks, Victor.” –Jackson Boyar, Indiana University

“Victor has put me in a very difficult position–now I have to decide between offers from two of the top three consultancies!” –Christopher Perez, The Wharton School

“Victor gave me a clear understanding of how to structure a case interview using a highly logical approach. This helped me get offers from BCG and a boutique firm and make it to McKinsey’s final round before opting out.” –Martin Pustilnick, Boston Consulting Group, Argentina

“In my first attempt to break into consulting, I failed every one of my interviews with McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Oliver Wyman, Monitor, Booz and probably a few others. On my second attempt two years later, I followed everything Victor Cheng suggested and took advantage of every resource he provided … and received an offer from McKinsey!” –Daniel Suo, Business Analyst (Offer Recipient), McKinsey, Stamford

“Without Victor’s help, I never would have gotten an offer from BCG . What he teaches really makes the difference between getting an offer and not.” –Puttipath Tasnavites, Boston Consulting Group, Thailand

“After following Victor’s guidance, I had a complete breakthrough in my case interview performance and got an offer from Monitor.” –Marine Serres, Monitor & Company

“As a PhD candidate in engineering, I had an academic background that left me completely unprepared for the case interview process. That’s when I found Victor Cheng and ended up getting my dream job. Thank you, Victor!” –Zach Jacobson, McKinsey, New York

“Rather than ‘teach to the test,’ Victor teaches you how to think like a consultant. It’s an approach that required me to memorize nothing more than a few simple business ideas yet allowed me to perform well in the case interview regardless of the type of case I received. I could not have gotten my BCG offer without his help. Thank you, Victor!” –Warren Cheng, Boston Consulting Group, Hong Kong

“Victor and all his materials on the case interview are by far the best resources on the topic that exist. The combination of Victor’s advice and hard work made all the difference for me.” –Dmitry Papulin, McKinsey, Dubai

“Victor taught me how to prepare both technically and mentally, and this is what makes the difference between him and the competitors. Without his help I probably wouldn’t have gotten the offer from BCG. Thank you, Victor Cheng!” –István Mag, Boston Consulting Group, Hungary

“Victor is effective because he focuses on behaviors and habits that make you successful and not just on frameworks. With his help, I received a McKinsey Summer Associate offer.” –Abhi Patangay, Kellogg School of Management

All buying options:

Buy on Amazon Buy on Barnes & Noble

International

Buy on Amazon Canada Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon Germany Buy on Amazon France Buy on Amazon Spain Buy on Amazon Italy Buy on Amazon China Buy on Amazon Japan Buy on Amazon Russia Buy for Rest of the World

Buy from Caseinterview.com

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon UK Buy on Amazon Germany Buy on Amazon France Buy on Amazon Spain Buy on Amazon Italy Buy on Amazon Japan

Campus Book Stores – Ask the information desk regarding:

Author: victor cheng, title: case interview secrets. isbn: 978-0-9841835-2-4, other resources by victor cheng.

• www.CaseInterview.com (eMail Tips Newsletter, Articles, and Primary Website)
• www.CaseInterviewMath.com
• www.CaseInterviewPartner.com
• www.CaseInterviewCoach.com
• www.ConsultingResume.com
• www.ConsultingCoverLetter.com
• www.ConsultingSalaries.com
• www.McKinseyPST.com

Readers from 100+ Countries Around the World

Get smart with the Thesis WordPress Theme from DIYthemes.

WordPress Admin

Popular case interview books reviewed

A LOT of books offer guidance on how to navigate the case interview process. But here's the thing: time is precious when it comes to preparing for consulting interviews. You simply won't have time to read that many books.

So which ones should you go through to maximise your chances of getting a job at a top consulting firm ? Before we go into more detail, here is a quick overview of the best case interview books we would recommend:

• Cracking Case Interviews (By Max Serrano & Jonathon Yarde)
• Case Interview Secrets (By Victor Cheng)
• Interview Math (By Lewis C. Lin)

And 3 popular case interview books we would NOT recommend:

• Case in Point (by Marc Cosentino)
• 20 Days to Ace the Case (by Destin Whitehurst)
• Crack the Case System (by David Orhvall)

Keep reading to find out why we have (or have not) recommended the books listed above. 

Click here to practise 1-on-1 with MBB ex-interviewers

1. cracking case interviews, by max serrano and jonathon yarde  – recommended.

This is a little bit cheeky, but we are going to start by recommending our own case interview book. Some of the other books on this list are helpful, but none of them succinctly summarise the full set of the information you need to get a job offer from a leading consulting firm. That's why we worked on Cracking Case Interviews for over a year, to make it the most comprehensive case interview book available.

Cracking Case Interviews was designed to be the only book you'll need to read to land a job at McKinsey, BCG, Bain, or other top consulting firms. The book includes resume and cover letter tips, a step-by-step method for solving cases, 5 practise cases with detailed solutions, strategies for answering behavioural questions, and more. 

The book was written by Max Serrano and Jonathon Yarde, who are former consultants and current members of the IGotAnOffer team. Input was also provided by some of the MBB  ex-interviewers who serve as coaches on IGotAnOffer.com (more about them here ).

2.  Case Interview Secrets, by Victor Cheng – Recommended

Our recommendation

Overall, we would recommend reading Case Interview Secrets as it’s a good introduction to the case interview process. It won’t be enough to get you an interview or a job, but it’s an interesting starting point.

The pros and cons

Cheng writes very authoritatively and personably. He manages to cover a lot of ground using a structure that’s easy to follow. Its main strength is that it gives good insights on how interviewers think, what criteria they use to assess candidates, etc. The information on the difference between McKinsey’s interviewer-led cases and BCG / Bain’s candidate led-cases  is also helpful.

That being said, there are a few shortcomings to the book. First, it feels repetitive in places and the content could have been more summarised. This is one of the reasons we developed our case interview guide . Second, as we will explain further in our review of Cosentino's book below, we strongly disagree with Cheng's advice to always re-use the same two frameworks. Interviewers will notice and penalise you if you do this. And third, the book does not include practise cases which would have been helpful to apply the concepts laid out.

Author and content

Victor Cheng is a former management consultant at McKinsey in the US. He is also an independent consultant for mid-size US companies.

The book is split across seven sections. It begins with an overview of the interview and how candidates are assessed. This is followed by a section on maths and a section on the basic tools that are needed when solving cases. Section four details Cheng's two basic frameworks for approaching case studies. The following two sections look at case study formats, and the book concludes on how to combine all of the above skills in order to succeed.

3.  Interview Math, by Lewis C. Lin - Recommended

As maths are an important part of case studies, we would recommend this guide. But don't read it on its own: pair it with other guides that focus on case interviews.

This is a great book for those looking to strengthen their quantitative skills before their interviews. It is clear, concise, well-structured, and authoritative. The style is less "businessy" than many of the other guides we mention here; the tone is a little more informal and friendly.  

That being said, this guide only focuses on getting you comfortable with the numbers. It does not aim to do anything else. For a wider perspective on case interviews, it's essential you look at other material too. Interview Math also suffers a little from being repetitive.

Lewis C. Lin is the former Director of Product Management at Microsoft. Besides being the CEO of the coaching firm Impact Interview, he also appears on news outlets such as Business Insider and The Atlantic.

In just ~150 pages, the book does a thorough job of defining different kinds of concepts, including market sizing, revenue estimates, profitability, breakeven, price elasticity, and lifetime value. For each topic, the book also provides problems that go from simple to complex, which are broken down in a way that makes them easy to understand.

4.  Case in Point, by Marc Cosentino – Not recommended

Our Recommendation

This will probably be controversial, but although it's been the best-selling case interview book on Amazon for a long time, we do NOT recommend reading Case in Point.  The main reason is that the whole book relies on learning and applying a series of 10+ frameworks to crack cases. As we have explained in the past, your interviewer will penalise you if you use a  pre-defined case framework  and you should avoid this at all costs. 

Cosentino's style is fun and conversational, and he brings many anecdotes to the table from the time he has spent helping students prepare for management consulting interviews. The book is well laid out and easy to follow. It also includes sample cases and a short section on how to behave in interviews which are helpful.

However, as hinted above, interviewers will immediately spot if you are trying to force-fit their case into a predefined framework from Case in Point. In our experience, instead of learning frameworks by heart, the best candidates invest time and energy into learning how to build custom frameworks  for every case. It's actually much easier than you might think!

Marc Cosentino is the former Associate Director of Career Services at Harvard. 

Cosentino's guide is ~250 pages long. It begins with a general section on the interview, tackles different case types next, then moves on to a description of Cosentino's "system". Finally, additional frameworks are detailed.

5.  20 Days to Ace the Case, by Destin Whitehurst - Not recommended

The concepts covered in this book are interesting, but we find the 20-day "boot-camp" structure to be somewhat gimmicky. If you want to purchase the book, we would recommend reading it to learn about the concepts it covers. But we would not recommend you follow its 20-day structure to prepare for your interviews, because we don't feel you will be prepared enough after following it.

The book introduces concepts such as the profitability framework and internal vs. external frameworks which you should know about for your consulting interviews. The writing is crisp and clear, and divided into short engaging chapters. Throughout the book there are brief anecdotes on interview experiences which make it entertaining.  

There are two main drawbacks to the book. First, it assumes that you have already done substantial research on consulting interviews. For instance, the behavioural part of consulting interviews is not addressed in depth. Second, 9 of the 20 days in the programme are dedicated to doing a mock interview. While doing mock cases is sound advice, in our experience, most candidates who are successful at case interviews have done 30+ cases. We therefore don't recommend following the 20-day structure to the letter.

Destin Whitehurst is a senior consultant at Deloitte.

The book is divided across twenty chapters that should be read in twenty days, as a lead up to the actual interview. Besides offering daily exercises, the book describes various consulting firms, nine mock interviews, advice on what questions to ask the interviewer, anecdotes from past candidates, and strategic insights from the author.

6.  Crack the Case System, by David Orhvall – Not recommended

We don't want you entering the interview with too much clutter in your mind. Interview guides should be thorough, but they should also be distilled. We find that Crack the Case System really overcomplicates case interviews. As a result, we recommend that you pass over this one.

The book does a good job of guiding the reader through every step of the process while providing a holistic approach to cases. It doesn't rely on strict frameworks either.

The main challenge we found with this book is that it tends to over complicate case interviews. One issue is the excessive use of mnemonics, through trademarked short forms like IMPACT and SPECIALT. The other issue is that the book is a companion piece to a very large amount of online material that includes test cases and a collection of videos. This is all very time-consuming and repetitive, rather than getting to the point.

David Orhvall was a management and operational consultant at Bain & Company.

The book is ~300 pages long and categorises 13 different case types or "roadmaps". It covers every aspect of the interview: how to think like a consultant and how to tackle quantitative problems, how to communicate effectively, how to engage in small-talk, and how to arrange notes.

Our overall recommendation is that you prepare with Cracking Case Interviews . If after this you still want more guidance and would like to read more books, then we would recommend picking up a copy of Case Interview Secrets and Interview Maths .

What case interview book are you considering reading?

We are keen to hear your thoughts on case interview books. Do you agree with our list? Which ones are you considering reading? If you have read any, which ones would you recommend? 

Mock interviews

Once you've read the books and prepared writing out answers, you'll need to start practising your communication skills. How you solve each case is important, but your interviewers will also be evaluating how you COMMUNICATE your answers. It's important to speak in a structured way that makes it easy to clearly understand your points.

The best way to hone your communication skills is to practise interviewing out loud, and you can do that in three main ways:

• Interview yourself (out loud)
• Practise interviewing with friends or family
• Practise interviewing with ex-interviewers

Practising by yourself is a great way to get started, and can help you get more comfortable with the flow of a case interview. However, this type of practice won’t prepare you for realistic interview conditions. 

After getting some practice on your own, you should find someone who can do a mock interview with you, like a friend or family member.

We’d also recommend that you practise 1-1 with ex-interviewers from top consulting firms . This is the best way to replicate the conditions of a real case interview, and to get feedback from someone who understands the process extremely well.

Click here to book your mock case interview.

Related articles:

• Business & Economics
• Analysis & Strategy

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Case Interview Secrets: A Former McKinsey Interviewer Reveals How to Get Multiple Job Offers in Consulting Paperback – 2 April 2012

Save extra with 3 offers.

• Free Delivery

7 days Replacement

• Amazon Delivered
• Pay on Delivery
• Secure transaction

Replacement Instructions

Purchase options and add-ons

• Print length 292 pages
• Language English
• Publication date 2 April 2012
• Dimensions 15.24 x 1.85 x 22.86 cm
• ISBN-10 0984183523
• ISBN-13 978-0984183524
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Products related to this item

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Innovation Press, LLC (2 April 2012); Innovation Press, LLC
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0984183523
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0984183524
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 432 g
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 1.85 x 22.86 cm
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ India
• Importer ‏ : ‎ Innovation Press, LLC
• Packer ‏ : ‎ Innovation Press, LLC
• Generic Name ‏ : ‎ Books
• #207 in Industries
• #1,824 in Analysis & Strategy

About the author

Victor cheng.

Victor Cheng is a strategic advisor to Inc 500 CEOs. He has been featured as an business expert by the Fox Business Television Network, MSNBC, Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Business Review, Fortune Small Business, SmartMoney, Forbes, Inc., and Entrepreneur magazine.

Victor is a former McKinsey & Company consultant and has been a senior executive in several publicly owned technology companies. He’s a graduate of Stanford University and is the author of Extreme Revenue Growth, The Recession-Proof Business, and Case Interview Secrets.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 68% 20% 7% 3% 2% 68%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 68% 20% 7% 3% 2% 20%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 68% 20% 7% 3% 2% 7%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 68% 20% 7% 3% 2% 3%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 68% 20% 7% 3% 2% 2%
• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from India

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Press Releases
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell under Amazon Accelerator
• Protect and Build Your Brand
• Amazon Global Selling
• Become an Affiliate
• Fulfilment by Amazon
• Advertise Your Products
• Amazon Pay on Merchants
• Your Account
• Returns Centre
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• 100% Purchase Protection
• Amazon App Download

• Conditions of Use & Sale
• Privacy Notice
• Interest-Based Ads

Center for Career Development

Case Interview Preparation

Case interviews are designed to test an applicant’s ability to solve business problems and demonstrate skills valued in the consulting field. Firms seek applicants who can think logically and strategically under pressure, give evidence of strong communication skills and exhibit the ability to work with a team to address often quickly changing priorities.

What is a case interview?

Interviewers present a hypothetical business challenge and assess how you explore the problem and conceptualize and structure a solution. As you process the case they are looking for key traits and skills. Interviewers assess how you: 

• Listen to information about the business problem and probe deeply or broadly with thoughtful questions posed to the interviewer while building rapport
• Think out loud and express your ideas concisely, responding quickly and confidently, and deal with the pressure of the interview process
• Use quantitative and qualitative analysis to creatively and logically problem-solve
• Toggle between details and the big picture 
• Communicate understanding of business concepts such as falling markets, introducing a new product or entering a new geographic area

Which traits are consulting firms seeking in candidates?

Interviewers use case interviews (and any behavioral interviews that may follow) to assess the skills listed above and your flexibility. They want to see how easily you can change direction, both in your understanding of client problems and your ability to navigate unpredictable situations with clients and others. The ability to get along with different personalities and to integrate into teams with new co-workers and client partners is an important skill. 

Some positions require frequent travel to client sites. They seek candidates who can change venues frequently and work in unstructured work environments without an office or administrative support.

