A Claude Skill for Consulting-Grade Problem Solving
A single skill that walks an ambiguous business question through eight partner-led stages, from decision question to board-ready recommendation, using MECE issue trees, hypothesis-led analysis, and 80/20 prioritization.
Claude skill for problem solving
This Claude skill for problem solving gives Claude a structured strategy consulting workflow for complex business questions, the kind that don't have a clean answer at the start: why enterprise churn is rising, whether to enter a market, how to lift margin without hurting growth, which operating model should sit under a new strategy, how to turn a pile of analysis into a board-ready recommendation.
The dynamic is partner and associate. Claude acts as a sharp engagement associate, framing the question, building the logic, drafting the analyses, writing the recommendation. You play the partner, setting direction, adding context, making the trade-offs, and approving each stage before the work moves on. The method leans deliberately on consulting-style habits: issue-led framing, MECE logic, hypothesis testing, 80/20 prioritization, answer-first communication, and evidence-backed recommendations.
Mechanically, it's a small bundle of markdown files: a top-level SKILL.md plus a references/ folder with one file per stage. Upload the core skill through Claude's Skills settings, or keep the complete folder together in Claude Code for the full reference-driven workflow.
For adjacent methods, compare the broader Claude skills for strategy collection and these Claude workflows for strategy.
Download the skill
SKILL.md plus the references folder, in one zip. Free, no signup.
The 8 Stages You Get
Each stage has two gates. An input gate where you provide context, judgment, constraints, and preferences. A review gate where you approve or revise the deliverable before the workflow continues. The result is a clean trail from the original question to the final recommendation.
Frame & Plan
Frame the Question
Method step: Lock the work to one decision question
Reference: 01-frame-the-question.md
Map the Logic
Method step: Build a MECE issue tree with testable branches
Reference: 02-map-the-logic.md
Focus the Work
Method step: Apply 80/20 to the few branches worth deep analysis
Reference: 03-focus-the-work.md
Plan the Analyses
Method step: Turn priorities into workstreams, data, and dependencies
Reference: 04-plan-the-analyses.md
Analyze & Deliver
Run the Analyses
Method step: Test hypotheses with evidence and confidence levels
Reference: 05-run-the-analyses.md
Integrate the Answer
Method step: Pull findings into a single, coherent point of view
Reference: 06-integrate-the-answer.md
Shape the Recommendation
Method step: Translate the answer into actions, economics, and risks
Reference: 07-shape-the-recommendation.md
Package the Story
Method step: Prepare approved content for a deck, memo, or board paper
Reference: 08-package-the-story.md
Stages 1 to 4 sharpen the question and the plan before any analysis runs. Stages 5 to 8 carry the answer through to an approved recommendation and packaged content.
Setup Guide
- Step 1Download the skill (.zip)
Download the skill and open Settings
Download and unzip the single skill bundle. It contains one top-level SKILL.md and eight supporting files in references/. In Claude, open your profile menu and select Settings.
Open the screenshot to view it full size. - Step 2
Open Skills and start an upload
In Settings, select Skills under Customize. Open Add and choose Upload a skill.
Open the screenshot to view it full size. - Step 3
Upload the skill file
Drag the extracted top-level SKILL.md into the upload window, or use the file picker. Keep the downloaded references/ folder because it contains the full ordered method for Claude Code.
Open the screenshot to view it full size. - Step 4
Confirm the skill was added
Return to the Skills list and check that the problem-solving skill appears. Select its name to open it.
Open the screenshot to view it full size. - Step 5
Review and turn on the skill
Review the skill name, description, and instructions, then make sure its switch is on. A blue switch means the skill is enabled; sharing it is optional.
Open the screenshot to view it full size.
Keep the complete eight-stage bundle in Claude Code
For the full reference-driven workflow, keep SKILL.md and references/ together inside one named folder under .claude/skills/ in the repository, or ~/.claude/skills/ for use across repositories.
Try the skill
Give Claude the business question and available context, then approve or revise each stage before it continues.
- "Use the problem-solving skill to frame why enterprise churn is rising. Start with the decision question and wait at every review gate."
- "Run Stage 2 and build a MECE issue tree for our margin-compression question."
- "Run Stage 5 on these workstream findings and label the confidence behind each conclusion."
- "Run Stage 7 and turn the integrated answer into actions, economics, risks, and owners."
Why it works
1. Partner-led by design
You stay in control of direction and judgment. Claude structures, drafts, tests, and revises, but never bypasses you. Every stage has two gates: an input gate where you provide context, constraints, and preferences, and a review gate where you approve or revise the deliverable before the workflow continues.
Use whenever you need the analyst hours of a junior associate without losing the judgment of a partner.
2. consulting-style logic baked in
The workflow uses MECE decomposition, hypothesis-led analysis, issue trees, and 80/20 prioritization end to end. It starts with a decision question, breaks it into testable branches, writes hypotheses before any analysis runs, and focuses effort on the work that can actually change the answer.
Run on any business question where you need the answer to be defensible to a sceptical executive room.
3. Built-in challenge review
Before final content is drafted, an independent reviewer stress-tests the storyline, evidence, logic, and recommendation. Weak claims get flagged, missing branches get surfaced, and the recommendation has to survive hostile questioning before it leaves the workflow.
Run before any partner review, steerco, or board update where you can't afford an obvious hole in the argument.
4. Builder-ready final content
The skill separates thinking from rendering. It decides what to say, structures the logic, and writes the approved content, then hands off visual design and file rendering to downstream builder skills, so the same content can be reused across slides, memos, and reports without rework.
Pair the approved content with the appropriate downstream builder when it needs to become a deck, memo, or report.
The principles under the hood
Every stage is grounded in a specific working principle. No generic "think strategically" prompts. Each principle is named, applied at the right gate, and traceable from the recommendation back to the original question.