Telling a business story with the SCR framework

Telling a business story using the McKinsey Situation-Complication-Resolution (SCR) framework

Source: here

Consider the following story elements:

  1. The stable era
  2. The discovery of a major problem
  3. The identification of the root causes
  4. The projected impact should the root causes not be addressed
  5. The plan to solve the problem by addressing the root causes
  6. The result of the attempt to solve the problem
  7. The plan to address remaining issues, if any, from the attempt to solve the problem

The Situation-Complication-Resolution (SCR) Framework

Now, let’s define each component of SCR:

  • Situation: The framing of the important, recent context the audience already knows and accepts as fact
  • Complication: The reason the situation requires action
  • Resolution: The action required to solve a problem (or capture an opportunity)

Placing Story Elements into the SCR Framework

You might have noticed I avoided using the word “problem” in the definitions of the situation and complication. The reason is that the problem can appear in either place.

When the audience is not aware of the problem

To understand where the problem goes, ask yourself: “Can I reasonably expect that the audience is aware of the problem?”  If not, then the problem goes in the complication and the story is as follows:

  • S = 1 = The stable era
  • C = 2 + 3 + 4 = The discovery of a major problem, the identification of the root causes, and the projected impact should the root causes not be addressed
  • R = 5 = The plan to solve the problem by addressing the root causes.

When the audience is aware of the problem but not its root causes

Next, assume the audience is aware of the problem but not its root causes, in which case we have:

  • S = 1 + 2 = The (brief review of) stable era -and the discovery of a major problem
  • C = 3 + 4 = The identification of the root causes and the projected impact should the root causes not be addressed
  • R = 5 = The plan to solve the problem by addressing the root causes

When the audience is aware of both the problem and its root causes

  • S = 1 + 2 + 3 = The (extremely brief review of) stable era, (the brief review of) the discovery of a major problem, and the identification of the root causes
  • C = 4 = The projected impact should the root causes not be addressed
  • R = 5 = The plan to solve the problem by addressing the root causes

Ordering the Situation, Complication, and Resolution

The two main ways to order the framework components are: S-C-R and R-S-C.  Use S-C-R when you want to build up the story, esp. when the audience is unlikely to immediately accept your resolution. Use R-S-C when the audience will mostly accept your resolution but still needs to build conviction.