How long is a case interview?

A preliminary, first-round interview is typically one case for 30 minutes to an hour. Additional interviews may include several cases conducted by different professionals within a few hours.

How to prepare

Review multiple sources to gain information and insights. You should also prepare for behavioral interview questions, which may follow your case or be part of subsequent interviews. You can find preparation tips for behavioral interviewing in our interview guide , and library of resources includes more than 500 cases, nine video courses, 10,000 case drills, 11 industry primers, and 12 chatbot cases through Management Consulted .

Other strategies to prepare include:

• Review sample cases and outline your answers  
• Practice mental math to work with quantitative data more easily
• Review brain teasers and practice solving them
• Practice case interviews with friends who you know are also applying to consulting opportunities
• Contact alumni who work in consulting (you can start by looking up alumni in Career Compass ) to learn more from them or practice cases with them 
• Attend information sessions with consulting employers to learn about their case interview processes
• Study the consulting organization with which you are interviewing to understand their types of clients 
• Keep current on business issues and financial markets to understand trends 
• Be prepared to devote time over a number of weeks to become proficient with the different types of case interview questions

Where can I find more resources to help?

Management consulted.

All Princeton undergraduates, graduate students and alumni have free access to Management Consulted , a consulting and case interview prep resource. 

Consulting companies' websites

Many of the top consulting firms offer their advice about case interview preparation. Some of them include interactive case practices which will give you a chance to walk through cases.

Videos and podcasts

Some of the major consulting firms have videos or YouTube videos of case interviews.  Others may be created by former consultants, or firms who provide paid coaching services as well as free resources, such as podcasts and videos.

Firsthand is a tool to research employers, industries and other career subjects. Access is free for Princeton students courtesy of the Princeton University Library. The Firsthand Guide to the Case Interviews reviews case interview format, suggestions for preparation and evaluation tips. 

Students and alumni have cited these books as being helpful: 

• Case in Point (Marc Cosentino)
• Case Interview Secrets (Victor Cheng)
• Crack the Case System (David Orhvall)
• Cracking Case Interviews (Max Serrano & Jonathan Yarde)

Brain teasers/open-ended questions

Practice brain teasers, which require logical and quick-thinking to highlight problem-solving skills, attributes that are helpful for case interviewing. Brain teasers are not usually business-focused problems. An example would be: How many gas stations are there in the U.S.? 

• Five Terrific Brain Teaser Questions (Indeed)
• How to Solve Google’s Crazy Open-Ended Interview Questions (Wired)
• 7 Insane Brain Teasers You Could Actually Encounter in an Interview (The Muse)
• How to Ace Guesstimate Interview Questions (Firsthand)
• How to Answer Brainteaser Interview Questions (Big Interview)

There are many consulting preparation-related websites that can help you navigate or practice case interviews. They typically provide free resources such as case walkthroughs, directories of consulting firms, annual consulting salaries data, but also have paid resources such as case interview prep assistance. 

Consulting student groups and case competitions

Join Princeton student groups (e.g., Princeton University Graduate Consulting Club or Princeton University Nonprofit Consulting) to build connections and gain experience with consulting through speakers, projects and case competitions.

A case competition can be organized by student groups or consulting organizations. Teams of three to six tackle a real-world case by identifying key problems and providing a strategy for the client throughout a limited time period. In general, a group of representatives serves as judges, and they choose the best team(s) who may receive bragging rights, corporate gear or actual cash prizes. 

Although case competition format or style may differ around the industry (e.g., finance, management consulting, healthcare), they all provide students with hands-on exposure to consulting with the opportunity to apply various skills (e.g., problem-solving, teamwork, critical thinking).

Related Resources

The Best Case Interview Books to Ace Your Consulting Interview

‍ As someone who has gone through dozens of consulting interviews, I can tell you that it is not a walk in the park. Consulting firms use case interviews to test your problem-solving, your mental agility, and your communication, to name just a few. To ace your consulting interview, you need to be well-prepared – one of the best ways to get ramped up quickly in the early days of your case prep is by reading case interview books . In this article, I will share the best case interview books that will help you prepare for your consulting interview.

Introduction to Case Interviews

A case interview is a type of job interview in which the candidate is presented with a business problem or scenario and asked to solve it. The candidate is expected to ask questions, gather information, and provide solutions to the problem. Case interviews are commonly used by consulting firms to assess a candidate’s ability to think critically, analyze data, and communicate effectively.

Why You Need Case Interview Books

Case interview books are an essential part of your consulting interview preparation. These books provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to solve complex business problems. They help you understand the structure of case interviews, the types of questions you can expect, and the best way to approach each question. Case interview books also provide you with practice cases and sample solutions, which allow you to practice your problem-solving skills.

Top Qualities to Look for When Selecting Case Interview Books

There are several qualities you should look for when selecting your top case interview books . Here are what some of the best case interview prep books have in common:

• Comprehensive content: The best case interview prep books  cover a wide range of topics, including case interview frameworks, market sizing, business situations, and various industries. This will ensure that you are well-prepared for different types of cases you might encounter during your interviews.
• Clear and concise explanations: A good case interview book should provide clear and easy-to-understand explanations of complex concepts and frameworks, making it easier for you to grasp and apply them during your practice sessions and interviews.
• Real-life case examples: The best case interview books include a variety of real-life case examples with detailed solutions, allowing you to understand the thought process behind solving different types of cases and to practice applying the frameworks and concepts you’ve learned.
• Step-by-step approach: A well-structured book should guide you through a step-by-step approach to case interview preparation, starting from the basics and gradually progressing to more advanced topics and techniques.
• Tips and strategies: The best case interview prep books generablly provide valuable tips and strategies for tackling case interviews, such as how to structure your thoughts, ask the right questions, and present your findings effectively.
• Practice questions and exercises: case interview books that include numerous practice questions and exercises are always more helpful than those that do not. This enables you to apply the concepts and frameworks you’ve learned and to hone your skills through practice.
• Up-to-date information: The best case interview books are up-to-date with the latest trends and changes in the consulting industry, as this will make your preparation more relevant and effective. That said, don’t throw out a case book just because it’s old – some of my favorites are 5+ years old and still have some of the best cases I know!

The Best Case Interview Books For Your Prep

• Case In Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation by Marc P. Cosentino
• Case Interview Secrets: A Former McKinsey Interviewer Reveals How to Get Multiple Job Offers in Consulting by Victor Cheng
• The Harvard Business School Case Interview Workbook: With 65+ Cases and Other Interview Questions and Tips by Robert M. Case
• Crack the Case System: Complete Case Interview Prep by David Ohrvall
• Consulting Interview Case Preparation: A Complete Guide by Shaun Glassman

A Comprehensive Review of the Best Case Interview Prep Books

1. Case In Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation by Marc P. Cosentino

Case In Point is perhaps the most popular of the case interview book s on the market. It is a comprehensive guide to case interviews and provides a clear understanding of the structure of case interviews, the types of questions you can expect, and the best way to approach each question. The book also has a good selection of practice cases and sample solutions, which allow you to practice your problem-solving skills. That said, I personally find it to be too generic and focuses a bit too much on the what and less on the why of casing.

• Comprehensive guide to case interviews
• Great for beginners starting at 0
• Clear understanding of the structure of case interviews
• Good selection of practice cases and sample solutions
• Written by an expert in the field
• Outdated in approach
• Frameworks are often generic
• Can be too detailed for some readers
• Much less valuable after the candidate has even a basic understanding of cases

2. Case Interview Secrets: A Former McKinsey Interviewer Reveals How to Get Multiple Job Offers in Consulting by Victor Cheng

Case Interview Secrets is written by a former McKinsey interviewer and provides a unique perspective on case interviews. The book provides a clear understanding of the structure of case interviews, the types of questions you can expect, and the best way to approach each question. The book also has a good selection of practice cases and sample solutions, which allow you to practice your problem-solving skills. Like case in point I also do not love this casebook as it is quite outdated and uses an old-school approach to casing. It’s very much focused on classic case types, which are becoming ever-less common.

• Written by a former McKinsey interviewer
• Unique perspective on case interviews
• Some of the cases are too easy
• Outdated approach
• Generic frameworks
• Focuses more on classic case types/frameworks, rather than the thinking

3. The Harvard Business School Case Interview Workbook: With 65+ Cases and Other Interview Questions and Tips by Robert Mellon

The Harvard Business School Case Interview Workbook is a comprehensive guide to case interviews. The book provides a clear understanding of the structure of case interviews, the types of questions you can expect, and the best way to approach each question. The book also has a good selection of practice cases and sample solutions, which allow you to practice your problem-solving skills.

• Some readers may find the writing style too dry

4. Crack the Case System: Complete Case Interview Prep by David Ohrvall

Crack the Case System is a comprehensive guide to case interviews. The book provides a clear understanding of the structure of case interviews, the types of questions you can expect, and the best way to approach each question. The book also has a good selection of practice cases and sample solutions, which allow you to practice your problem-solving skills.

• Some readers may find the writing style too simplistic

5. Consulting Interview Case Preparation: A Complete Guide by Shaun Glassman

Consulting Interview Case Preparation is a comprehensive guide to case interviews. The book provides a clear understanding of the structure of case interviews, the types of questions you can expect, and the best way to approach each question. The book also has a good selection of practice cases and sample solutions, which allow you to practice your problem-solving skills.

Bonus: Breakdown of Some of My Favorite MBA Case Interview Books

Ross Casebook

The Ross casebook offers a comprehensive overview of firms, industries, and key concepts. Its cases also come with proposed frameworks, making it a valuable resource for case interview preparation. In my view it’s one of the best case interview prep books for those looking for more in-depth industry and company breakdowns.

Columbia Casebook

Ideal for candidates in the later stages of their preparation, the Columbia casebook categorizes cases by industry, case type, and firm (e.g., BCG, Bain). Additionally, it assesses the difficulty of each case across math, structure, and creativity, helping you focus on specific areas of improvement. This is one of best case interview books  if you’re looking to get a wide range of lots of different cases across case types, industry, and difficult level.

Stern Casebook

You might think I’m biased to say that the Stern casebook is one of the best case interview books out there, but it truly is! It provides an excellent industry overview and features clear, easy-to-follow cases. Cases are organized by interviewer-led and interviewee-led formats and ranked by difficulty, allowing for a tailored practice experience. Their cases are clear and easy to read (especially as an interviewer), and they provide a great range of scenarios and case flows.

Haas Casebook

Similar to the Stern casebook, the Haas casebook categorizes cases by interviewer-led and interviewee-led formats and ranks them by difficulty, making it another useful resource for honing your case interview skills. Haas goes quite in depth in the process of the case interview and how to prepare optimally, joining it with Ross in the category best case interview prep books for those just starting out.

Darden Casebook

The Darden casebook sorts cases by firm and industry and ranks them by difficulty across quantitative, qualitative, and overall aspects, offering a well-rounded collection of cases to practice with. While I find the cases a bit easier and more straightforward in terms of flow, when I’m trying to trip up a candidate in math Darden cases are my go-to. While most case interview books have math, Darden has a great range and difficulty of case math.

The Right Caser

However, the best case interview book you can have is…drumroll…a great case partner! Remember that simply reading a “hard” case from a particular company or having a friend case you is not enough. The way you are cased is crucial for your success. An experienced coach can make even the easiest case feel like a nightmare, so if you’re looking to be thoroughly prepared for the toughest cases, consider hiring a professional coach. The key lies in the delivery of the case!

How to Choose the Best Case Interview Book for You

Choosing out of all of our list  best case interview books depends on your personal preferences and needs. Consider the following factors when choosing a case interview book :

• Your level of experience: If you are a beginner, choose a case interview book that provides a clear understanding of the structure of case interviews and the types of questions you can expect. If you are more experienced, choose a book that provides more challenging cases and advanced techniques.
• Your learning style: Choose a case interview book that suits your learning style. If you prefer a more visual approach, choose a book with diagrams and charts. If you prefer a more interactive approach, choose a book with practice cases and sample solutions.

Your career goals: Choose a case interview book that is relevant to your career goals. If you are applying to a specific consulting firm, choose a book that focuses on that firm’s interview style.

Reminder: Your Caser Matters Just As Much (If Not More!) Than The Case Itself

Bear in mind that most cases can be somewhat unrealistic, and no case will perfectly match what you’ll face during an actual interview. Therefore, the key is to gain exposure to a wide variety of cases (both standard and nonstandard) and interviewers. If you’re truly looking to push yourself and prepare for the toughest cases, consider hiring a coach, as their expert delivery and guidance can be invaluable in ensuring your success. Please keep in mind the following to optimize your casing experience:

Find Good Case Partners: When preparing for case interviews, it’s essential to recognize the importance of having good case partners, not just good case interview books ; Even the best case interview books can’t overcome a bad caser. Working with skilled casers who push you during the process is crucial to helping you prepare for even the most challenging interviews.

Get a Diverse Set of Case Partners: It is important to collaborate with a diverse range of case partners, rather than solely relying on one or two friends. This diversity in partners exposes you to various case styles, perspectives, and techniques, thus broadening your understanding and skillset. 

Can Others in Cases That You Struggled In: Take the time to case others with the cases that you struggled with. You can learn as much by casing others as by being cased. Look at what they do well, and look to incorporate. Look at what they do poorly, and avoid. The more times you give a case you struggled in, the more you’ll learn about that case and start to understand it.

Consider Coaching: The way you are cased matters more than the specific case or casebook you use, so consider hiring a coach if you’re aiming to be prepared for the most demanding cases.

Other Resources for Case Interview Preparation

Apart from case interview books , there are other resources you can use to prepare for your consulting interview. These include:

• Consulting firm websites: Most consulting firms provide information on their interview process and the types of questions they ask. Use this information to prepare for your interview.
• Online forums: There are several online forums where candidates discuss their consulting interview experiences and share tips and advice.
• Consulting clubs: Join a consulting club at your school or university. These clubs often offer case interview workshops and practice sessions. Additionally, from there you can generally access a range of  case interview books

Preparing for McKinsey Imbellus?

If you’re preparing for the McKinsey Imbellus, casebooks won’t help. We highly recommend the  #1 Simulation in the market  

Conclusion: The Importance of Using the Best Case Interview Prep Books in Your Consulting Interview Prep

Case interview books are an essential part of your consulting interview preparation. They provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to solve complex business problems. The best case interview books are comprehensive, have a good selection of practice cases and sample solutions, include tips and strategies, and are well organized . Choose a book that suits your personal preferences and needs, and use other resources such as consulting firm websites, online forums, and consulting clubs to further prepare for your interview. With the right preparation, you can ace your consulting interview and land your dream job.

Recommended For You

Want to learn how to ace your case interview? Found this article useful? We recommend the following to help you level up and get that offer:

The World of Frameworks

360° Course

2. Interview Preparation

Additional articles.

• Case Interviews
• Fit / Behavioral Interview
• Frameworking
• Interview Preparation
• Market Sizing

Ace Your Interview: The Ultimate Consulting Case Interview Cheat Sheet

How to Answer ‘Why Consulting?’ in Interviews: A Comprehensive Guide

Consulting Survival Guide

Generalist Vs Specialist Firm Interviews

When To Seek Help From A Coach For Case Interviews

Mastering Case Study Frameworks: A Comprehensive Guide for Success

Insert/edit link.

