Question 1

Andrew the Consultant is asked for an honest, precise forecast for a project deliverable by a senior manager at the firm. The best approach for Andrew would be to:

Accepted Answer

The best approach is to always be on top of project details and provide an answer to the senior manager that indicates you are on the ball, but defer details until a check-in has been completed. An example might be what you believe to be a range of dates. The other answers are options, but you don't want to bog down a senior manager with too much detail, nor do you want to provide an estimate that's wrong. At the same time, you want to provide a personal touch and accurate detail.
Key Takeaway: A frequent question in a case interview asks you how you would handle a particular situation when a senior manager requests information on the spot. In this case, the key word in the original question is precise. The manager may be doing some planning based on your deliverable completion date. As such, it's better to defer an answer until some additional analysis and confirmation can be done.

Question 2

What do the letters in the S-T-A-R method of communication stand for?

Accepted Answer

STAR stands for situation, task, action, result.
S - Explain the situation.
T - Describe the task that needed to be completed.
A - What action did you take?
R - Describe the result.
For example: "I was brought in to lead a $1.5 million project that was failing and management didn't understand why. My task was to bring the project back on schedule. To do this, I analyzed why the project had fallen behind schedule and discovered the team was in a matrixed organization and the operational processes were taking precedence over this project. To solve the problem, I worked with functional managers to free up time for key resources. The result was that we got the project turned around and delivered on schedule. Furthermore, we won an additional $500,000 contract because the client went from being dissatisfied to very happy."
Key Takeaway: STAR is an effective technique to deliver a cohesive narrative of what you are doing or have done Master it and you will win points in interviews and with senior managers.
Have at least 10 of these scenarios prepared. Try not to re-use any in one given day, no matter how many interviews you have. At the end, people get together and compare notes. Plus, in many cases, that perfect example you have won't fit the question that is asked. If someone asks you about a time you managed a team through adversity, you can't use your story about how you singlehandedly increased earnings 20 percent while saving the CEO's grandmother from a burning house.

Question 3

There are two underground passageways with manholes. You must pick one to go through. One manhole is circular and the other is a square. Which do you chose?

Accepted Answer

The manhole with the circular cover. For safety's sake, you pick the circular manhole cover, because this cover cannot fall through its hole. Square manhole covers could fall through diagonally killing you. Tsk tsk tsk.
Key Takeaway: This is a classic brainteaser and we hate it. It doesn't really prove anything, but 3 out of 5 people who worked on this module had it in interviews, so we included it.
Editor's Note: I had a co-worker who always gave this question to undergrads. Very few of them got it, but he judged them more on how they handled the question more than whether they got it.

Question 4

According to studies, approximately 55 percent of all communication is based on this form of communication:

Accepted Answer

55 percent of communication is nonverbal communication.
Key Takeaway: Remember to maintain eye contact, good posture and use expressions and gestures that reinforce your message.

Question 5

What is Parkinson's Law?

Accepted Answer

"Work expands to the time allotted" is Parkinson's Law.
a) "If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong" is the famous Murphy's Law.
b) This is actually Hofstadter's Law, which is self-referencing and states "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take Hofstadter's law into account."
Hofstadter's Law comes from Douglas Hofstadter's Godel, Escher and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, from 1979. It is sometimes cited by a coder when discussing productivity improvement techniques.
d) "80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes" is Pareto's Law.
Key Takeaways: Parkinson's Law reminds you to set aggressive deadlines to resources. You can always be a bit flexible, but keep in mind that if these aren't perceived as hard deadlines, your implementation resources will probably procrastinate. When asked a question about what type of manager you are, you want to communicate all your positives personality qualities and emphasize that you can handle deadlines.

Question 6

A princess who is severely allergic to certain frogs is confronted with the possibility that her prince may be a frog. There are 3 frogs in front of her. She's not sure she'll be allergic to the frog until she kisses it. One frog is definitely safe to kiss. Should she kiss a frog and risk death?

Accepted Answer

Maybe is the best choice here. This is a somewhat absurd question, but it's one an editor had in an interview. It is designed throw you off. The question is at the end of the day about risk. Businesses must take risks to succeed. Princesses may have to in order to find their Prince Charming.
Key Takeaway: The interviewer is really asking you to analyze the risk and determine if it is worth it. This is an easy question if you do not panic. Maybe a quick Q&A could lead to an answer here, or you can propose something out of the box to manage this risk, like a big box of Benadryl.

Quiz 2: Bonus