Communication
So-what
The single most important takeaway from a fact or exhibit.
Facts checked against sources onWhat does So-what mean?
The so-what is the point. When you read a chart or find a number, the so-what is what it means for the problem, not just what it says. If sales fell 20% in one region only, the fact is the drop; the so-what is "the problem is local, not company-wide, so we should look at that region."
Where does it come up in case interview prep?
- Crack any case in five movesLesson in What a case interview is, and how to prepare
- Using this in a case: growth and new product casesLesson in Customers and growth: the economics of marketing
- Using this in a case: operations and cost casesLesson in Making operations better, and planning for what can go wrong
- Using people, rules and responsibility in a caseLesson in People, rules and responsibility: organisation, regulation and sustainability
- Diagnosing a profit decline: the reference caseLesson in Profitability
- The format, and how to perform in itLesson in Chatbot-led digital case interviews
- Read it fast, then say the so-whatLesson in Reading and using exhibits
- Every chart type, and how to read itLesson in Charts and data in depth
Related terms
Learn it in context
See So-what at work in a lesson from What a case interview is, and how to prepare, with checks as you go.
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