Enter the destination URL

Or link to existing content

35 Case Interviews Examples from MBB / Big Four Firms

Studying case interview examples is one of the first steps in preparing for the  management consulting  recruitment process. If you don’t want to spend hours searching the web, this article presents a comprehensive and convenient list for you – with 35 example cases, 16 case books, along with a case video accompanied by detailed feedback on tips and techniques.

A clear understanding of “what is a case interview” is essential for effective use of these examples. I suggest reading our  Case Interview 101  guide, if you haven’t done so.

McKinsey case interview examples

Mckinsey practice cases.

• Diconsa Case
• Electro-Light Case
• GlobaPharm Case
• National Education Case

What should I know about McKinsey Case interviews?

At McKinsey, case interviews often follow the interviewer-led format , where the interviewer asks you multiple questions for you to answer with short pitches.

How do you nail these cases? Since the questions can be grouped into predictable types, an efficient approach is to master each question type. However, do that after you’ve mastered the case interview fundamentals!

For a detailed guide on interviewer-led cases, check out our article on McKinsey Case Interview .

BCG & Bain case interview examples

Bcg practice cases.

• BCG – Written Case – Chateau Boomerang

Bain practice cases

• Bain – Coffee Shop Co.
• Bain – Fashion Co.
• Bain – Mock Interview – Associate Consultant
• Bain – Mock Interview – Consultant

What should I know about BCG & Bain case interviews?

Unlike McKinsey, BCG and Bain case interviews typically follow the candidate-led format – which is the opposite of interviewer-led, with the candidate driving the case progress by actively breaking down problems in their own way.

The key to acing candidate-led cases is to master the case interview fundamental concepts as well as the frameworks.

Some BCG and Bain offices also utilize written case interviews – you have to go through a pile of data slides, select the most relevant ones to answer a set of interviewer questions, then deliver those answers in a presentation.

For a detailed guide on candidate-led cases, check out our article on BCG & Bain Case Interview .

Deloitte case interview examples

Deloitte practice cases.

Undergrad Cases

• Human Capital – Technology Institute
• Human Capital – Agency V
• Strategy – Federal Benefits Provider
• Strategy – Extreme Athletes
• Technology – Green Apron
• Technology – Big Bucks Bank
• Technology – Top Engine
• Technology – Finance Agency

Advanced Cases

• Human Capital – Civil Cargo Bureau
• Human Capital – Capital Airlines
• Strategy – Club Co
• Strategy – Health Agency
• Technology – Waste Management
• Technology – Bank of Zurich
• Technology – Galaxy Fitness

What should I know about Deloitte case interviews?

Case interviews at Deloitte also lean towards the candidate-led format like BCG and Bain.

The Deloitte consultant recruitment process also features group case interviews , which not only test analytical skills but also place a great deal on interpersonal handling.

Accenture case interview examples

Accenture divides its cases into three types with very cool-sounding names.

Sorted in descending order of popularity, they are:

These are similar to candidate-led cases at Bain and BCG. albeit shorter – the key is to develop a suitable framework and ask the right questions to extract data from the interviewer.

These are similar to the market-sizing and guesstimate questions asked in interviewer-led cases – demonstrate your calculations in structured, clear-cut, logical steps and you’ll nail the case.

These cases have you sort through a deluge of data to draw solutions; however, this type of case is rare.

Capital One case interview examples

Capital One is the odd one on this list – it is a bank-holding company. Nonetheless, this being one of the biggest banks in America, it’s interesting to see how its cases differ from the consulting ones.

Having gone through Capital One’s guide to its cases, I can’t help but notice the less-MECE structure of the sample answers. Additionally, there seems to be a greater focus on the numbers.

Nonetheless, having a solid knowledge of the basics of case interviews will not hurt you – if anything, your presentation will be much more in-depth, comprehensive, and understandable!

See Capital One Business Analyst Case Interview for an example case and answers.

Other firms case interview examples

Besides the leading ones, we have some examples from other major consulting firms as well.

• Oliver Wyman – Wumbleworld
• Oliver Wyman – Aqualine
• LEK – Cinema
• LEK – Market Sizing
• Kearney – Promotional Planning
• OC&C – Imported Spirits
• OC&C – Leisure Clubs

Consulting clubs case books

In addition to official cases, here are a few case books you can use as learning materials.

Do keep in mind: don’t base your study on frameworks and individual case types, but master the fundamentals so you can tackle any kind of case.

• Wharton Consulting Club Case Book
• Tuck Consulting Club Case Book
• MIT Sloan Consulting Club Case Book
• LBS Consulting Club Case Book
• Kellogg Consulting Club Case Book
• INSEAD Consulting Club Case Book
• Harvard Consulting Club Case Book
• ESADE Consulting Club Case Book
• Darden Consulting Club Case Book
• Berkeley Consulting Club Case Book
• Notre-Dame Consulting Club Case Book
• Illinois Consulting Club Case Book
• Columbia Consulting Club Case Book
• Duke Consulting Club Case Book
• Ross Consulting Club Case Book
• Kearney Case Book

Case interview example – Case video

The limitation of most official case interview examples is that they are either too short and vague, or in text format, or both.

To solve that problem for you, we’ve extracted a 30-minute-long, feedback-rich case sample from our Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program .

This is a candidate-led, profitability case on an internet music broadcasting company called Pandora.

In 30 minutes, this candidate demonstrates the exact kind of shortcoming that most candidates suffer during real case interviews – they come in with sharp business senses, then hurt their own chances with inadequate techniques.

Here are seven notable areas where the candidate (and you) can improve:

Thanking Throughout the case, as especially in the opening, he should have shown more appreciation for the time the interviewer spent with him.

Structured opening The candidate’s opening of the case feels unstructured. He could have improved it by not mixing the playback and clarification parts. You can learn to nail the case in a 3-minute start through this video on How to Open Any Case Perfectly .

Explicitness A lot of the candidate’s thought process remains in his head; in a case interview, it’s better to be as explicit as possible – draw your issue tree out and point to it as you speak; state your hypothesis when you move into a branch; when you receive data, acknowledge it out loud.

Avoiding silence The silence in his case performance is too long, including his timeout and various gaps in his speech; either ask for timeout (and keep it as short as possible) or think out loud to fill those gaps.

Proactivity The candidate relies too much on the interviewer (e.g: asking for data when it can easily be calculated); you don’t want to appear lazy before your interviewer, so avoid this.

Avoiding repeating mistakes Making one mistake twice is a big no-no in consulting interviews; one key part of the consulting skill set is the ability to learn, and repeating your mistakes (especially if the interviewer has pointed it out) makes you look like someone who doesn’t learn.

Note-taking Given the mistakes this candidate makes, he’s probably not taking his notes well. I can show you how to get it right if you watch this video on Case Interview Note-Taking .

Nonetheless, there are three good points you can learn from the candidate:

The candidate sums up what he’s covered and announces his upcoming approach at the start and at key points in the case – this is a very good habit that gives you a sense of direction and shows that you’re an organized person.

The candidate performs a “reality check” on whether his actions match the issue tree; in a case interview it’s easy to lose track of what you’re doing, so remember to do this every once in a while.

The candidate prompts the interviewer to give out more data than he asked for; if anything, this actually matches a habit of real consultants, and if you’re lucky, your interviewer may actually give out important pieces you haven’t thought of.

These are only part of the “ninja tips” taught In our Case Interview E2E Secrets Program – besides the math and business intuition for long-term development, a key feature is the instant-result tips and techniques for case interviews.

Once you’ve mastered them, you can nail any case they throw at you!

For more “quality” practice, let’s have a mock case interview with former consultants from McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Oliver Wyman, Strategy& and many other consulting firms. They will help you identify your problem areas and give you actionable feedback, making your preparation much easier and faster.

Hi! This is Kim and welcome to another performance in the Tips & Techniques part of our amazing End-to-end program. You are about to hear a really interesting performance.

There is a common Myth that Profitability cases are easier. Well, for beginners, that’s may make sense, but I would argue that Profitability cases can be really tricky and candidates without good foundation will make about the same level of mistakes regardless of type of cases given.

The profitability case we are about to watch will show that. It’s a very unconventional

Profitability. It started out like a typical one but getting more and more tricky toward the end.

The candidate is fairly good in term of business intuition, but the Tips & Techniques aspect needs a lot of fine tune! Now let’s go ahead and get started! 

It’s actually a little better to playback the case information and ask clarifications. The candidate does not distinguish between the two and do both at a same time. Also, the candidate was asking these clarifications in an unorganized and unstructured fashion. This is not something terrible, but could have been better, especially when this is the very first part of the case, where the crucial first impression is being formed.

My pitch would sound like this:

“That’s a very interesting problem and I am happy to get the chance to solve it. First of all let me tell you my understanding of the case context and key objectives. Then I would like to ask a few clarifying questions regarding a few terminology and concepts. Both of these are to make sure that I will be solving the right problem.

So here is my understanding of the case: The client is ABC. Here are some DEF facts about the situation we just talked about. And the key case question is XYZ.

Does that correctly and adequately summarize the case?”

Once the interviewer confirms, I would move to the clarification part as follows: “Now I would like to ask a few clarification questions. There are three of them: No 1, … No 2, … and No 3, …”

You may see above pitch as obvious but that’s a perfect example of how you should open any cases. Every details matters. We will point out those details in just a second. But before we do that, it’s actually very helpful if you can go back, listen carefully to the above pitch, and try to point out the great components yourselves. Only after that, go back to this point and learn it all together.

Alright, let’s break down the perfect opening.

First of all, you hear me say: “That’s a very interesting problem and I am happy to get a chance to solve it”. This seems trivial but very beneficial in multiple ways:

1. I bought myself a couple of seconds to calm down and get focused. 2. By nature, we as human unconsciously like those who give us compliments. Nothing better than opening the case with a modest compliment to the interviewer.

And (c) I showed my great attitude towards the case, which the interviewer would assume is the same for real future consulting business problems.

You should do that in your interviews too. Say it and accompany it with the best smile you can give. It shows that you are not afraid of any problems. In fact, you love them and you are always ready for them.

Secondly, I did what I refer to as the “map habit”, which is to always say what you are about to do and then do it. Just like somebody in the car showing the drivers the route before cruising on the road. The driver would love it. This is where I said: “Let me tell you my understanding of the case context and key objectives. Then ABC…”.

Third, right at the beginning of the case, I try to be crystal clear and easy to follow. I don’t let the interviewer confused between playing the case vs. asking clarification questions. I distinguish between the two really carefully. This habit probably doesn’t change the outcome of how the case goes that much, but it certainly significantly changes the impression the interviewer has of me.

Fourth, in playing back the case, each person would have a different way to re-phrase. But there are three buckets to always include:

1. Who is the client 2. The facts regarding the client and the situation and (c) The key question and the objective of the case.

Fifth, after playing the case context and objectives, I pause for a second and ALIGN with the interviewer: “Does it correctly and adequately summarize the case?”. This is a habit that every consulting manager loves for young consultants to do. Nobody wants first-year folks to spend weeks of passion and hard-work building an excel model that the team can’t use. This habit is extensively taught at McKinsey, Bain and BCG, so therefore interviewers would love somebody that exhibits this habit often in case interview.

Lastly, when asking clarification questions, you hear me number them very carefully to create the strong impression that I am very organized and structured. I said I have three clarifying questions. Then I number them as I go through each. No.1, No.2, and No.3.

Sometimes, during interviews it’s hard to know exactly how many items you are going to get. One way is to take timeout often to carefully plan your pitch. If this is not possible in certain situations, you may skip telling how many items you have; but you should definitely still number your question: No.1, No.2; and so on. 

Just a moment ago, the candidate actually exhibited a good habit. After going through his clarification questions, the candidate ended by asking the “is there anything else” question. In this case, I actually give out an important piece of data.

Though this is not very common as not every interviewer is that generous in giving out data. But this is a habit management consultants have to have every day when talking to experts, clients, or key stakeholders. The key is to get the most data and insights out of every interview and this is the type of open-ended question every consultant asks several times a day.

To show of this habit in a case interview is very good!

There are three things I would like you to pay attention to:

First, it took the candidate up to 72 seconds to “gather his thoughts”. This is a little too long in a case interview. I intentionally leave the 72 seconds of silence in the recording so you get an idea of how long that is in real situations. But it’s worth-noting here is not only that. While in some very complicated and weird cases, it’s ok to take that long to really think and gather ideas. In this case, the approach as proposed by the candidate is very simple. For this very approach, I think no more than 15 to 20 seconds should be used.

No.2, with that said, I have told I really like the fact that this candidate exhibits the “map” habit. Before going straight to the approach he draws the overall approach first.

No.3. You also see here that the candidate tried to align the approach with me by asking my thoughts on it. As I just said on the previous comment, this is a great habit to have. Not only does it help reduce chance of going into the wrong direction in case interviews, but it also creates a good impression. Consulting interviewers love people doing it often!

Here we see a not-really-bad response that for sure could be much better. The candidate was going into the first branch of the analysis which is Revenue. I would fix this in 3 aspects:

First, even though we just talked about the overall approach, it’s still better to briefly set up the issue tree first then clearly note that you are going into one branch.

Second, this is not a must, but I always try to make my hypothesis as explicitly clear as possible. Here the candidate just implicitly made a hypothesis that the problem is on the revenue side. The best way to show our hypothesis-driven mindset is to explicitly say it.

Third, you hear this a ton of times in our End-to-End program but I am going to repeat it again and again. It is better to show the habit of aligning here too. Don’t just go into revenue, before doing that, give the interviewer a chance to agree or to actually guide you to Cost.

So, summarizing the above insights, my pitch would sound something like this:

“So as we just discussed, a profit problem is either caused by revenue or by cost. Unless you would like to go into cost first, let’s hypothesize that the problem is on revenue side. I would like to look deeper into Revenue. Do we have any data on the revenue?”

And while saying this, you should literally draw an issue tree and point to each as you speak.

There is an interesting case interview tip I want to point out here. Notice how the candidate responds after receiving two data points from me. He went straight into the next question without at least acknowledging the data received and also without briefly analyzing it.

I am glad that the candidate makes this mistakes… well, not glad for him but for the greater audience of this program. I would like to introduce to you the perfect habit of what you should react and do every time you have any piece of data during case interviews. So three things you need to do:

Step 1: Say … that’s an interesting piece of data. This helps the interviewer acknowledge that you have received and understand the data. This also buys you a little time. And furthermore, it’s always a good thing to give out modest compliments to the interviewer.

Step 2: Describe the data, how it looks, is there any special noteworthy trend? In this case, we should point out that revenue actually grew by more than 50%.

Also notice here that I immediately quantified the difference in specific quantitative measurement (in this case, percentage). Saying revenue went up is good, but it’s great to be able to say revenue went up by more than 50%.

Step 3: Link the trend identified back to the original case question and the hypothesis you have. Does it prove, disprove, or open up new investigation to really test the hypothesis? In this case, this data piece actually opened up new investigating areas to test the hypothesis that the bottleneck is within revenue.

My sample pitch for this step 3 would sound like this: “It’s interesting that revenue went up quite a bit. However, to be able to fully reject our hypothesis on the revenue, I would like to compare our revenue to that of the competitors as well.”

Then only at this point, after going through 3 steps above, I ask for the competitors’ revenue like the candidate did.

Notice here that I ended up asking the same question the candidate did. This shows that the candidate does have a good intuition and thought process. It’s just that he did all of these implicitly on his head.

In consulting case interview, it’s always good to do everything as explicitly as possible. Not only is it easier to follow but it helps show your great thought process.

