In business books, what makes for an effective set of case studies?
Case studies will make your business book more credible and readable. But they don’t all have the same impact. After writing more than one hundred case studies in my own books and editing hundreds of others, I’ve developed this set of criteria you can use to evaluate your own case study list.
More is better, up to a point
In a book of twelve chapters, at least one case study per chapter is excellent. Twenty would be even better. But more than two or three per chapter starts to become tedious: you need to leave space to tell people what to learn from all these case studies. And every case study takes time to select, to line up interviews, to write up, and to verify; that effort can become onerous if you’re managing dozens and dozens of them.
Personal > Corporate
While it’s interesting to hear what Amazon did, it’s even better to learn what Jeff Bezos or Andy Jassy did. Case studies are stories, and stories are about people. As a reader I want to know, not just what problems individuals or executives faced and how they solved them, but how it felt and how they grappled with the difficult decisions.
New > Old
A case study from the last three years is far more evocative than one from a decade or more ago. Things have changed. A story from an era before generative AI, cloud-based computing, ubiquitous mobile devices, and free apps may be hard for current readers to relate to.
Dramatic > Straightforward
“Joe faced a problem. He came up with an answer. He solved it. The end.” That’s pretty dull, and moreover, probably glosses over the challenges that Joe faced and the mistakes he made. The best stories have setbacks that make the triumphs more interesting.
Diverse > similar
It’s hard to relate to a book in which all the case studies are about one or two industries, with the same size companies, and in the same geography if those generalizations don’t apply to you. And gender and racial diversity in case study protagonists can help broaden your audience. Diverse case studies help more readers see themselves in the shoes of your protagonists, making them more effective.
Based on interviews > based on web research
You can find relevant stories online, and including them will bolster the points your making. But a case study based on interviewing real people will include details that aren’t available elsewhere, making it more evocative and more relevant. (Here are some tips for snagging that interview.)
Unknown > little-known > overused
People are bored by stories they’ve read before. Finding a case study that’s never been profiled before is powerful. Telling a story that’s had little exposure is almost as good. But avoid the stories everyone has already heard — about Zappos’ incredible customer service or how Netflix disrupted the entertainment industry, for example.
Real > anonymized > hypothetical > fake
The most compelling stories are about real people and companies mentioned by name. I want to know how Target grew successful and how Tencent took over commerce in China with WeChat. Without the names, these examples are less credible: once you read “Sarah (not her real name), the CMO of a medium-sized midwest retailer,” you become immediately skeptical of whether Sarah exists. While some stories are sensitive and require that you anonymize the people in them — for example, the authors who made dumb mistakes in my manual Build a Better Business Book — it’s best if at least 80% of your stories include people’s real names. Less effective, but better than nothing, is a hypothetical story clearly described in the form of a thought experiment. But there is no excuse for inventing stories that never happened, because lying will destroy your credibility.
Include failures
If everyone in your book succeeds, you’re sending the message that success is easy. Include some examples of people who failed, too. These are harder to find, but add needed perspective to your book. (They’re also the cases that are most likely to require that you mention people’s real names.)
Keep first-person cases to a minimum
Everyone author has personal examples to share. A few can certainly enliven a book. But unless the book is a memoir about your wisdom, it’s best to make most of the cases about somebody other than you. “Look how I was the hero”-type case studies get tedious quickly. While it’s typical to write about your clients, it can be more effective not to focus on your own role in their stories.
Beware the forced fit
Some stories are so great you feel compelled to include them. But make sure they support the lessons you’re hoping readers will take away. If the moral of your case study doesn’t fit your message, you’re wasting readers’ time.
Avoid repetition
Ideally, use each case study once. Coming back to the same company again and again makes your reader wonder if your generalizations are actually true, or if they only apply to the single company that you cite. If a case study is a great example of more than one principle, back it up with additional diverse case studies to prove it’s not a special case.
Avoid Apple and Tesla stories
Your reader is not Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, and their company is not Apple or Tesla. Telling them to behave like Jobs or Musk is like telling a basketball player to be as tall as Victor Wembanyama — it’s not realistic for them to emulate these freakish talents. A relatable case study is more effective than a story about an environment completely unlike their actual problems. And if you’re honest with yourself, you know that everyone has already heard these Apple and Tesla stories anyway.
Yes, case studies are hard
All those criteria! For many of you, I’m sure reading this is discouraging. But don’t lose hope. These are guidelines; you can stretch a few of them if you must. You can create an effective set of cases if you start compiling them early from web research and your personal contacts. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to share their stories. But that only happens when you find them and start reaching out to them.