I am struggling with thinking deductively from a problem -> buckets/dimension -> causes. What should I do?

Question

In my challenge to learn problem solving and get into management consulting, i find that I am struggling to think from a top-down manner from problem statements, to buckets, and from buckets, to causes and even sub-causes. Rather, i find that my brain naturally jumps to specific causes without any buckets.

Switching to dimensional/bucket category thinking has been difficult, and i find that it takes quite some time (maybe too long) if i use my natural instinctual method of bottom-up thinking, from specific causes -> buckets and from buckets-> to higher level buckets/dimensions. For example, i would identify or categorise my specific causes to the dimensions or buckets and then try to think again from that 2nd order buckets to even higher-level buckets/categories.

This is unlike the videos of practice case interviews i see on YT, where they go directly top-down style, from problem statement to higher level buckets/dimensions, before diving into lower buckets, and then go to specific causes and even sub-causes at the end.

When i do try to go top-down from problem statement to buckets/dimensions to causes, i find difficulty in coming up with specific causes related to the buckets i've mentioned. And that too, takes quite some time to come up with, and it is frustrating unable to think as fast as i think i should be able to.

I don't know what's going on here, but i feel that i'm missing something big. what i know is that i struggle when trying to think top-down towards specific causes.

Wondering how i can build this deductive top-down thinking style and make it my default? what am i missing? why do you think it's just so difficult for me to do? what should i do?

Answer 1

You’re not alone in this; many people transitioning into consulting-style thinking struggle with exactly this. What you're describing is a shift from natural intuitive reasoning (bottom-up) to structured deductive problem-solving (top-down) and it's a skill, not a mindset you’re born with.

Why this feels so difficult

Your brain is wired for specificity first
Most people are used to thinking through examples or known causes, not abstracting into categories. Consulting flips this; it demands structure before specifics.
Top-down thinking is not natural, it’s learned
It takes conscious effort to override instincts. Those case solvers didn’t start that way, they’ve trained the pattern.
You’re trying to reverse-engineer in real-time
Your bottom-up method (specific → general → buckets) is actually useful, but it’s slower because it’s reactive, not proactive. The goal is to start with structure then explore.

What you might be missing

A mental library of buckets. Without templates or reference structures in mind, your brain struggles to “generate” clean buckets from scratch.
Practice with structured prompts, not just full cases. Jumping into full cases without mastering structure first is like trying to write an essay before learning how to outline.

How to train top-down problem-solving

1. Start with reverse engineering (bottom-up to top-down)

Take an everyday business problem (e.g., “Profits are down”).
Then:

Write down 3 specific causes you can think of
Group them into 1–2 buckets (e.g., Revenue vs Costs)
Try to generalize further into broader categories (External factors, Operational issues, etc.)
Do this daily and you will see it trains your brain to spot structure in messy ideas.

2. Use structure libraries

Learn 10–15 common business frameworks by heart, e.g.:

Revenue = Price × Volume
Cost = Fixed + Variable
Customer journey = Awareness → Consideration → Purchase → Retention
Start using them as default scaffolds when you hear a problem.

3. Practice "structured thinking drills", not full cases

Spend 10 minutes a day on one of these:

“How would you break down the causes of high employee attrition?”
“What buckets would you use to explore why a retail store is losing customers?”
Focus just on generating MECE (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) buckets, don’t solve the whole case.

4. Say it out loud, don’t just think it

Practicing structure in silence is like planning a speech in your head and it feels clearer than it is. Speak your structure out loud as if explaining it to someone.

From my own experience

What you’re experiencing isn’t a weakness, it’s a common transition point for people with strong intuitive brains learning a new toolkit. You’re not missing anything fundamental, you’re just in the retraining phase. Once structure becomes familiar, your speed will catch up too.

If you’d like, I can run through a few structure drills with you; this is very fixable with the right reps. You’ve got this and best of luck!:-)

Answer 2

Hello there, Alex!

There is no harm to use the bottom up approach if you can achieve speed when doing so. I’ve met candidates who would first right down their sub-buckets and then group them into buckets and complete with additional ones.

For you to understand how to conduct a top down structure, you’ll have to (1) understand the first principles of common cases (the logic behind them rather than memorizing frameworks) and (2) practice with experienced peers / a professional coach that can give you good structuring benchmarks.

It seems that you could be benefited by the latest, happy to chat over a free 20min session about your challenge and see if that is really the case. It will be a pleasure to help you :)

Be hopeful as structuring is the most common challenge candidates face, you can totally overcome it!!

Best,

Mari

Answer 3

That's absolutely normal.

The fact that you identify this challenge and can formulate it is part of the process of you going over it.

It takes time and practice.

What I would recommend is to try and get tailored feedback, either from an expert coach or from an existing consultant with coaching experience.

This way you get to understand what you are doing well and what needs to change in a way that is specifically tailored to you.

In case it's relevant for you, I offer specifically sessions on first principles thinking as applied to case structuring. More info here:

Masterclass: First Principle Structuring

Best,
Cristian