… the rest of the transcript is available in our End To End Case Interview

Learn the Secrets to Case Interview!

Join countless other successful candidates around the world with our Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program ! 10 example cases with 100+ real-time feedbacks on tips and techniques, 50+ exercises on business intuition and 1300+ questions for math practice!

Scoring in the McKinsey PSG/Digital Assessment

The scoring mechanism in the McKinsey Digital Assessment

Related product

Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program

Elevate your case interview skills with a well-rounded preparation package

Preparing for case interviews is a hard task when you only have 1 week, so the first part you need to learn during this time is fundamentals of case interview

Case interview in consulting is difficult with the passing rate is around 10%. This is because big consulting firms keep an extremely high recruitment standard

A case interview is where candidates is asked to solve a business problem. They are used by consulting firms to evaluate problem-solving skill & soft skills

Hacking the Case Interview

Looking for a case interview cheat sheet or study guide to help you prepare for your upcoming consulting interviews?

Download our Case Interview Cheat Sheet and Study Guide , which covers all of the most important things you need to know. If you are looking to read the case interview cheat sheet in plain text, we’ve included all of the text below.

This case interview cheat sheet covers:  

What is a case interview?

What do case interviews assess?

What is the structure of a case interview?

What are the common types of cases?

What formulas do you need to know for case interviews?

What numbers do you need to know for case interviews?

What are some case interview tips?

If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course . These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.

A case interview is a 30- to 45-minute exercise that places you in a hypothetical business situation in which you and the interviewer work together to develop a recommendation or answer to a business problem.

• How can Walmart increase its profitability?
• How can Nike increase customer retention?
• How should Apple price its new smartphone?

A case interview assesses five criteria:

1.   Logical, structured thinking : Can you structure complex problems and ideas in a clear and organized way?

2.  Analytical problem solving: Can you analyze and interpret data to draw the right conclusions?

3.  Business acumen : Do you have a strong understanding of business fundamentals and good business judgment?

4.  Communication skills : Can you communicate clearly, concisely, and articulately?

5.  Personality and cultural fit : Are you a good fit for the work culture of the firm you are interviewing with?

All case interviews follow seven major steps:

1.  Understand the case background : Take notes while the interviewer reads you the case information. Pay particularly close attention to the context, company, and objective.

2.  Ask  clarifying questions : If necessary, ask 1 – 3 questions to clarify the objective of the case, understand the company better, or understand an unfamiliar term.

3.  Structure a framework : Structure a framework to break down the complex business problem into simpler, smaller components. A framework is a tool that organizes different ideas into major categories. Present your framework to the interviewer. Make sure that your framework is MECE .

M utually E xclusive: None of the parts of your framework overlap with each other

C ollectively E xhaustive: All of the parts of the framework account for everything you need to know to solve the case with no major areas missing.

4.  Start the case : How the case will start depends on whether the case is an interviewer-led case or a candidate-led case .

Interviewer-led case : The interviewer will be steering and controlling the direction of the case. They will explicitly point you to which questions to answer.

Candidate-led case : You will be driving the direction of the case. You will propose what area of your framework to start in, what questions you want to answer, what analyses you want to do, and what the next step of the case is.

5.  Solve quantitative problems : There are three major types of quantitative problems you could be asked in case interviews.

Market sizing or estimation questions : You will be asked to calculate the size of a particular market or estimate a particular figure. You may need to make your own assumptions on what number to use or the interviewer may provide you with the data.

Profitability or breakeven questions : You will be asked to calculate the expected profitability of a company or investment decision. You could also be asked to calculate the conditions necessary for a company to break even .

Charts and graphs questions : You will be asked to interpret data from various charts or graphs . These can include bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, scatterplots, bubble charts, and waterfall charts.

6.  Answer qualitative questions : There are two major types of qualitative questions you could be asked in case interviews.

Brainstorming questions : You will be asked to brainstorm a list of ideas for a particular problem or question.

Business judgment questions : You will be asked for your opinion on a business issue or a strategic decision.

7. Deliver a recommendation : Present your recommendation and provide the major reasons that support it. Then, propose potential next steps that you would take if you had more time.

Profitability case : A company is experiencing a decline in profits or profitability and is trying to identify what is causing the decline and what they should do about it.

How to solve:  

• Identify the driver behind the decline in profitability, whether it is from a decline in revenue, increase in costs, or both
• Understand what is causing this by looking at customer needs, competitor moves, and market trends
• Identify ways to improve profitability

Growth strategy case : A company is trying to decide how to best grow its business.

• Determine whether the company is looking to grow organically or inorganically
• For organic growth, consider growth through existing revenue sources and new revenue sources
• For inorganic growth, consider potential acquisitions and partnerships

Market entry case : A company is trying to decide whether they should enter a particular new market.

• Determine whether the market is attractive
• Assess the competitive landscape
• Determine if the company has the capabilities to enter
• Estimate the expected profitability from entering

Merger & acquisition case : A company is trying to decide whether or not they should acquire or merge with a particular company.

• Determine whether the company is attractive
• Assess potential synergies and risks
• Estimate the financial implications

New product case : A company is trying to decide whether or not they should develop and launch a particular new product.

How to solve:

• Determine whether the market that the product targets is attractive
• Assess whether the product meets customer needs and is superior to competitor products
• Determine whether the company has the capabilities to successfully develop and launch the product
• Estimate the expected profitability from launching the product

Pricing case : A company is trying to decide the best way to price a particular product or service.

• Determine the cost to produce the product. This is your minimum price.
• Estimate the customer’s maximum willingness to pay by quantifying the value the product provides. This is your maximum price.
• Investigate the price that competitors are setting for similar products. This will help you determine the optimal price between your minimum and maximum price.

Profit Formulas

• Profit = Revenue – Costs
• Revenue = Quantity * Price
• Costs = Total Variable Costs + Total Fixed Costs
• Total Variable Costs = Quantity * Variable Costs
• Profit = (Price – Variable Costs) * Quantity – Total Fixed Costs

Investment Formulas

• Return on Investment = Profit / Investment Cost
• Payback Period = Investment Cost / Profit per Year

Operations Formulas

• Output = Rate * Time
• Utilization = Output / Maximum Output

Market Share Formulas

• Market Share = Company Revenue in the Market / Total Market Revenue
• Relative Market Share = Company Market Share / Largest Competitor’s Market Share

General Statistics

• Global population: 8 billion
• Average household size: 2.5 people per household
• Average life expectancy: 80 years

Country Population Statistics  

• United States: 320 million
• Canada: 40 million
• Mexico: 125 million
• Brazil: 200 million
• United Kingdom: 60 million
• Germany: 80 million
• France: 60 million
• China: 1.4 billion
• India: 1.4 billion
• Russia: 150 million
• Japan: 125 million
• Australia: 25 million

Tip #1 - Make sure you understand the business problem and objective : Answering or addressing the wrong business problem is the quickest way to fail a case interview.

Tip #2 - Don’t rely on using memorized frameworks : Interviewers can tell when you are regurgitating memorized information and not thinking critically.

Tip #3 - Structure your approach before doing any math calculations : This helps you avoid making unnecessary calculations or reaching a dead-end.

Tip #4 - Talk through your calculations out loud : This decreases the likelihood of making a mistake and helps the interviewer follow what you are doing

Tip #5 - Structure your answer to qualitative questions : Use a simple two-part framework such as internal/external, short-term/long-term, or economic/non-economic.

Tip #6 - Answer “so what?” after every question : Throughout the case, connect each of your answers back to the case objective. What implications does your answer have on the overall business problem?

Tip #7 - Have a firm recommendation : Do not have a flimsy recommendation that switches back and forth between two different recommendations. Pick one and provide support.

Tip #8 - Be 80/20 : You will not have time to answer every single question. Focus on the most important questions that have the greatest impact on your answer. This is the 80/20 principle which states that 80% of the outcome comes from 20% of your effort.

Tip #9 - Be coachable and easy to work with : Interviewers look for people that they would personally want to have on their team. Demonstrate that you would be a great teammate.

Tip #10 - Be enthusiastic : Interviewers want to hire candidates that love their job and will work hard. Displaying enthusiasm shows you are passionate about consulting and working at the firm.

Check out our complete list of case interview tips .

Land Your Dream Consulting Job

Here are the resources we recommend to land your dream consulting job:

For help landing consulting interviews

• Resume Review & Editing : Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple consulting interviews

For help passing case interviews

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.
• Case Interview Coaching : Personalized, one-on-one coaching with a former Bain interviewer.
• Hacking the Case Interview Book   (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.
• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.

For help passing consulting behavioral & fit interviews

• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course : Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer.

Land Multiple Consulting Offers

Complete, step-by-step case interview course. 30,000+ happy customers.

Case Interview Preparation

Perform at your best during your case interview., bcgers share their case study interview tips., follow these dos and don ’ ts to ace your case prep:, test your case interview skills with these interactive quizzes., set out a climate strategy for a client., restore client satisfaction at a digital bank..

Watch CBS News

DNA testing led to a new suspect in a Montana girl's 1996 murder. He was found dead hours after being questioned.

By Stephen Smith

Updated on: August 12, 2024 / 3:25 PM EDT / CBS News

Nearly three decades after 15-year-old Danielle "Danni" Houchins was found dead near a fishing access site in Montana, authorities say DNA has finally led them to her killer — a married father of two who died by suicide just hours after he was interviewed by investigators about the cold case.

The Gallatin County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy recently led authorities to identify Houchins' killer as 55-year-old Paul Hutchinson.

On Sept. 21, 1996 at about 11 a.m., Houchins left her home in Belgrade, Montana and when she never returned, her family called the police. Her mother found Houchins' truck at a popular fishing access site on the Gallatin River, and later that night, Houchins' body was found face down in shallow water, the sheriff's office said.

DNA evidence was collected at the scene and numerous suspects were interviewed over the years, but no arrests were made and the case went cold.

Finally, authorities renewed efforts to solve the case, and in 2021, when Dan Springer became Gallatin County's sheriff, he brought in two outside experts from California to assist — private investigator Tom Elfmont, a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer, and Sergeant Court Depweg, who specializes in using DNA technology to solve homicides.

Four hairs that were collected from Houchins' body at the crime scene were used to create a partial DNA profile, the sheriff's office said. That profile was ultimately sent to a lab in Virginia, where genealogists used DNA databases to identify Hutchinson as a possible suspect.

On July 23, 2024, Elfmont and Depweg interviewed Hutchinson, who lived about 100 miles away from the crime, in Dillon, Montana.

"During the nearly two-hour interview, Hutchinson, who had lived in Bozeman at the time of Houchins' death, displayed extreme nervousness," the sheriff's office said. "Investigators noted he sweated profusely, scratched his face, and chewed on his hand. When shown a photo of Houchins, Hutchinson slumped in his chair and exhibited signs of being uncomfortable. Upon release, his behavior was observed to be erratic. "

Early the next morning, officials say, Hutchinson called the Beaverhead County Sheriff's Office, saying he needed assistance before hanging up. He was found on the side of the road, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff's office said.

Investigators have determined that Houchins and Hutchinson didn't know each other, describing the murder as a "crime of opportunity." They believed Hutchinson, who at the time was a student at Montana State University, randomly encountered Houchins before raping her and suffocating her in shallow water.

Authorities say Hutchinson graduated with a degree in fisheries wildlife biology and then worked for the Montana Bureau of Land Management for 22 years. He had no criminal history and was married with two adult children.

"This case exemplifies our relentless pursuit of justice. We never gave up on finding the truth for Danni and her family, exhausting all means necessary to bring closure to this heartbreaking chapter,"  Springer said . "The investigation remained open because we knew Danni was murdered and someday, we were going to have the tools available to solve this case."

Houchins' younger sister, Stephanie Mollet, spoke alongside the sheriff at a news conference Thursday.

"Even though this man will not face a jury of his peers, I have no doubt he was the one who forcefully and violently sexually assaulted my sister, then held her head down in a marsh until she choked to death on mud," said Mollet. "When the time came to face up and account for his violence, he instead chose to end his life. He knew of his guilt and couldn't face my family or his family and the pain he caused."

The announcement by officials in Montana comes just days after a cold case murder in Hawaii was finally cracked with DNA testing. That suspect also died by suicide before he could be arrested.

Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo.

More from CBS News

Stunning twist in search for mom, girl who vanished in 1974

Pentagon employee accused of printing classified documents

Germany probes suspected intrusion, sabotage at military base

Details emerge after doctor raped, killed in India as thousands protest

• Open access
• Published: 10 August 2024

How can health systems approach reducing health inequalities? An in-depth qualitative case study in the UK

• Charlotte Parbery-Clark 1 ,
• Lorraine McSweeney 2 ,
• Joanne Lally 3 &
• Sarah Sowden 4  

BMC Public Health volume  24 , Article number:  2168 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

314 Accesses

Metrics details

Addressing socioeconomic inequalities in health and healthcare, and reducing avoidable hospital admissions requires integrated strategy and complex intervention across health systems. However, the understanding of how to create effective systems to reduce socio-economic inequalities in health and healthcare is limited. The aim was to explore and develop a system’s level understanding of how local areas address health inequalities with a focus on avoidable emergency admissions.

In-depth case study using qualitative investigation (documentary analysis and key informant interviews) in an urban UK local authority. Interviewees were identified using snowball sampling. Documents were retrieved via key informants and web searches of relevant organisations. Interviews and documents were analysed independently based on a thematic analysis approach.

Interviews ( n  = 14) with wide representation from local authority ( n  = 8), NHS ( n  = 5) and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector ( n  = 1) with 75 documents (including from NHS, local authority, VCSE) were included. Cross-referenced themes were understanding the local context, facilitators of how to tackle health inequalities: the assets, and emerging risks and concerns. Addressing health inequalities in avoidable admissions per se was not often explicitly linked by either the interviews or documents and is not yet embedded into practice. However, a strong coherent strategic integrated population health management plan with a system’s approach to reducing health inequalities was evident as was collective action and involving people, with links to a “strong third sector”. Challenges reported include structural barriers and threats, the analysis and accessibility of data as well as ongoing pressures on the health and care system.

We provide an in-depth exploration of how a local area is working to address health and care inequalities. Key elements of this system’s working include fostering strategic coherence, cross-agency working, and community-asset based approaches. Areas requiring action included data sharing challenges across organisations and analytical capacity to assist endeavours to reduce health and care inequalities. Other areas were around the resilience of the system including the recruitment and retention of the workforce. More action is required to embed reducing health inequalities in avoidable admissions explicitly in local areas with inaction risking widening the health gap.

Highlights:

• Reducing health inequalities in avoidable hospital admissions is yet to be explicitly linked in practice and is an important area to address.

• Understanding the local context helps to identify existing assets and threats including the leverage points for action.

• Requiring action includes building the resilience of our complex systems by addressing structural barriers and threats as well as supporting the workforce (training and wellbeing with improved retention and recruitment) in addition to the analysis and accessibility of data across the system.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

The health of our population is determined by the complex interaction of several factors which are either non-modifiable (such as age, genetics) or modifiable (such as the environment, social, economic conditions in which we live, our behaviours as well as our access to healthcare and its quality) [ 1 ]. Health inequalities are the avoidable and unfair systematic differences in health and healthcare across different population groups explained by the differences in distribution of power, wealth and resources which drive the conditions of daily life [ 2 , 3 ]. Essentially, health inequalities arise due to the systematic differences of the factors that influence our health. To effectively deal with most public health challenges, including reducing health inequalities and improving population health, broader integrated approaches [ 4 ] and an emphasis on systems is required [ 5 , 6 ] . A system is defined as ‘the set of actors, activities, and settings that are directly or indirectly perceived to have influence in or be affected by a given problem situation’ (p.198) [ 7 ]. In this case, the ‘given problem situation' is reducing health inequalities with a focus on avoidable admissions. Therefore, we must consider health systems, which are the organisations, resources and people aiming to improve or maintain health [ 8 , 9 ] of which health services provision is an aspect. In this study, the system considers NHS bodies, Integrated Care Systems, Local Authority departments, and the voluntary and community sector in a UK region.

