How BizDecks Works | From Question to Decision

Illustration: a stressed professional at a cluttered desk next to a cheerful colleague holding the MBA Tools card deck at a tidy desk

Why MBA ToolsSITUATION 1: TOO MUCH ON YOUR PLATE

Too much on your plate, no time to think it through

The board wants it Friday. You know there's a model, but finding and rebuilding it costs an evening. Pull one card and have a structured draft this afternoon.

Save the evening: model, steps and example on one card
A solid first draft the same day, not next week
Less stress: one clear structure to work from

Illustration: a cheerful team working through the Business Model Canvas together on a large screen

Why MBA ToolsSITUATION 2: THE TEAM SESSION

Four people, four approaches, no shared picture

Workshops start with energy and end with a wall of sticky notes. One card, or one Miro board, keeps the whole team on the same framework.

Everyone on the same page: one framework, one shared result
Sessions that end with a decision, not a wall of notes
Workshop-ready: a Miro board and Sheets template for every model

Illustration: a colleague gives a new team member the MBA Tools deck as a gift at the office table

Why MBA ToolsSITUATION 3: A GIFT THAT GETS USED

A new colleague, a good year, a team to thank

Most business gifts end up in a drawer. Give a new colleague the 50 models the team actually works from, on their desk from day one.

A gift with a job: used in meetings, not left in a drawer
Faster onboarding: the same models as the rest of the team
Easy to order for a team: 15 or more decks, request a quote

Illustration: a graduate with a master thesis chart holding the MBA Tools card deck as a lifelong cheat sheet

Why MBA ToolsSITUATION 4: AFTER GRADUATION

You learned 50 models. Two years later you remember five.

The degree is on the wall, the textbooks in a box, and the model you need is somewhere in the back of your head. The deck keeps all 50 within reach.

Lifelong cheat sheet: 50 models within reach for your whole career
Refresh a model in a few minutes, not an evening
Printed in your bag, digital on your laptop

WORKED EXAMPLE

One question, worked through to a decision

The whole method on one page: question, card, analysis, decision note.

Frame the question

The partners agree what has to be decided before anyone opens a template.

The company

Van Doorn Interiors: a family-run office furniture retailer with three showrooms in the Randstad. A Belgian competitor has started delivering online in the Netherlands.

The one question to answer

Do we compete with the online newcomer on price, or build a service around the clients we already have?

What a useful outcome looks like

One direction the three partners support, with a first action and someone who owns it.

Data needed before the meeting

Sales by client type, last two years
Quotes lost to online sellers, last 12 months
List of active architect relationships and refurbishment projects

Pick the card that fits

The question is about position and options, so the SWOT card comes out.

BizDecks SWOT Analysis digital card: what it is for, the steps and a worked example

Open the card at full size

Front: what SWOT is for and when not to use it. Back: the steps.

Strengths and weaknesses: inside the company
Opportunities and threats: outside it
The value is the shortlist you act on, not the four boxes

Fill in the template together

Four boxes, filled in with evidence, then cross-matched.

Strengths

Long-standing relationships with Dutch architecture firms
Showroom staff who advise on layouts, not just products
Own delivery and assembly team

Weaknesses

No e-commerce presence
Prices 10 to 20% above online sellers
Marketing depends on two partners' networks

Opportunities

Rise in hybrid-office refurbishment projects
Architects looking for one supplier per project
Corporate clients asking for reuse of existing furniture

Threats

Belgian competitor now delivers online in NL
Price comparison on standard items
Slower decisions at corporate clients

Illustrative example: the Van Doorn Interiors SWOT filled in on the BizDecks Miro template, with the actions table beside it — The same four boxes in the Miro template that comes with the toolkit, from the first sticky note to a dated action.

Illustrative example: the Van Doorn Interiors SWOT in the BizDecks Model Dashboard, with the TOWS synthesis below it — The Model Dashboard turns the same four boxes into four strategy types, each one pointing at a decision.

Cross-match: which pairing changes the decision?

Strength 1 x Opportunity 1: architect relationships plus hybrid-office projects. Strongest pairing: package a refurbishment service for architect clients.

Weakness 1 x Threat 1: no web shop while the competitor delivers online. Exposed: decide whether to accept this risk for now.