Consulting practice: make a decision under incomplete information.

Who this track is for

Students who like structuring messy questions, who can stand to choose, and who do not need a finance identity to feel serious. High-school students can do this if the question is small and the data is public.

Modules in a consulting flavor

Research becomes an issue tree, not an encyclopedia. Analysis becomes the two numbers that matter. Consumer needs becomes “who would actually do this.” Recommendation is the job. Next steps is implementation friction.

What good work looks like

A one-page tree. A brief that names the decision. A model only if the decision needs it. A deck that starts with the answer. A risk that is not “execution risk” as wallpaper.

Mentor pressure

“So what?” “Who hates this?” “What would change your mind?” If the student cannot answer, the internship is still in progress.

Resume language

Describe the question and the recommendation. Do not write “consultant at.” GVI is a pathway.

Issue trees without becoming a cartoon consultant

An issue tree is a way of not forgetting a branch of the decision. It is not a personality. Draw it on one page. Kill branches the brief cannot support. Students who decorate trees with jargon are stalling. Mentors should ask for the recommendation before they admire the tree.

Practice saying “I don’t know, and here is the cheapest way to find out” as a next step. Consulting practice that cannot admit uncertainty will overclaim in module four.

Who the client is in a school setting

A hypothetical manager is fine if treated seriously. A real counselor or club lead is better because they can reject you. Rejection is data. Virtual consulting internships that cannot be rejected are speeches.

The so-what drill

After every finding, write “so what for the decision?” If you cannot, the finding is a trivia card. Consulting students collect trivia because it feels like research. Mentors should strike cards that do not change the recommendation. The leftover is synthesis.

Practice a two-minute standup: question, answer, strongest reason, risk, first action. If it takes six minutes, the thinking is not done. Time is a thinking tool, not only a presentation constraint.

When two teammates disagree, put both options on one slide with the test that would pick a winner. Disagreement is content. A compromise paragraph that nobody believes is not stakeholder management; it is conflict avoidance.