A plethora of theories [ 10 ], recommended policies [ 3 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], frameworks [ 1 , 14 , 15 ], and tools [ 16 ] exist to help understand the existence of health inequalities as well as provide suggestions for improvement. However, it is reported that healthcare leaders feel under-skilled to reduce health inequalities [ 17 ]. A lack of clarity exists on how to achieve a system’s multi-agency coherence to reduce health inequalities systematically [ 17 , 18 ]. This is despite some countries having legal obligations to have a regard to the need to attend to health and healthcare inequalities. For example, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 [ 19 ], in England, mandated Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), now transferred to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) [ 20 ], to ‘have a regard to the need to reduce inequalities between patients with respect to their ability to access health services, and reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services’. The wider determinants of health must also be considered. For example, local areas have a mandatory requirement to have a joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) and joint health and wellbeing strategy (JHWS) whose purpose is to ‘improve the health and wellbeing of the local community and reduce inequalities for all ages' [ 21 ] This includes addressing the wider determinants of health [ 21 ]. Furthermore, the hospital care costs to the NHS associated with socioeconomic inequalities has been previously reported at £4.8 billion a year due to excess hospitalisations [ 22 ]. Avoidable emergency admissions are admissions into hospital that are considered to be preventable with high-quality ambulatory care [ 23 ]. Both ambulatory care sensitive conditions (where effective personalised care based in the community can aid the prevention of needing an admission) and urgent care sensitive conditions (where a system on the whole should be able to treat and manage without an admission) are considered within this definition [ 24 ] (encompassing more than 100 International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes). The disease burden sits disproportionately with our most disadvantaged communities, therefore highlighting the importance of addressing inequalities in hospital pressures in a concerted manner [ 25 , 26 ].

Research examining one component of an intervention, or even one part of the system, [ 27 ] or which uses specific research techniques to control for the system’s context [ 28 ] are considered as having limited use for identifying the key ingredients to achieve better population health and wellbeing [ 5 , 28 ]. Instead, systems thinking considers how the system’s components and sub-components interconnect and interrelate within and between each other (and indeed other systems) to gain an understanding of the mechanisms by which things work [ 29 , 30 ]. Complex interventions or work programmes may perform differently in varying contexts and through different mechanisms, and therefore cannot simply be replicated from one context to another to automatically achieve the same outcomes. Ensuring that research into systems and systems thinking considers real-world context, such as where individuals live, where policies are created and interventions are delivered, is vital [ 5 ]. How the context and implementation of complex or even simple interventions interact is viewed as becoming increasingly important [ 31 , 32 ]. Case study research methodology is founded on the ‘in-depth exploration of complex phenomena in their natural, or ‘real-life’, settings’ (p.2) [ 33 ]. Case study approaches can deepen the understanding of complexity addressing the ‘how’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ questions in a real-life context [ 34 ]. Researchers have highlighted the importance of engaging more deeply with case-based study methodology [ 31 , 33 ]. Previous case study research has shown promise [ 35 ] which we build on by exploring a systems lens to consider the local area’s context [ 16 ] within which the work is implemented. By using case-study methodology, our study aimed to explore and develop an in-depth understanding of how a local area addresses health inequalities, with a focus on avoidable hospital admissions. As part of this, systems processes were included.

Study design

This in-depth case study is part of an ongoing larger multiple (collective [ 36 ]) case study approach. An instrumental approach [ 34 ] was taken allowing an in-depth investigation of an issue, event or phenomenon, in its natural real-life context; referred to as a ‘naturalistic’ design [ 34 ]. Ethics approval was obtained by Newcastle University’s Ethics Committee (ref 13633/2020).

Study selection

This case study, alongside the other three cases, was purposively [ 36 ] chosen considering overall deprivation level of the area (Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) [ 37 ]), their urban/rural location, differing geographical spread across the UK (highlighted in patient and public feedback and important for considering the North/South health divide [ 38 ]), and a pragmatic judgement of likely ability to achieve the depth of insight required [ 39 ]. In this paper, we report the findings from one of the case studies, an urban local authority in the Northern region of the UK with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. This area was chosen for this in-depth case analysis due to high-level of need, and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2009-2018) had experienced a trend towards reducing socioeconomic inequalities in avoidable hospital admission rates between neighbourhoods within the local area [ 40 ]. Thereby this case study represents an ‘unusual’ case [ 41 ] to facilitate learning regarding what is reported and considered to be the key elements required to reduce health inequalities, including inequalities in avoidable admissions, in a local area.

Semi-structured interviews

The key informants were identified iteratively through the documentary analysis and in consultation with the research advisory group. Initially board level committee members (including lay, managerial, and clinical members) within relevant local organisations were purposively identified. These individuals were systems leaders charged with the remit of tackling health inequalities and therefore well placed to identify both key personnel and documents. Snowball sampling [ 42 ] was undertaken thereafter whereby interviewees helped to identify additional key informants within the local system who were working on health inequalities, including avoidable emergency admissions, at a systems level. Interview questions were based on an iteratively developed topic guide (supplementary data 1), informed from previous work’s findings [ 43 ] and the research advisory network’s input. A study information sheet was emailed to perspective interviewees, and participants were asked to complete an e-consent form using Microsoft Forms [ 42 ]. Each interviewee was interviewed by either L.M. or C.P.-C. using the online platforms Zoom or Teams, and lasted up to one hour. Participants were informed of interviewers’ role, workplace as well as purpose of the study. Interviewees were asked a range of questions including any work relating to reducing health inequalities, particularly avoidable emergency admissions, within the last 5 years. Brief notes were taken, and the interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and anonymised.

Documentary analysis

The documentary analysis followed the READ approach [ 44 ]. Any documents from the relevant local/regional area with sections addressing health inequalities and/or avoidable emergency admissions, either explicitly stated or implicitly inferred, were included. A list of core documents was chosen, including the local Health and Wellbeing Strategy (Table 1 ). Subsequently, other documents were identified by snowballing from these core documents and identification by the interviewees. All document types were within scope if produced/covered a period within 5 years (2017-2022), including documents in the public domain or not as well as documents pertaining to either a regional, local and neighbourhood level. This 5-year period was a pragmatic decision in line with the interviews and considered to be a balance of legacy and relevance. Attempts were made to include the final version of each document, where possible/applicable, otherwise the most up-to-date version or version available was used.

An Excel spreadsheet data extraction tool was adapted with a priori criteria [ 44 ] to extract the data. This tool included contextual information (such as authors, target area and document’s purpose). Also, information based on previous research on addressing socioeconomic inequalities in avoidable emergency admissions, such as who stands to benefit, was extracted [ 43 ]. Additionally, all documents were summarised according to a template designed according to the research’s aims. Data extraction and summaries were undertaken by L.M. and C.P.-C. A selection was doubled coded to enhance validity and any discrepancies were resolved by discussion.

Interviews and documents were coded and analysed independently based on a thematic analysis approach [ 45 ], managed by NVivo software. A combination of ‘interpretive’ and ‘positivist’ stance [ 34 , 46 ] was taken which involved understanding meanings/contexts and processes as perceived from different perspectives (interviewees and documents). This allowed for an understanding of individual and shared social meanings/reasonings [ 34 , 36 ]. For the documentary analysis, a combination of both content and thematic analysis as described by Bowen [ 47 ] informed by Braun and Clarke’s approach to thematic analysis [ 45 ] was used. This type of content analysis does not include the typical quantification but rather a review of the document for pertinent and meaningful passages of text/other data [ 47 ]. Both an inductive and deductive approach for the documentary analysis’ coding [ 46 , 47 ] was chosen. The inductive approach was developed a posteriori; the deductive codes being informed by the interviews and previous findings from research addressing socioeconomic inequalities in avoidable emergency admissions [ 43 ]. In line with qualitative epistemological approach to enquiry, the interview and documentary findings were viewed as ‘truths’ in themselves with the acceptance that multiple realities can co-exist [ 48 ]. The analysis of each set of themes (with subthemes) from the documentary analysis and interviews were cross-referenced and integrated with each other to provide a cohesive in-depth analysis [ 49 ] by generating thematic maps to explore the relationships between the themes. The codes, themes and thematic maps were peer-reviewed continually with regular meetings between L.M., C.P.-C., J.L. and S.S. Direct quotes are provided from the interviews and documentary analysis. Some quotes from the documents are paraphrased to protect anonymity of the case study after following a set process considering a range of options. This involved searching each quote from the documentary analysis in Google and if the quote was found in the first page of the result, we shortened extracts and repeated the process. Where the shortened extracts were still identifiable, we were required to paraphrase that quote. Each paraphrased quote and original was shared and agreed with all the authors reducing the likelihood of inadvertently misinterpreting or misquoting. Where multiple components over large bodies of text were present in the documents, models were used to evidence the broadness, for example, using Dahlgren’s and Whitehead’s model of health determinants [ 1 ]. Due to the nature of the study, transcripts and findings were not shared with participants for checking but will be shared in a dissemination workshop in 2024.

Patient and public involvement and engagement

Four public contributors from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Design Service (RDS) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) panel have been actively engaged in this research from its inception. They have been part of the research advisory group along with professional stakeholders and were involved in the identification of the sampling frame’s key criteria. Furthermore, a diverse group of public contributors has been actively involved in other parts of the project including developing the moral argument around action by producing a public facing resource exploring what health inequalities mean to people and public views of possible solutions [ 50 ].

Semi-structured interviews: description

Sixteen participants working in health or social care, identified through the documentary analysis or snowballing, were contacted for interview; fourteen consented to participate. No further interviews were sought as data sufficiency was reached whereby no new information or themes were being identified. Participant roles were broken down by NHS ( n  = 5), local authority/council ( n  = 8), and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VSCE) ( n  = 1). To protect the participants’ anonymity, their employment titles/status are not disclosed. However, a broad spectrum of interviewees with varying roles from senior health system leadership (including strategic and commissioner roles) to roles within provider organisations and the VSCE sector were included.

Documentary analysis: description

75 documents were reviewed with documents considering regional ( n  = 20), local ( n  = 64) or neighbourhood ( n  = 2) area with some documents covering two or more areas. Table 2 summarises the respective number of each document type which included statutory documents to websites from across the system (NHS, local government and VSCE). 45 documents were named by interviewees and 42 documents were identified as either a core document or through snowballing from other documents. Of these, 12 documents were identified from both. The timescales of the documents varied and where possible to identify, was from 2014 to 2031.

Integrative analysis of the documentary analysis and interviews

The overarching themes encompass:

Understanding the local context

Facilitators to tacking health inequalities: the assets

Emerging risks and concerns

Figure 1 demonstrates the relationships between the main themes identified from the analysis for tackling health inequalities and improving health in this case study.

Diagram of the relationship between the key themes identified regarding tackling health inequalities and improving health in a local area informed by 2 previous work [ 14 , 51 ]. NCDs = non-communicable diseases; HI = health inequalities

Understanding the local context was discussed extensively in both the documents and the interviews. This was informed by local intelligence and data that was routinely collected, monitored, and analysed to help understand the local context and where inequalities lie. More bespoke, in-depth collection and analysis were also described to get a better understanding of the situation. This not only took the form of quantitative but also considered qualitative data with lived experience:

‛So, our data comes from going out to talk to people. I mean, yes, especially the voice of inequalities, those traditional mechanisms, like surveys, don't really work. And it's about going out to communities, linking in with third sector organisations, going out to communities, and just going out to listen…I think the more we can bring out those real stories. I mean, we find quotes really, really powerful in terms of helping people understand what it is that matters.’ (LP16).

However, there were limitations to the available data including the quality as well as having enough time to do the analysis justice. This resulted in difficulties in being able to fully understand the context to help identify and act on the required improvements.

‘A lack of available data means we cannot quantify the total number of vulnerable migrants in [region]’ (Document V).

‛So there’s lots of data. The issue is joining that data up and analysing it, and making sense of it. That’s where we don’t have the capacity.’ (LP15).

Despite the caveats, understanding the context and its data limitations were important to inform local priorities and approaches on tackling health inequalities. This understanding was underpinned by three subthemes which were understanding:

the population’s needs including identification of people at higher risk of worse health and health inequalities

the driving forces of those needs with acknowledgement of the impact of the wider determinants of health

the threats and barriers to physical and mental health, as well as wellbeing

Firstly, the population’s needs, including identification of people at higher risk of worse health and health inequalities, was important. This included considering risk factors, such as smoking, specific groups of people and who was presenting with which conditions. Between the interviews and documents, variation was seen between groups deemed at-risk or high-risk with the documents identifying a wider range. The groups identified across both included marginalised communities, such as ethnic minority groups, gypsy and travellers, refugees and asylum seekers as well as people/children living in disadvantaged area.

‘There are significant health inequalities in children with asthma between deprived and more affluent areas, and this is reflected in A&E admissions.' (Document J).

Secondly, the driving forces of those needs with acknowledgement of the impact of the wider determinants of health were described. These forces mapped onto Dahlgren’s and Whitehead’s model of health determinants [ 1 ] consisting of individual lifestyle factors, social and community networks, living and working conditions (which include access to health care services) as well as general socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions across the life course.

…. at the centre of our approach considering the requirements to improve the health and wellbeing of our area are the wider determinants of health and wellbeing, acknowledging how factors, such as housing, education, the environment and economy, impact on health outcomes and wellbeing over people’s lifetime and are therefore pivotal to our ambition to ameliorate the health of the poorest the quickest. (Paraphrased Document P).

Thirdly, the threats and barriers to health included environmental risks, communicable diseases and associated challenges, non-communicable conditions and diseases, mental health as well as structural barriers. In terms of communicable diseases, COVID-19 predominated. The environmental risks included climate change and air pollution. Non-communicable diseases were considered as a substantial and increasing threat and encompassed a wide range of chronic conditions such as diabetes, and obesity.

‛Long term conditions are the leading causes of death and disability in [case study] and account for most of our health and care spending. Cases of cancer, diabetes, respiratory disease, dementia and cardiovascular disease will increase as the population of [case study] grows and ages.’ (Document A).

Structural barriers to accessing and using support and/or services for health and wellbeing were identified. These barriers included how the services are set up, such as some GP practices asking for proof of a fixed address or form of identification to register. For example:

Complicated systems (such as having to make multiple calls, the need to speak to many people/gatekeepers or to call at specific time) can be a massive barrier to accessing healthcare and appointments. This is the case particularly for people who have complex mental health needs or chaotic/destabilized circumstances. People who do not have stable housing face difficulties in registering for GP and other services that require an address or rely on post to communicate appointments. (Paraphrased Document R).

A structural threat regarding support and/or services for health and wellbeing was the sustainability of current funding with future uncertainty posing potential threats to the delivery of current services. This also affected the ability to adapt and develop the services, or indeed build new ones.

