How to frame a strategic decision before you hire a consultant

A strategic problem becomes workable when it can be written as a choice among real alternatives. “Margins are falling” describes an outcome. “Do we reprice the current offer, redesign delivery, or exit the least profitable segment?” creates options that can be tested against evidence.

Avoid a false binary if the facts support a third path. Also avoid an option called “do nothing.” Continuing the current course has costs and assumptions; name it precisely enough to compare with the others.

• What must be chosen?
• Which alternatives are genuinely available?
• Who has the authority to decide?
• By what date does delay become a decision of its own?

A decision is not settled by collecting every available fact. Identify the few uncertain facts that could change the choice. If no possible answer to a research question would change the recommendation, the question is interesting but not decision-critical.

Write the current belief, the evidence behind it, and what would disprove it. This gives research a stopping rule and prevents discovery from expanding until the engagement becomes a general study of the company.

A constraint makes an option unavailable: capital, law, time, capacity, or an explicit risk limit. A preference makes one option more attractive. Teams often present a preference as a constraint because it avoids discussing the tradeoff.

Ask what would have to be true for each apparent constraint to change. If it cannot change inside the decision period, treat it as fixed. If it could change at a known cost, include that cost in the option rather than eliminating the option prematurely.

Options need a common test. The standard might include cash required, time to result, reversibility, customer impact, execution capacity, effect on enterprise value, and downside if the thesis is wrong. Weighting every criterion equally is still a choice; make the priorities explicit.

The owner should approve the standard before seeing the final recommendation. Otherwise the criteria tend to change after an uncomfortable answer appears.

A well-framed question fits on one page. It states the choice, why it matters now, who decides, the alternatives, the non-negotiable constraints, the evidence that could change the answer, and the date the decision will be made.

If the page contains several decisions joined by “and,” separate them and determine sequence. The first decision should unlock or eliminate the next, not merely add another workstream.