‛I would say the other thing is I have a beef [sic] [disagreement] with pilot studies or new innovations. Often soft funded, temporary funded, charity funded, partnership work run by enthusiasts. Me, I've done them, or supported people doing many of these. And they're great. They can make a huge impact on the individuals involved on that local area. You can see fantastic work. You get inspired and you want to stand up in a crowd and go, “Wahey, isn't this fantastic?” But actually the sad part of it is on these things, I've seen so many where we then see some good, positive work being done, but we can't make it permanent or we can't spread it because there's no funding behind it.’ (LP8).

Facilitators to tackling health inequalities: the assets

The facilitators for improving health and wellbeing and tackling health inequalities are considered as assets which were underpinned by values and principles.

Values driven supported by four key principles

Being values driven was an important concept and considered as the underpinning attitudes or beliefs that guide decision making [ 52 ]. Particularly, the system’s approach was underpinned by a culture and a system's commitment to tackle health inequalities across the documents and interviews. This was also demonstrated by how passionately and emotively some interviewees spoke about their work.

‛There's a really strong desire and ethos around understanding that we will only ever solve these problems as a system, not by individual organisations or even just part of the system working together. And that feels great.’ (LP3).

Other values driving the approach included accountability, justice, and equity. Reducing health inequalities and improving health were considered to be the right things to do. For example:

We feel strongly about social justice and being inclusive, wishing to reflect the diversity of [case study]. We campaign on subjects that are important to people who are older with respect and kindness. (Paraphrased Document O).

Four key principles were identified that crosscut the assets which were:

Shared vision

Strong partnership

Asset-based approaches

Willingness and ability to act on learning

The mandated strategy, identifying priorities for health and wellbeing for the local population with the required actions, provided the shared vision across each part of the system, and provided the foundations for the work. This shared vision was repeated consistently in the documents and interviews from across the system.

[Case study] will be a place where individuals who have the lowest socioeconomic status will ameliorate their health the quickest. [Case study] will be a place for good health and compassion for all people, regardless of their age. (Paraphrased Document A).

‛One thing that is obviously becoming stronger and stronger is the focus on health inequalities within all of that, and making sure that we are helping people and provide support to people with the poorest health as fast as possible, so that agenda hasn’t shifted.’ (LP7).

This drive to embed the reduction of health inequalities was supported by clear new national guidance encapsulated by the NHS Core20PLUS5 priorities. Core20PLUS5 is the UK's approach to support a system to improve their healthcare inequalities [ 53 ]. Additionally, the system's restructuring from Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and formalisation of the now statutory Integrated Care Systems (ICS) in England was also reported to facilitate the driving of further improvement in health inequalities. These changes at a regional and local level helped bring key partners across the system (NHS and local government among others) to build upon their collective responsibility for improving health and reducing health inequalities for their area [ 54 ].

‛I don’t remember the last time we’ve had that so clear, or the last time that health inequalities has had such a prominent place, both in the NHS planning guidance or in the NHS contract. ’ (LP15). ‛The Health and Care Act has now got a, kind of, pillar around health inequalities, the new establishment of ICPs and ICBs, and also the planning guidance this year had a very clear element on health inequalities.’ (LP12)

A strong partnership and collaborative team approach across the system underpinned the work from the documents and included the reoccurrence of the concept that this case study acted as one team: ‘Team [case study]'.

Supporting one another to ensure [case study] is the best it can be: Team [case study]. It involves learning, sharing ideas as well as organisations sharing assets and resources, authentic partnerships, and striving for collective impact (environmental and social) to work towards shared goals . (Paraphrased Document B).

This was corroborated in the interviews as working in partnership to tackle health inequalities was considered by the interviewees as moving in the right direction. There were reports that the relationship between local government, health care and the third sector had improved in recent years which was still an ongoing priority:

‘I think the only improvement I would cite, which is not an improvement in terms of health outcomes, but in terms of how we work across [case study] together has moved on quite a lot, in terms of teams leads and talking across us, and how we join up on things, rather than see ourselves all as separate bodies' (LP15).

‘I think the relationship between local authorities and health and the third sector, actually, has much more parity and esteem than it had before.' (LP11)

The approaches described above were supported by all health and care partners signing up to principles around partnership; it is likely this has helped foster the case study's approach. This also builds on the asset-based approaches that were another key principle building on co-production and co-creation which is described below.

We begin with people : instead of doing things to people or for them, we work with them, augmenting the skills, assets and strength of [case study]’s people, workforce and carers. We achieve : actions are focused on over words and by using intelligence, every action hones in on the actual difference that we will make to ameliorate outcomes, quality and spend [case study]’s money wisely; We are Team [case study ]: having kindness, working as one organisation, taking responsibility collectively and delivering on what we agreed. Problems are discussed with a high challenge and high support attitude. (Paraphrased Document D).

At times, the degree to which the asset-based approaches were embedded differed from the documents compared to the interviews, even when from the same part of the system. For example, the documents often referred to the asset-based approach as having occurred whilst interviewees viewed it more as a work in progress.

‘We have re-designed many of our services to focus on needs-led, asset-based early intervention and prevention, and have given citizens more control over decisions that directly affect them .’ (Document M).

‘But we’re trying to take an asset-based approach, which is looking at the good stuff in communities as well. So the buildings, the green space, the services, but then also the social capital stuff that happens under the radar.’ (LP11).

A willingness to learn and put in action plans to address the learning were present. This enables future proofing by building on what is already in place to build the capacity, capability and flexibility of the system. This was particularly important for developing the workforce as described below.

‘So we’ve got a task and finish group set up, […] So this group shows good practice and is a space for people to discuss some of the challenges or to share what interventions they are doing around the table, and also look at what other opportunities that they have within a region or that we could build upon and share and scale.’ (LP12).

These assets that are considered as facilitators are divided into four key levels which are the system, services and support, communities and individuals, and workforce which are discussed in turn below.

Firstly, the system within this case study was made up of many organisations and partnerships within the NHS, local government, VSCE sector and communities. The interviewees reported the presence of a strong VCSE sector which had been facilitated by the local council's commitment to funding this sector:

‘Within [case study], we have a brilliant third sector, the council has been longstanding funders of infrastructure in [case study], third sector infrastructure, to enable those links [of community engagement] to be made' (LP16).

In both the documents and interviews, a strong coherent strategic integrated population health management plan with a system’s approach to embed the reduction of health inequalities was evident. For example, on a system level regionally:

‘To contribute towards a reduction in health inequalities we will: take a system wide approach for improving outcomes for specific groups known to be affected by health inequalities, starting with those living in our most deprived communities….’ (Document H).

This case study’s approach within the system included using creative solutions and harnessing technology. This included making bold and inventive changes to improve how the city and the system linked up and worked together to improve health. For example, regeneration work within the city to ameliorate and transform healthcare facilities as well as certain neighbourhoods by having new green spaces, better transport links in order to improve city-wide innovation and collaboration (paraphrased Document F) were described. The changes were not only related to physical aspects of the city but also aimed at how the city digitally linked up. Being a leader in digital innovation to optimise the health benefits from technology and information was identified in several documents.

‘ Having the best connected city using digital technology to improve health and wellbeing in innovative ways.’ (Document G).

The digital approaches included ongoing development of a digitalised personalised care record facilitating access to the most up-to-date information to developing as well as having the ‘ latest, cutting edge technologies’ ( Document F) in hospital care. However, the importance of not leaving people behind by embedding digital alternatives was recognised in both the documents and interviews.

‘ We are trying to just embed the culture of doing an equity health impact assessment whenever you are bringing in a digital solution or a digital pathway, and that there is always an alternative there for people who don’t have the capability or capacity to use it. ’ (LP1).

The successful one hundred percent [redacted] programme is targeting some of our most digitally excluded citizens in [case study]. For our city to continue to thrive, we all need the appropriate skills, technology and support to get the most out of being online. (Paraphrased Document Q)

This all links in with the system that functions in a ‘place' which includes the importance of where people are born, grow, work and live. Working towards this place being welcoming and appealing was described both regionally and locally. This included aiming to make the case study the place of choice for people.

‘Making [case study] a centre for good growth becoming the place of choice in the UK to live, to study, for businesses to invest in, for people to come and work.’ (Document G).

Services and support

Secondly, a variety of available services and support were described from the local authority, NHS, and voluntary community sectors. Specific areas of work, such as local initiatives (including targeted work or campaigns for specific groups or specific health conditions) as well as parts of the system working together with communities collaboratively, were identified. This included a wide range of work being done such as avoiding delayed discharges or re-admissions, providing high quality affordable housing as well as services offering peer support.

‘We have a community health development programme called [redacted], that works with particular groups in deprived communities and ethnically diverse communities to work in a very trusted and culturally appropriate way on the things that they want to get involved with to support their health.’ (LP3 ).

It is worth noting that reducing health inequalities in avoidable admissions was not often explicitly specified in the documents or interviews. However, either specified or otherwise inferred, preventing ill health and improving access, experience, and outcomes were vital components to addressing inequalities. This was approached by working with communities to deliver services in communities that worked for all people. Having co-designed, accessible, equitable integrated services and support appeared to be key.

‘Reducing inequalities in unplanned admissions for conditions that could be cared for in the community and access to planned hospital care is key.’ (Document H)

Creating plans with people: understanding the needs of local population and designing joined-up services around these needs. (Paraphrased Document A).

‘ So I think a core element is engagement with your population, so that ownership and that co-production, if you're going to make an intervention, don't do it without because you might miss the mark. ’ (LP8).

Clear, consistent and appropriate communication that was trusted was considered important to improve health and wellbeing as well as to tackle health inequalities. For example, trusted community members being engaged to speak on the behalf of the service providers:

‘The messenger is more important than the message, sometimes.’ (LP11).

This included making sure the processes are in place so that the information is accessible for all, including people who have additional communication needs. This was considered as a work in progress in this case study.

‘I think for me, things do come down to those core things, of health, literacy, that digital exclusion and understanding the wider complexities of people.’ (LP12)

‘ But even more confusing if you've got an additional communication need. And we've done quite a lot of work around the accessible information standard which sounds quite dry, and doesn't sound very- but actually, it's fundamental in accessing health and care. And that is, that all health and care organisations should record your communication preferences. So, if I've got a learning disability, people should know. If I've got a hearing impairment, people should know. But the systems don’t record it, so blind people are getting sent letters for appointments, or if I've got hearing loss, the right provisions are not made for appointments. So, actually, we're putting up barriers before people even come in, or can even get access to services.’ (LP16).

Flexible, empowering, holistic care and support that was person-centric was more apparent in the documents than the interviews.

At the centre of our vision is having more people benefiting from the life chances currently enjoyed by the few to make [case study] a more equal place. Therefore, we accentuate the importance of good health, the requirement to boost resilience, and focus on prevention as a way of enabling higher quality service provision that is person-centred. [Paraphrased Document N).

Through this [work], we will give all children and young people in [case study], particularly if they are vulnerable and/or disadvantaged, a start in life that is empowering and enable them to flourish in a compassionate and lively city. [Paraphrased Document M].

Communities and individuals

Thirdly, having communities and individuals at the heart of the work appeared essential and viewed as crucial to nurture in this case study. The interconnectedness of the place, communities and individuals were considered a key part of the foundations for good health and wellbeing.

In [case study], our belief is that our people are our greatest strength and our most important asset. Wellbeing starts with people: our connections with our friends, family, and colleagues, our behaviour, understanding, and support for one another, as well as the environment we build to live in together . (Paraphrased Document A).

A recognition of the power of communities and individuals with the requirement to support that key principle of a strength-based approach was found. This involved close working with communities to help identify what was important, what was needed and what interventions would work. This could then lead to improved resilience and cohesion.

‛You can't make effective health and care decisions without having the voice of people at the centre of that. It just won't work. You won't make the right decisions.’ (LP16).

‘Build on the strengths in ourselves, our families, carers and our community; working with people, actively listening to what matters most to people, with a focus on what’s strong rather than what’s wrong’ (Document G).

Meaningful engagement with communities as well as strengths and asset-based approaches to ensure self-sufficiency and sustainability of communities can help communities flourish. This includes promoting friendships, building community resilience and capacity, and inspiring residents to find solutions to change the things they feel needs altering in their community . (Paraphrased Document B).

This close community engagement had been reported to foster trust and to lead to improvements in health.

‘But where a system or an area has done a lot of community engagement, worked really closely with the community, gained their trust and built a programme around them rather than just said, “Here it is. You need to come and use it now,” you can tell that has had the impact. ' (LP1).

Finally, workforce was another key asset; the documents raised the concept of one workforce across health and care. The key principles of having a shared vision, asset-based approaches and strong partnership were also present in this example:

By working together, the Health and Care sector makes [case study] the best area to not only work but also train for people of all ages. Opportunities for skills and jobs are provided with recruitment and engagement from our most disadvantaged communities, galvanizing the future’s health and care workforce. By doing this, we have a very skilled and diverse workforce we need to work with our people now as well as in the future. (Paraphrased Document E).

An action identified for the health and care system to address health inequalities in case study 1 was ‘ the importance of having an inclusive workforce trained in person-centred working practices ’ (Document R). Several ways were found to improve and support workforce skills development and embed awareness of health inequalities in practice and training. Various initiatives were available such as an interactive health inequalities toolkit, theme-related fellowships, platforms and networks to share learning and develop skills.

‛We've recently launched a [redacted] Fellowship across [case study’s region], and we've got a number of clinicians and managers on that………. We've got training modules that we've put on across [case study’s region], as well for health inequalities…we've got learning and web resources where we share good practice from across the system, so that is our [redacted] Academy.’ (LP2).

This case study also recognised the importance of considering the welfare of the workforce; being skilled was not enough. This had been recognised pre-pandemic but was seen as even more important post COVID-19 due to the impact that COVID-19 had on staff, particularly in health and social care.

‛The impacts of the pandemic cannot be underestimated; our colleagues and services are fatigued and still dealing with the pressures. This context makes it even more essential that we share the responsibility, learn from each other at least and collaborate with each other at best, and hold each other up to be the best we can.’ (Document U).

Concerns were raised such as the widening of health inequalities since the pandemic and cost of living crisis. Post-pandemic and Brexit, recruiting health, social care and third sector staff was compounding the capacity throughout this already heavily pressurised system.

In [case study], we have seen the stalling of life expectancy and worsening of the health inequality gap, which is expected to be compounded by the effects of the pandemic. (Paraphrased Document T)

‘I think key barriers, just the immense pressure on the system still really […] under a significant workload, catching up on activity, catching up on NHS Health Checks, catching up on long-term condition reviews. There is a significant strain on the system still in terms of catching up. It has been really difficult because of the impact of COVID.’ (LP7).

‘Workforce is a challenge, because the pipelines that we’ve got, we’ve got fewer people coming through many of them. And that’s not just particular to, I don't know, nursing, which is often talking talked [sic] about as a challenged area, isn't it? And of course, it is. But we’ve got similar challenges in social care, in third sector.’ (LP5).

The pandemic was reported to have increased pressures on the NHS and services not only in relation to staff capacity but also regarding increases in referrals to services, such as mental health. Access to healthcare changed during the pandemic increasing barriers for some:

‘I think people are just confused about where they're supposed to go, in terms of accessing health and care at the moment. It's really complex to understand where you're supposed to go, especially, at the moment, coming out of COVID, and the fact that GPs are not the accessible front door. You can't just walk into your GP anymore.’ (LP16).

‘Meeting this increased demand [for work related to reducing ethnic inequalities in mental health] is starting to prove a challenge and necessitates some discussion about future resourcing.’ (Document S)

Several ways were identified to aid effective adaptation and/or mitigation. This included building resilience such as developing the existing capacity, capability and flexibility of the system by learning from previous work, adapting structures and strengthening workforce development. Considerations, such as a commitment to Marmot Principles and how funding could/would contribute, were also discussed.

The funding’s [linked to Core20PLUS5] purpose is to help systems to ensure that health inequalities are not made worse when cost-savings or efficiencies are sought…The available data and insight are clear and [health inequalities are] likely to worsen in the short term, the delays generated by pandemic, the disproportionate effect of that on the most deprived and the worsening food and fuel poverty in all our places. (Paraphrased Document L).

Learning from the pandemic was thought to be useful as some working practices had altered during COVID-19 for the better, such as needing to continue to embed how the system had collaborated and resist old patterns of working:

‘So I think that emphasis between collaboration – extreme collaboration – which is what we did during COVID is great. I suppose the problem is, as we go back into trying to save money, we go back into our old ways of working, about working in silos. And I think we’ve got to be very mindful of that, and continue to work in a different way.’ (LP11).

Another area identified as requiring action, was the collection, analysis, sharing and use of data accessible by the whole system.

‘So I think there is a lot of data out there. It’s just how do we present that in such a way that it’s accessible to everyone as well, because I think sometimes, what happens is that we have one group looking at data in one format, but then how do we cascade that out?’ (LP12)

We aimed to explore a system’s level understanding of how a local area addresses health inequalities with a focus on avoidable emergency admissions using a case study approach. Therefore, the focus of our research was strategic and systematic approaches to inequalities reduction. Gaining an overview of what was occurring within a system is pertinent because local areas are required to have a regard to address health inequalities in their local areas [ 20 , 21 ]. Through this exploration, we also developed an understanding of the system's processes reported to be required. For example, an area requiring action was viewed as the accessibility and analysis of data. The case study described having health inequalities ‘at the heart of its health and wellbeing strategy ’ which was echoed across the documents from multiple sectors across the system. Evidence of a values driven partnership with whole systems working was centred on the importance of place and involving people, with links to a ‘strong third sector ’ . Working together to support and strengthen local assets (the system, services/support, communities/individuals, and the workforce) were vital components. This suggested a system’s committed and integrated approach to improve population health and reduce health inequalities as well as concerted effort to increase system resilience. However, there was juxtaposition at times with what the documents contained versus what interviewees spoke about, for example, the degree to which asset-based approaches were embedded.

Furthermore, despite having a priori codes for the documentary analysis and including specific questions around work being undertaken to reduce health inequalities in avoidable admissions in the interviews with key systems leaders, this explicit link was still very much under-developed for this case study. For example, how to reduce health inequalities in avoidable emergency admissions was not often specified in the documents but could be inferred from existing work. This included work around improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake in groups who were identified as being at high-risk (such as older people and socially excluded populations) by using local intelligence to inform where to offer local outreach targeted pop-up clinics. This limited explicit action linking reduction of health inequalities in avoidable emergency admissions was echoed in the interviews and it became clear as we progressed through the research that a focus on reduction of health inequalities in avoidable hospital admissions at a systems level was not a dominant aspect of people’s work. Health inequalities were viewed as a key part of the work but not necessarily examined together with avoidable admissions. A strengthened will to take action is reported, particularly around reducing health inequalities, but there were limited examples of action to explicitly reduce health inequalities in avoidable admissions. This gap in the systems thinking is important to highlight. When it was explicitly linked, upstream strategies and thinking were acknowledged as requirements to reduce health inequalities in avoidable emergency admissions.

Similar to our findings, other research have also found networks to be considered as the system’s backbone [ 30 ] as well as the recognition that communities need to be central to public health approaches [ 51 , 55 , 56 ]. Furthermore, this study highlighted the importance of understanding the local context by using local routine and bespoke intelligence. It demonstrated that population-based approaches to reduce health inequalities are complex, multi-dimensional and interconnected. It is not about one part of the system but how the whole system interlinks. The interconnectedness and interdependence of the system (and the relevant players/stakeholders) have been reported by other research [ 30 , 57 ], for example without effective exchange of knowledge and information, social networks and systems do not function optimally [ 30 ]. Previous research found that for systems to work effectively, management and transfer of knowledge needs to be collaborative [ 30 ], which was recognised in this case study as requiring action. By understanding the context, including the strengths and challenges, the support or action needed to overcome the barriers can be identified.

There are very limited number of case studies that explore health inequalities with a focus on hospital admissions. Of the existing research, only one part of the health system was considered with interviews looking at data trends [ 35 ]. To our knowledge, this research is the first to build on this evidence by encompassing the wider health system using wider-ranging interviews and documentary analysis. Ford et al. [ 35 ] found that geographical areas typically had plans to reduce total avoidable emergency admissions but not comprehensive plans to reduce health inequalities in avoidable emergency admissions. This approach may indeed widen health inequalities. Health inequalities have considerable health and costs impacts. Pertinently, the hospital care costs associated with socioeconomic inequalities being reported as £4.8 billion a year, mainly due to excess hospitalisations such as avoidable admissions [ 58 ] and the burden of disease lies disproportionately with our most disadvantaged communities, addressing inequalities in hospital pressures is required [ 25 , 26 ].

Implications for research and policy

Improvements to life expectancy have stalled in the UK with a widening of health inequalities [ 12 ]. Health inequalities are not inevitable; it is imperative that the health gap between the deprived and affluent areas is narrowed [ 12 ]. This research demonstrates the complexity and intertwining factors that are perceived to address health inequalities in an area. Despite the evidence of the cost (societal and individual) of avoidable admissions, explicit tackling of inequality in avoidable emergency admissions is not yet embedded into the system, therefore highlights an area for policy and action. This in-depth account and exploration of the characteristics of ‘whole systems’ working to address health inequalities, including where challenges remain, generated in this research will be instrumental for decision makers tasked with addressing health and care inequalities.

This research informs the next step of exploring each identified theme in more detail and moving beyond description to develop tools, using a suite of multidimensional and multidisciplinary methods, to investigate the effects of interventions on systems as previously highlighted by Rutter et al. [ 5 ].

Strengths and limitations

Documentary analysis is often used in health policy research but poorly described [ 44 ]. Furthermore, Yin reports that case study research is often criticised for not adhering to ‘systematic procedures’ p. 18 [ 41 ]. A clear strength of this study was the clearly defined boundary (in time and space) case as well as following a defined systematic approach, with critical thought and rationale provided at each stage [ 34 , 41 ]. A wide range and large number of documents were included as well as interviewees from across the system thereby resulting in a comprehensive case study. Integrating the analysis from two separate methodologies (interviews and documentary analysis), analysed separately before being combined, is also a strength to provide a coherent rich account [ 49 ]. We did not limit the reasons for hospital admission to enable a broad as possible perspective; this is likely to be a strength in this case study as this connection between health inequalities and avoidable hospital admissions was still infrequently made. However, for example, if a specific care pathway for a health condition had been highlighted by key informants this would have been explored.

Due to concerns about identifiability, we took several steps. These included providing a summary of the sectors that the interviewees and document were from but we were not able to specify which sectors each quote pertained. Additionally, some of the document quotes required paraphrasing. However, we followed a set process to ensure this was as rigorous as possible as described in the methods section. For example, where we were required to paraphrase, each paraphrased quote and original was shared and agreed with all the authors to reduce the likelihood to inadvertently misinterpreting or misquoting.

The themes are unlikely to represent an exhaustive list of the key elements requiring attention, but they represent the key themes that were identified using a robust methodological process. The results are from a single urban local authority with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage in the North of England which may limit generalisability to different contexts. However, the findings are still generalisable to theoretical considerations [ 41 ]. Attempts to integrate a case study with a known framework can result in ‘force-fit’ [ 34 ] which we avoided by developing our own framework (Fig. 1 ) considering other existing models [ 14 , 59 ]. The results are unable to establish causation, strength of association, or direction of influence [ 60 ] and disentangling conclusively what works versus what is thought to work is difficult. The documents’ contents may not represent exactly what occurs in reality, the degree to which plans are implemented or why variation may occur or how variation may affect what is found [ 43 , 61 ]. Further research, such as participatory or non-participatory observation, could address this gap.

Conclusions

This case study provides an in-depth exploration of how local areas are working to address health and care inequalities, with a focus on avoidable hospital admissions. Key elements of this system’s reported approach included fostering strategic coherence, cross-agency working, and community-asset based working. An area requiring action was viewed as the accessibility and analysis of data. Therefore, local areas could consider the challenges of data sharing across organisations as well as the organisational capacity and capability required to generate useful analysis in order to create meaningful insights to assist work to reduce health and care inequalities. This would lead to improved understanding of the context including where the key barriers lie for a local area. Addressing structural barriers and threats as well as supporting the training and wellbeing of the workforce are viewed as key to building resilience within a system to reduce health inequalities. Furthermore, more action is required to embed reducing health inequalities in avoidable admissions explicitly in local areas with inaction risking widening the health gap.

Availability of data and materials

Individual participants’ data that underlie the results reported in this article and a data dictionary defining each field in the set are available to investigators whose proposed use of the data has been approved by an independent review committee for work. Proposals should be directed to [email protected] to gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement. Such requests are decided on a case by case basis.

Dahlgren G, Whitehead M. Policies and strategies to promote social equity in health. Sweden: Institute for Future Studies Stockholm; 1991.

Google Scholar  

Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity Through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2008.

Marmot M, et al. Fair Society, Healthy Lives (The Marmot Review). London: The Marmot Review; 2010.

Academy of Medical Sciences, Improving the health of the public by 2040: optimising the research environment for a healthier, fairer future. London: The Academy of Medical Sciences; 2016.

Rutter H, et al. The need for a complex systems model of evidence for public health. The Lancet. 2017;390(10112):2602–4.

Article   Google Scholar  

Diez Roux AV. Complex systems thinking and current impasses in health disparities research. Am J Public Health. 2011;101(9):1627–34.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Foster-Fishman PG, Nowell B, Yang H. Putting the system back into systems change: a framework for understanding and changing organizational and community systems. Am J Community Psychol. 2007;39(3–4):197–215.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

World Health Organisation (WHO). The World Health Report 2000 health systems: improving performance. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2000.

Papanicolas I, et al. Health system performance assessment: a framework for policy analysis in Health Policy Series, No. 57. Geneva: World Heath Organisation; 2022.

Bartley M. Health Inequalities: An Introduction to Theories, Concepts and Methods. Cambridge: Polity Press; 2004.

World Health Organization and Finland Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Health in all policies: Helsinki statement. Framework for country action. Geneva: World Health Organisation; 2014.

Marmot M, et al. Health equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 years on. London: Institute of Health Equity; 2020.

Bambra C, et al. Reducing health inequalities in priority public health conditions: using rapid review to develop proposals for evidence-based policy. J Public Health. 2010;32(4):496–505.

Public Health England, Community-centred public health. Taking a whole system approach. London: Public Health England; 2020.

Davey F, et al. Levelling up health: a practical, evidence-based framework for reducing health inequalities. Public Health in Pract. 2022;4:100322.

Public Health England (PHE). Place-based approaches to reducing health inequalities. PHE; 2021.

Ford J, et al. Transforming health systems to reduce health inequalities. Future Healthc J. 2021;8(2):e204–9.

Olivera JN, et al. Conceptualisation of health inequalities by local healthcare systems: a document analysis. Health Soc Care Community. 2022;30(6):e3977–84.

Department of Health (DoH). Health and Social Care Act 2012. 2012.

Department of Health (DoH). Health and social care act 2022. 2022.

Department of Health (DoH). Statutory guidance on joint strategic needs assessments and joint health and wellbeing strategies. London: Department of Health; 2013.

Asaria M, Doran T, Cookson R. The costs of inequality: whole-population modelling study of lifetime inpatient hospital costs in the English National health service by level of neighbourhood deprivation. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2016;70:990–6.

Castro AC, et al. Local NHS equity trends and their wider determinants: a pilot study of data on emergency admissions. 2020. https://www.york.ac.uk/media/healthsciences/documents/research/Local_NHS_Equity_Trends.pdf .

Nuffield Trust. Potentially preventable emergency admissions. 2023. Available from: https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/potentially-preventable-emergency-hospital-admissions#background .

Cookson R, Asaria M, Ali S, Ferguson B, Fleetcroft R, Goddard M, et al. Health Equity Indicators for the English NHS: a longitudinal whole-population study at the small-area level. Health Serv Deliv Res. 2016;4(26). https://doi.org/10.3310/hsdr04260

Roland M, Abel G. Reducing emergency admissions: are we on the right track? BMJ. 2012;345:e6017.

Moore GF, et al. Process evaluation of complex interventions: medical research council guidance. BMJ. 2015;350:h1258.

Petticrew M. Public health evaluation: epistemological challenges to evidence production and use. Evid Policy. 2013;9:87–95.

Adam T. Advancing the application of systems thinking in health. Health Res Policy Syst. 2014;12(1):1–5.

Leischow SJ, et al. Systems thinking to improve the public’s health. Am J Prev Med. 2008;35:S196–203.

Paparini S, et al. Evaluating complex interventions in context: systematic, meta-narrative review of case study approaches. BMC Med Res Methodo. 2021;21(1):225.

McGill E, et al. Qualitative process evaluation from a complex systems perspective: a systematic review and framework for public health evaluators. PLoS Med. 2020;17(11):e1003368.

Paparini S, et al. Case study research for better evaluations of complex interventions: rationale and challenges. BMC Med. 2020;18(1):301.

Crowe S, et al. The case study approach. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2011;11:100.

Ford J, et al. Reducing inequality in avoidable emergency admissions: case studies of local health care systems in England using a realist approach. Journal of Health Services Research and Policy. 2021;27:27(1).

Stake RE. The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage; 1995.

Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government and Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities. English indices of deprivation 2015. 2015. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-indices-of-deprivation-2015 .

Whitehead M. Due North: the report of the Inequiry on Health Equity for the North. 2014.

Yin RK. Case study research: design and methods. 5th ed. California: Sage Publications Inc.; 2014.

Castro Avila AC, et al. Local equity data packs for England 2009-2018. 2019. Available from: https://www.york.ac.uk/che/research/equity/monitoring/packs/ .

Yin RK. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. 6th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE; 2018.

Patton MQ. Qualitative research and evaluation methods. 3rd ed. London: Sage Publications; 2002.

Sowden S, et al. Interventions to reduce inequalities in avoidable hospital admissions: explanatory framework and systematic review protocol. BMJ Open. 2020;10(7):e035429.

Dalglish SL, Kalid H, McMahon SA. Document analysis in health policy research: the READ approach. Health Policy Plan. 2020;35(10):1424–31.

Article   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 2006;3(2):77–101.

Robson C, McCartan K. Real World Research . 4th ed. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd; 2016.

Bowen GA. Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qual Res J. 2009;9(2):27–40.

Robson C, McCartan K. Real World Research. 4th ed. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd; 2016.

Moran-Ellis J, et al. Triangulation and integration: processes, claims and implications. Qual Res. 2006;6(1):45–59.

Parbery-Clark C, et al. Coproduction of a resource sharing public views of health inequalities: an example of inclusive public and patient involvement and engagement. Health Expectations. 2023:27(1):e13860.

Stansfield J, South J, Mapplethorpe T. What are the elements of a whole system approach to community-centred public health? A qualitative study with public health leaders in England’s local authority areas. BMJ Open. 2020;10(8):e036044.

Shams L, Akbari SA, Yazdani S. Values in health policy - a concept analysis. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2016;1(5):623–30.

NHS England. Core20PLUS5 (adults) – an approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. 2021 11/03/2023]. Available from: https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/national-healthcare-inequalities-improvement-programme/core20plus5/ .

Charles A. Integrated care systems explained: making sense of systems, places and neighbourhoods. 2022 24/09/2023]; Available from: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/integrated-care-systems-explained .

Elwell-Sutton T, et al. Creating healthy lives: a whole-government approach to long-term investment in the nation's health. London: The Health Foundation; 2019.

Buck D, Baylis A, Dougall D. A vision for population health: towards a healthier future. London, UK: The Kings Fund; 2018.

Popay J, et al. System resilience and neighbourhood action on social determinants of health inequalities: an english case study. Perspect Public Health. 2022;142(4):213–23.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   CAS   Google Scholar  

Asaria M, et al. How a universal health system reduces inequalities: lessons from England. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2016;70(7):637–43.

Daniel KD. Introduction to systems thinking. Pegasus Communications, Inc; 1999.

Jessiman PE, et al. A systems map of determinants of child health inequalities in England at the local level. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(2):e0245577.

Sleeman KE, et al. Is end-of-life a priority for policymakers? Qualitative documentary analysis of health care strategies. Palliat Med. 2018;32(9):1464–84.

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thanks to our Understanding Factors that explain Avoidable hospital admission Inequalities - Research study (UNFAIR) PPI contributors, for their involvement in the project particularly in the identification of the key criteria for the sampling frame. Thanks to the research advisory team as well.

Informed consent statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Submission declaration and verification

The manuscript is not currently under consideration or published in another journal. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

This research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), grant number (ref CA-CL-2018-04-ST2-010). The funding body was not involved in the study design, collection of data, inter-pretation, write-up, or submission for publication. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, the Department of Health and Social Care or Newcastle University.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Faculty of Medical Sciences, Public Health Registrar, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Charlotte Parbery-Clark

Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Lorraine McSweeney

Senior Research Methodologist & Public Involvement Lead, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Joanne Lally

Senior Clinical Lecturer &, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Honorary Consultant in Public Health, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Sarah Sowden

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization - J.L. and S.S.; methodology - C.P.-C., J.L. & S.S.; formal analysis - C. P.-C. & L.M.; investigation- C. P.-C. & L.M., resources, writing of draft manuscript - C.P.-C.; review and editing manuscript L.M., J.L., & S.S.; visualization including figures and tables - C.P.-C.; supervision - J.L. & S.S.; project administration - L.M. & S.S.; funding acquisition - S.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Charlotte Parbery-Clark or Sarah Sowden .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of Newcastle University (protocol code 13633/2020 on the 12 th of July 2021).

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Supplementary material 1., supplementary material 2., rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Parbery-Clark, C., McSweeney, L., Lally, J. et al. How can health systems approach reducing health inequalities? An in-depth qualitative case study in the UK. BMC Public Health 24 , 2168 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19531-5

Download citation

Received : 20 October 2023

Accepted : 18 July 2024

Published : 10 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19531-5

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Health inequalities
• Complex whole systems approach
• In-depth qualitative case study

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

• General enquiries: [email protected]

Reintroducing T.J. Newman

You know her as the flight attendant turned best-selling novelist. Now, as her third book hits shelves, we’re getting to see a new side of the author—the side that watched Top Gun: Maverick in the theater eight times.

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links.

On August 13, Newman will drop her third novel, which is easily her most ambitious yet. Whereas Falling and Drowning both involve plane crashes, the aptly titled Worst Case Scenario takes things to the next level. This time, a commercial airliner smashes into a nuclear power plant in a rural town in Minnesota. Unlike in Newman’s previous books, the stakes here aren’t just the survival of passengers on a plane but possibly the survival of the human race, too. The meltdown of the nuclear power plant is no joke, allowing Newman to employ her unique skill of balancing major stakes with human relationships like she’s never done before.

But just who is this person who crafts these incredible, over-the-top stories? Although the world knows Newman as a flight attendant turned novelist, she’s so much more than that. In fact, the truth of her talent might lie in the fact that, much like her readers, she is simply a massive fan of the action-adventure genre. She certainly has the credibility to write about airplanes because of her time working in the industry, but ultimately, she loves big stories that have a big heart.

Ahead of the publication of Worst Case Scenario, Esquire sat down with Newman to unpack her inspirations beyond her flight-attendant days, discover her artistic “north stars,” and figure out why she’s watched Top Gun: Maverick more than almost any other movie.

ESQUIRE: Your origin story as a flight attendant turned thriller writer is well known. But what about your origin story as a reader? What books did you read when you were younger that made you want to write big-idea books?

T.J. NEWMAN: There are lots of films and books that instilled in me the desire to try my hand at creating stories. But straight off the bat, I’ll say Jurassic Park . I’ll never forget seeing Jurassic Park for the first time and then reading the book, too. That was the first time that I’d seen a story that big, which blew my mind open. I thought, Oh, we can bring dinosaurs and humans together. Anything is possible. That opened a gateway for me to the kinds of epic stories that could be told and that I wanted to tell. I think seeing that movie and reading that book gave my imagination permission to be as big as it could be, and as an artist, that fundamentally changed me.

A lot of Michael Crichton’s work is still great.

All of it holds up. He’s kind of my north star. These are massive, epic, no-limit stories. He did Jurassic Park . He did Twister . I mean, Westworld [the 1973 film] and ER could not be more different, but there are still common threads, common themes, and common feelings. All of his work was a huge inspiration to me.

Worst Case Scenario is different from Falling and Drowning in the sense that it’s more of an ensemble piece. You’ve got a lot of different characters in a lot of different places. I wonder if this is a step toward doing different types of books in the future. Perhaps books that don’t have plane disasters?

I don’t know. I mean, I’ve got a million stories in my mind that I’d like to tell, and a lot of them involve planes. This feels like a really nice unofficial trilogy, like an “Airline Trilogy.” They’re each stand-alone novels, and the only throughline is Coastal Airlines, the fictional airline where these incidents take place. Why anybody is buying tickets on this airline anymore, I don’t know, but that’s the only theme in the T.J. Newman cinematic universe.

But with each of those books, the lens and the focus are widened. With Falling, you’ve got one man in a bad situation. With Drowning, you’ve got a family and twelve other passengers trapped inside this plane at the bottom of the ocean. In Worst Case Scenario , the focus is an entire town, and how that plays into a relationship with the entire country and the entire world.

So, based on this incremental process, we’re what, four books away from action on multiple planets?

Oh God! [ L aughs. ] I’m just thinking about how much work it takes to create one rural community. Wow. I mean, that’s a good point, though. When I look at fantasy, I’m just in awe. I think I’m intimidated by work like that. I’m in awe of how you do world-building to that extreme.

But great epics are contained in small movements, right?

Absolutely. And with Worst Case Scenario , I had parallel storylines. The crash means that this could be an extinction-level event that changes humanity forever. But at the same time, we’ve got a handful of firefighters who are undermanned, under-resourced, out of ideas, and out of time trying to save one individual person. I bounced back and forth between those two storylines. Both for the reader and for myself, I think there has to be a reminder of what we’re fighting for and what we’re sacrificing. It’s about saving the fate of humanity. But what is that, if not the life of one individual?

Let’s talk about James Bond and Batman. Two of your favorite movies are Casino Royale and The Dark Knight . Why?

Well, growing up, I didn’t fully understand the Bond character. When I saw Casino Royale, which is his origin story, it’s like it clicked. I was like, “Now I understand his world, and now I understand how he operates in it and why he is like he is.” Once I had that background and that understanding, it just opened up all of it for me. With Christopher Nolan, what he did in his Batman trilogy, there are parallels to Casino Royale . Christopher Nolan is another aspirational, north-star artist for me. He elevated the comic-book genre, and in The Dark Knight, he made a movie that’s about ethics and philosophy, and it’s also a great action movie. It’s also broken down in a way the average person can identify with and understand. I’ve seen The Dark Knight more than I’ve seen Top Gun: Maverick, and that’s saying something.

Wait, how many times have you seen Top Gun: Maverick ?

In the theater? I’ve seen Top Gun: Maverick eight times. Top Gun: Maverick viewing at home? The limit does not exist.

Why is that?

It’s the exact kind of story that I love: a huge, epic ensemble story of trying to do something together that is ultimately about relationships. It’s about Maverick and it’s about Rooster. It’s about him dealing with his past. It’s about his evolution as a person. It’s everything I love in storytelling.

Why have I watched it so many times? On the one hand, it’s because I love it. But on the other hand, I’m studying it. I’m trying to figure out: How did they do this? I think what was so fascinating to me about Top Gun: Maverick is that people loved it—and I mean everybody loved it—in a time when we are as polarized and divided as we can get in this country. And yet everyone loved that movie. I was so interested to know how that was done. I’ve watched it so much because I’m fascinated with how that magic trick is done.

It’s a fairly apolitical movie. There’s nothing wrong with books that are political and about contemporary events, but you write about a kind of idealized American society, right? Is this a fantasy of the country we wish we lived in?

If I have an agenda with my books, it is to entertain. Full stop. The only goal I ever have with my books is to just take people on a fun, good, enjoyable ride. It’s an avenue of escapism. I also write about themes like sacrifice, duty, honor, love, family, and community, and those themes, to me, know no political alliance. But I’m also a woman who’s writing stories with explosions and fatalities and violence. I’m a woman writing in a man’s world. And in the same way that I don’t think any of these traits have a political alliance, I also don’t think they have a gender alliance. It’s been great to put my female perspective on a world that’s so typically male-dominated, and it’s been wonderful to be read by men and loved by women. I get that response all the time: “I gave your book to my father-in-law and he loved it.” The father-in-law stamp of approval is such a wonderful compliment, and then the next thing I’ll get is from a woman who says, “I sobbed hysterically for the last three chapters.” Having both of those responses is so gratifying, because the types of stories I tell are aspirationally like Top Gun: Maverick . We can all set aside our differences to feel hope and togetherness. It’s escapism, because that’s not what’s around us right now in the world.

You’re a former bookseller, too. So you know all about some of the myths regarding which gender supposedly reads which genre. What’s the deal with sexism around women writing action or thrillers?

When my agent took Falling out and the deal hit, he had so many people come to him and say, “Is this a man? Is this a man who’s writing this?” I mean, I publish under the name T.J., which could be anything. [Newman’s given name is Torri. ] I get it all the time. It’s something I’ve faced since day one of writing these books. I don’t fit into the exact box that you can cleanly check. I’m a woman writing massive, epic action thrillers, and that’s not typically what women write, but I’m going to do it anyway and I’m confident that readers will find it.

Because I know I’m not alone. I know I’m not the only woman out there who’s loving all this stuff. It’s just getting that message across: You can like anything you want. You can read anything you want. I’m constantly trying to challenge that, and it has been a challenge. But I’m constantly moving forward, because I want to tell the stories I want to tell, and I think anyone should be able to tell the stories that are their stories to tell. I’m a woman whose favorite movies are The Dark Knight and Top Gun: Maverick and Casino Royale . This is my wheelhouse. This is what I love. These are the stories I want to tell.

@media(max-width: 73.75rem){.css-1ktbcds:before{margin-right:0.4375rem;color:#FF3A30;content:'_';display:inline-block;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-1ktbcds:before{margin-right:0.5625rem;color:#FF3A30;content:'_';display:inline-block;}} Books

James Baldwin, Remembered by His Nephews

The Best Books of 2024 (So Far)

We Need Speculative Fiction Now More Than Ever

Shop The Best Prime Day Deals on Amazon Kindles

The 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

The Second Coming of the Sports Novel

The Napkin Project: Summer Vacation Edition

The Napkin Project: Sloane Crosley

The Napkin Project: Charles Yu

The Napkin Project: Laura van den Berg

The Napkin Project: Chuck Tingle

• Business & Money

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Case in Point: Complete Case Interview Preparation, Fourth Edition Paperback – September 5, 2005

• Print length 174 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Burgee Press
• Publication date September 5, 2005
• ISBN-10 0971015821
• ISBN-13 978-0971015821
• See all details

Products related to this item

Editorial Reviews

About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Burgee Press; 4th edition (September 5, 2005)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 174 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0971015821
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0971015821
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
• #1,845 in Consulting

About the author

Marc p cosentino.

For the past three decades Marc Cosentino's work has towered over the field of case interviews. The Wall Street Journal calls his book Case in Point the MBA Bible which is one of the many reasons why Cosentino is the world's foremost authority on case interviewing. He is CEO of CaseQuestions.com and a popular and sought after speaker. Over the past 30 years he has advised and coached over 150,000 students and alumni. Case in Point, is not only the number one selling case book world-wide, but is also the number three selling interview book world-wide and the top book in the field of consulting as well.

CIP is purchased in bulk by many of the top MBA consulting clubs including Wharton, Harvard, and University of Michigan as well as three of the top strategy consulting firms. Case in Point is now published in five languages.

Cosentino has given workshops worldwide to MBA and college students and has held training sessions for career services professionals. He has consulted with and designed cases for private sector firms, government agencies and non-profits. In addition, Marc has trained corporate and academic PhD's to think like business executives. Cosentino is a graduate of Harvard's Kennedy School, Harvard's Program on Negotiation and the University of Denver.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 55% 29% 16% 0% 0% 55%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 55% 29% 16% 0% 0% 29%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 55% 29% 16% 0% 0% 16%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 55% 29% 16% 0% 0% 0%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 55% 29% 16% 0% 0% 0%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Advertisement

Supported by

Fact-Checking Claims About Tim Walz’s Record

Republicans have leveled inaccurate or misleading attacks on Mr. Walz’s response to protests in the summer of 2020, his positions on immigration and his role in the redesign of Minnesota’s flag.

• Share full article

By Linda Qiu

Since Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota was announced as the Democratic nominee for vice president, the Trump campaign and its allies have gone on the attack.

Mr. Walz, a former teacher and football coach from Nebraska who served in the National Guard, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and then as Minnesota’s governor in 2018. His branding of former President Donald J. Trump as “weird” this year caught on among Democrats and helped catapult him into the national spotlight and to the top of Vice President Kamala Harris’s list of potential running mates.

The Republican accusations, which include questions over his military service , seem intended at undercutting a re-energized campaign after President Biden stepped aside and Ms. Harris emerged as his replacement at the top of the ticket. Mr. Trump and his allies have criticized, sometimes inaccurately, Mr. Walz’s handling of protests in his state, his immigration policies, his comments about a ladder factory and the redesign of his state’s flag.

Here’s a fact check of some claims.

What Was Said

“Because if we remember the rioting in the summer of 2020, Tim Walz was the guy who let rioters burn down Minneapolis.” — Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican nominee for vice president, during a rally on Wednesday in Philadelphia

This is exaggerated. Mr. Walz has faced criticism for not quickly activating the National Guard to quell civil unrest in Minneapolis in the summer of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer. But claims that he did not respond at all, or that the city burned down, are hyperbolic.

Mr. Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020, and demonstrators took to the streets the next day . The protests intensified, with some vandalizing vehicles and setting fires. More than 700 state troopers and officers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ mobile response team were deployed on May 26 to help the city’s police officers, according to a 2022 independent assessment by the state’s Department of Public Safety of the response to the unrest.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .