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HOW TO

SOLVE BIG

PROBLEMS

AND SELL

SOLUTIONS

LIKE TOP

STRATEGY

CONSULTANTS

BERNARD GARRETTE

COREY PHELPS

OLIVIER SIBONY

Cracked it!
Bernard Garrette • Corey Phelps

Olivier Sibony

Cracked it!

How to solve big problems and sell

solutions like top strategy consultants

Bernard Garrette

Corey Phelps

HEC Paris School of Management

Desautels Faculty of Management

Jouy-en-Josas, France

McGill University

Montreal, QC, Canada

Olivier Sibony

HEC Paris School of Management

Jouy-en-Josas, France

ISBN

978-3-319-89374-7 ISBN

978-3-319-89375-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89375-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018944260

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively
licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in
any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,

service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from
the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.

The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that
the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and
accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with
respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or
omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral
with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional
affiliations.

Cover illustration: alashi/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered

company Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham,

Switzerland

Business leaders praise Cracked It!

“When dealing with a major business issue, every decision maker is
facing his own cognitive biases, rooted in experience and personality.
In Cracked It! , the authors not only remind us of the importance of
challenging even obvious solutions or ideas, by taking a step back,
thinking differently, and walking in the other’s shoes –

be it a customer or an audience – but they also provide practical,

value-creating and proven insight.” —Stéphane Richard, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer, Orange

“The future is no longer what it used to be. The business world is

undergoing unprecedented disruption. Every problem is more
complex. Cracked It! will be the bible of the true problem solvers.”

—Daniel Bernard, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,

Carrefour

“If you want to master problem solving, buy this book. It will save
you from coming to sloppy conclusions and guide you through every
aspect of the process of solving a problem. I used it the day after I
started reading it.”

—Neil Janin, Chairman, Bank of Georgia, and Senior Partner

Emeritus, McKinsey

“Too often at the Board or executive level, time is wasted looking for
solutions to a problem which has not been clearly defined. Garrette,
Phelps and Sibony provide a structured approach to defining
problems which should prove useful to practitioners.”

—Paul M Tellier, Former Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier and

Canada National Railways

Thought leaders praise Cracked It!

“Too many companies fail because of bad strategy. This book is full of
frameworks and tips to help you avoid that fate.”
—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take,
Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg

“Written by a trio of leading experts on strategy who draw both on

decades of rigorous academic research and consulting experience,
Cracked It! offers a crystal clear approach to frame and solve
challenging strategic issues. A must-read for executives, consultants,
business school students and leaders in charge of transforming their
organizations.”—Laurence Capron, Professor of Strategy and Dean of
Faculty, INSEAD

“CEOs regularly pay a king’s ransom to the top management

consulting firms for help in solving their most complex problems. You
may not have the consultant’s connections or their knowledge of the
industry, but this book will help you learn the secrets of their
problem-solving process so you can tackle your own problems more
effectively.”

—Chip Heath, Coauthor of Switch and The Power of Moments

“Why do smart and experienced executives sometimes make

spectacularly bad decisions? This book exposes the flaws in analysis
that lie at the root of the problem.

Building on deep academic insights and lots of real-world experience,

Garrette, Phelps and Sibony lay out a structured problem-solving
approach to overcome the many pitfalls that executives fall into. They
don’t just tell you how to get the analysis right, they also explain how
to sell your advice to others. An invaluable guide to anyone who is
involved in decision-making in the business world today.”

—Julian Birkinshaw, Author of Fast/Forward, Professor and Deputy

Dean, London Business School

“This is a GREAT ‘how to’ book for tackling strategic problems and
becoming a better strategic thinker. It not only describes all the major
frameworks used by strategy analysts, but also shows their pitfalls
and how to decide when a particular framework will be useful. All of
the concepts in the book are also demonstrated with real case studies
that bring the process of strategic analysis to life.”

—Melissa Schilling, Author of Quirky and Herzog Family Professor of

Management, Stern School of Business, New York University

“Problem solving is a critical skill for managers and entrepreneurs and

often underserved in business education. Cracked It! does a
phenomenal job in presenting a full problem solving framework
grounded in sound theory, tested in years of practice and fun to
read.”

—Franz Heukamp, Dean, IESE Business School

Strategists praise Cracked It!

“A fully comprehensive and practical introduction to problem-solving

tools and techniques.”

—Georges Desvaux, Senior Partner and Managing Partner,

Africa, McKinsey & Company

“Strategy is problem solving – an important, subtle and pervasive skill

for which business practitioners receive little formal training. Garrette,
Phelps and Sibony provide a valuable and practical guide to the art,
from framing the problem through to communicating and selling the
solution, which should be invaluable to practitioners and consultants.”

—Martin Reeves, Director, BCG Henderson Institute

“A great read for all current and future business leaders! The secret
sauce of solving hard problems and selling solutions to drive change
is at your doorstep. Just go get it!”

—Eric Gervet, Lead Partner, AT Kearney, San Francisco office

“The companies that win will be those that use superior problem
solving tools.

Cracked It! teaches you how. It captures the real world experience of
successful problem solving and presents the learnings in an engaging
style.”

—Rima Qureshi, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer,

Verizon

“The ABSOLUTE reference handbook on problem solving! It is clearly

unique and it smartly introduces an amazing richness of methods,
through cases and easy to understand frameworks. I have to say… I
love it!”

—Jean-Baptiste Voisin, Chief Strategy Officer, LVMH

“In an uncertain world that defies comprehension, we are forced to

make intuitive decisions… but our problem-solving process must be
rational. Therein lies Cracked It! ’s greatest value. Readers will learn
how to shape an effective problem-solving process to channel
intuition into rationality and avoid the mistakes that ensnare the
amateur strategist.”

—General Vincent Desportes, French Army

Acknowledgments

As strategy professors, we interact with a broad range of audiences,

from undergraduate students to MBA participants to senior
executives. Despite very different backgrounds and expectations, all
of them consistently tell us that they struggle with a common
challenge: how to apply what they learn.

Our students tell us that the tools and concepts of business

management are relatively easy to understand. Analyzing the
structure of an industry or assessing whether a company has a cost
advantage is not, after all, an extraordinary intellectual challenge for
people who often have advanced degrees in non-business fields, not
to mention many years of successful experience.

When the time comes to apply the same tools to real business
situations, reality does not conform to the stereotype presented in
the textbooks—or even to the stylized examples presented in case
studies. The problems business people face are complex. Situations
are ambiguous. Facts are unclear. Expectations change quickly.
Whether it is learned in school or on the job, business knowledge
provides executives with a treasure trove of frameworks. But it does
not help them to recognize and make sense of the problems.

In 2014, we set out to fill this gap by developing a course on problem

solving for the core curriculum of the HEC Paris MBA. We soon
realized we needed to address aspects of business communication as
an integral part of the course, for reasons that will become clear as
you read this book. After many iterations and refinements, the course
morphed into the method described in this book.

A significant inspiration for this book is the problem-solving method

developed and refined over many years by McKinsey consultants.
Because the very nature of top management consulting is to help
senior executives make sense of the toughest problems they deal
with, problem-solving proficiency is at the ix

x Acknowledgments

heart of what McKinsey consultants do. Like almost everything in this

extraordinary firm, it is passed on from generation to generation, in
the spirit of apprenticeship. Olivier is immensely grateful to the
masters who taught him the ropes as a young consultant, but also to
all the colleagues, from the partners to the summer associates, who
challenged him in countless team meetings over a quarter century.

We are indebted to the hundreds of students and executives who

participated in our problem solving and communication seminars over
the past few years. Not only did they force us to clarify and refine our
thinking continuously, but they also kept telling us that something
was missing: the course was long enough to make them aware of the
need to hone their problem-solving skills, but too short for them to
become familiar with all the tools and techniques required. Where,
they asked us, is the book they can read to become better problem
solvers? We hope the answer is now in your hands.

Many parts of this book benefited from the input and wisdom of
colleagues. To name only a few, we would like to thank Blaise Allaz,
Pierre Dussauge, Thierry Foucault, Andrea Masini, Anne-Laure Sellier,
and Mathis Schulte, who have been instrumental in extending the
scope of our problem-solving views toward their respective areas of
expertise. More generally, we are indebted to all our colleagues at
our home schools—HEC Paris and McGill—

as well as to friends and colleagues from other institutions we

collaborate with, such as IESE and Saïd Business School, who
engaged in stimulating conversations with us at various stages of the
project. We insist that all remaining errors are ours.

We also benefited from research support from HEC Paris, the HEC

Foundation, and the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill

University, which we gratefully acknowledge.

Turning a classroom experience into a book is an interesting

challenge. We hope this book has retained some of the “hands-on”
feel that we strive for in our teaching, while following the conventions
that make it possible for a reader to navigate it easily. If we’ve had
any success in this endeavor, our editor Jennifer Worick deserves
much of the credit. Isabelle Huynh, our visual editor, helped us
convert our cluttered slides into the elegant visuals you will discover.
We are also grateful to Stephen Partridge and Gabriel Everington of
Palgrave Macmillan for their patient and supportive work.
Working on a book is like any relationship—it requires care and
attention, and sometimes, it can become all-consuming. It can
provide joy one day, and frustration the next. It can also impact other
relationships and benefit from them. Bernard wants to thank Béatrice
for her loving care and

Acknowledgme

nts

xi

support, especially in the challenging personal circumstances that

surrounded the completion of this work. Corey’s wife, Tiffany, and
kids, Chloé-

Rose and Connor, went through a lot and did a lot to support him
during the project, for which he is extremely grateful. Olivier is
equally grateful to Anne-Lise, Fantin, and Lélia for their unfailing
encouragement and patient support.

Contents

1 The Most Important Skill You Never Learned

Fast and Slow Problem Solving

Problem Solving and the Expertise Trap

Complex Problems and “Unknown Unknowns”

7
The Need for a Disciplined Problem-Solving Process

10

Chapter 1 in One Page

12

2 The Five Pitfalls of Problem Solving

15

Case 1: When the Music Industry Went Out of Tune

15

Pitfall 1: Flawed Problem Definition

16

Case 2: The Grameen–Danone Strengthening Yogurt

18

Pitfall 2: Solution Confirmation

21

Case 3: The Call Center Story

22

Pitfall 3: Wrong Framework

23

Case 4: New Strategy at J.C. Penney

25
Pitfall 4: Narrow Framing

26

Case 5: A Fat Chance for Sugar

29

Pitfall 5: Miscommunication

32

Chapter 2 in One Page

33

3 The 4S Method

35

Where Does the 4S Method Come from?

35

An Overview of the 4S Method

41

State: A Problem Well Posed Is Half-Solved

43

xiii

xiv Contents

Structure: The Architecture of Problem Solving

44
Solve: Between Analysis and Creativity

46

Sell: Choose the Approach That Suits Your Audience

48

Chapter 3 in One Page

51

4 State the Problem: The TOSCA Framework

53

Trouble: What Makes This Problem Real and Present?

54

Owner: Whose Problem Is This?

57

Success Criteria: What Will Success Look Like, and When?

58

Constraints: What Are the Limitations and Trade-Offs?

60

Actors: Who Are the Stakeholders?

61

Write the Core Question

62
Singing TOSCA as a Choir

65

Chapter 4 in One Page

67

5 Structure the Problem: Pyramids and Trees

69

Hypothesis-Driven Problem Structuring

71

Building a Hypothesis Pyramid

72

Hypothesis-Driven Problem Structuring: Pros and Cons

79

Issue-Driven Problem Structuring

84

Growing Issue Trees

86

Growing a Tree or Building a Pyramid?

89

Chapter 5 in One Page

92
6 Structure the Problem: Analytical Frameworks

95

Using Frameworks to Breakdown Problems

96

The Danger of Frameworks: Frameworks as Mental Models

99

Industry Frameworks: Value Drivers

101

Functional Frameworks

105

When All Else Fails, Try Good Old Logic

113

Chapter 6 in One Page

115

7 Solve the Problem: Eight Degrees of Analysis

117

From Structuring to Analyses

117

Eight Degrees of Analysis

121
Planning the Work

125

Conducting the Analysis

126

Chapter 7 in One Page

136

Conte

nts

xv

8 Redefine the Problem: The Design Thinking Path

139

Design Thinking and When to Use it

142

Five Phases, One Mindset

144

Phase 1: Empathize

147

Phase 2: Define

156

Chapter 8 in One Page

165

9 Structure and Solve the Problem Using Design Thinking

169

Phase 3: Ideate

171

Phase 4: Prototype

182

Phase 5: Test

186

Chapter 9 in One Page

191

10 Sell the Solution: Core Message and Storyline

197

Don’t Tell the Story of the Search, Tell the Story of the Solution 198

The Pyramid Principle

200

Pave the Way for a Dialogue

204

Design Your Storyline

205
Go for Either a Grouping or an Argument

213

Chapter 10 in One Page

220

11 Sell the Solution: Recommendation Report and Delivery

223

Manage Communications Throughout the Process

224

Beware the PowerPoint Curse

225

Create an Effective, Modular Report

226

Develop the Content Pages

230

Make Quantitative Charts Relevant and Simple

233

Use Conceptual Charts Sparingly

241

Trim the Deck Ruthlessly

241
Quality Control

243

Beyond Slide Presentations

243

Chapter 11 in One Page

248

12 The 4S Method in Action

251

Case Study: The Kangaroo Opportunity

251

What Is the Problem?

255

Structuring the Problem

257

xvi Contents

Solving the Problem

257

Selling the Solution

259

Appendix: First Section of a Report on the Kangaroo Case Study 263

13 Conclusion: Becoming a Master Problem-Solver

271

Index

275

List of Figures

Fig. 3.1

The 4S method

42

Fig. 4.1

TOSCA problem statement worksheet

64

Fig. 5.1

The hypothesis pyramid

72

Fig. 5.2

First level of a hypothesis pyramid on the Librinova case

73

Fig. 5.3

More complete hypothesis pyramid on the Librinova case

77
Fig. 5.4

Issue tree structure

85

Fig. 5.5

Preliminary issue tree on the Librinova case

87

Fig. 5.6

More complete issue tree on the Librinova case

88

Fig. 5.7

When to use a hypothesis pyramid or an issue tree

91

Fig. 6.1

A stock analyst’s framework

96

Fig. 6.2

A basic question breakdown for a private equity firm

97

Fig. 6.3

Private equity firm issue tree

97

Fig. 6.4

Private equity firm issue tree (continued)

98

Fig. 6.5

Three ways to break down questions

100

Fig. 6.6

Simple breakdown of Starbucks question

101

Fig. 6.7

Starbucks issue tree first attempt

102

Fig. 6.8

Starbucks issue tree using industry framework

103

Fig. 6.9

Starbucks issue tree using functional framework

105
Fig. 6.10 Starbucks issue tree using functional framework (continued)
106

Fig. 6.11 Starbucks issue tree using a logical decomposition

113

Fig. 7.1

First level of hypothesis pyramid on Solar case

118

Fig. 7.2

More complete hypothesis pyramid on Solar case

119

Fig. 7.3

Analysis plan for Solar case (sub-hypothesis 1)

121

Fig. 7.4

Analysis plan for Solar case (sub-hypothesis 2)

122

Fig. 7.5

Analysis plan for Solar case (sub-hypothesis 3)

123

Fig. 8.1
Process of design thinking

144

Fig. 8.2

Template for user empathy map

158

xvii

xviii

List of Figures

Fig. 10.1 The pyramid principle

201

Fig. 10.2 Storyline on the Librinova case

207

Fig. 10.3 Storyline patterns

217

Fig. 11.1 From storyline to slide deck

227

Fig. 11.2 First page of Mustang Airlines report

228

Fig. 11.3 First page of Summit Water report

229
Fig. 11.4 First storyline page of Summit Water report

230

Fig. 11.5 Second storyline page of Summit Water report

231

Fig. 11.6 Content page in a report on the Mustang Airlines problem

232

Fig. 11.7 Quantitative chart templates

235

Fig. 11.8 Column chart of a time series

236

Fig. 11.9 Pie and stacked columns charts

237

Fig. 11.10 Waterfall chart

238

Fig. 11.11 Bar chart

238

Fig. 11.12 Frequency distribution

239

Fig. 11.13 Paired bar chart showing ranking correlation

240
Fig. 11.14 Correlation of price per watt and installed capacity of
renewable energy sources

240

Fig. 11.15 Conceptual chart templates

242

Fig. 11.16 Report and presentation checklist

244

Fig. 12.1 Issue tree on the Kangaroo case study

258

List of Tables

Table 6.1 Selected marketing frameworks

108

Table 6.2 Selected strategy frameworks

109

Table 6.3 Selected organization and change frameworks

110

Table 6.4 Selected operations frameworks

110

Table 6.5 Selected finance frameworks

111
Table 8.1 How to be a good observer

150

Table 8.2 How to conduct semi-structured interviews

152

Table 8.3 How to build a journey map

160

Table 8.4 Synthesizing user needs, user insights, and design

imperatives 162

Table 9.1 Using SCAMPER to ideate

179

xix

The Most Important Skill You Never

Learned

On July 16, 2004, Michael Dell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Dell Inc., announced that longtime Dell senior executive and
Chief Operations Officer Kevin Rollins would take over as CEO of the
company formerly known as Dell Computer. Before joining Dell in
1996, Rollins had been a VP and partner at the consultancy Bain &
Company, where he advised Dell on its famous direct business model.
At the time of Rollins’s anointing, Dell was the world’s largest and
most profitable producer of computers. Its stock closed just above
$35, the highest since the bursting of the tech bubble in the summer
of 2000. Only two and a half years later, at the beginning of 2007,
the situation was very different. Revenue growth had slowed
significantly, market share had declined, and HP had knocked Dell out
of the top spot as the world’s largest computer manufacturer. Dell
had also repeatedly missed analysts’ earnings estimates, and its stock
price had dropped by nearly a third. In late 2006, Dell recalled over
four million laptops because batteries were exploding or igniting. A
few months earlier, the US Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) launched an investigation into accounting irregularities relating
to the timing and recognition of income and expenses, which led to a
restatement of Dell’s net income for 2003–06. Finally, an internal
employee survey had bluntly signaled declining confidence in Dell
leadership.

Dell Inc. had a problem. Shareholders and employees were unhappy

with the situation and desperate for a return to better performance.
As Chairman and the largest shareholder, Michael Dell “owned” this
business problem and had a powerful incentive to solve it quickly. If
you were Michael Dell in early 2007, what would you have done to
tackle this issue?

© The Author(s) 2018

B. Garrette et al., Cracked it! , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-

89375-4_1

B. Garrette et al.

Fast and Slow Problem Solving

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
"You may guess what it is, if you like," said Forbes, "but it
would spoil all the fun to show it to you beforehand. Ask me
questions, and I'll answer yes or no."

"Well then, is it heavy?"

"Light?"

"Rather, yes."

"Can I hold it in my hand?"

"Yes."

"Is it long and straight?"

"It's quite straight—particularly so—and rather long."

"I say Forbes—it isn't—no it can't be a walking stick, of

course," said Jack growing excited, and fervently hoping it
was.

"No, but that's not a fair question, you must find out more
about it."

"Is it a useful thing?"

"Decidedly."

"Not too useful I hope," said Jack, somewhat dejectedly.

"I don't know what you mean by too useful—nothing can be

too useful."

"I mean it has nothing to do with lessons—a blotting book,

or slate, or anything of that sort."
"Well yes, it is something of that sort, but I know you
haven't got one, and really want one, I heard you ask
Geoffrey for his only the other day."

"It's a ruler!" said Jack blankly.

"Yes—but not only a ruler. Here, I'll let you feel it, old boy."

Jack felt it.

"It's one of those rulers with a pencil in it," he murmured,

then he added effusively lest Forbes should think him
ungrateful, "thanks awfully, it's jolly, it's awfully kind of
you."

Forbes felt and saw his little brother was disappointed.

"I quite forgot you didn't care for useful things, I like them
myself. But," he added, anxious to raise Jack's spirits, and
to make the best of his present which he felt was a failure,
and unappreciated, "this is a particularly nice ruler—it has a
first-rate pencil in it, and a view of the Grammar School and
Arboretum outside. That's why I got it, I thought you'd be
sure to like it."
"Forbes," said Mr. Hodson, laying a kind hand on the boy's
shoulder,
"you remind me of a verse in Proverbs, 'He that ruleth
his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.'"
"Thanks awfully," was all that Jack could think of to say,
then after a moment's pause he asked, "What are you going
to give Geoff?"

"I'm giving him a walking stick, a regular wopper. I got it

while you and he were looking after the doll. It has a knob
at the end the size of my fist. I've asked them to send it out
to Hazelbury for me, as I was afraid Geoff would see me
carrying it."

"I say Forbes," said Jack colouring, and in a low voice, "you
wouldn't, I suppose, give Geoff the ruler and let me have
the stick?"

"No, certainly not," said Forbes angrily. "You are an

ungrateful sneaking little scamp, get away with you."

Jack burst into tears at this, and ran past Mr. Hodson and
Geoff, who had overheard Forbes' words, as he had raised
his voice in his anger.

Mr. Hodson turned round and looked at Forbes. The light of

a lamp close by shewed him the indignant light in the boy's
eyes.

"He's gone to complain to nurse now I suppose," he said,

angrily looking after Jack's little figure, as he ran crying up
the drive and into the house.

"Forbes," said Mr. Hodson, laying a kind hand on the boy's

shoulder, "you remind me of a verse in Proverbs, 'He that
ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.' You
have the chance of being a greater man then even
Alexander—for though he conquered the world, he could not
conquer his own temper, and killed his best friend in a fit of
anger."
"Thank you Sir," said Forbes, "I'll remember."

CHAPTER IV.
TAKING A CITY.

Geoffrey remembered Mr. Hodson's words later in the

evening.

He did not turn in at the garden gate with Forbes, but

telling him he had some business to do before going in to
tea, he gave his presents into his brother's keeping, and ran
down the hill on the summit of which their house stood.

At the bottom of the hill, he came upon a tumbled-down

cottage, standing quite by itself. Old Rachel, of whom Mrs.
Green had told them, lived here.

The thought of Rachel had lain very heavily on Geoffrey's

heart the last two or three days. He could not forget that
she was a mother, and a mother neglected by her only
child, who, when she gave her anything at all, only passed
on to her what she couldn't eat herself. He was thinking of
Rachel when the apple puffs were passed round at dinner.
Now apple puffs was a favourite dish of Geoffrey's, as I
fancy it is of most boys. They looked particularly tempting
to-day, and he ate the first with a relish. It was just as he
was taking his second, that Mrs. Green's words came across
his mind, "and if ever she gives her anything, you may be
quite sure it ain't fit to eat, something they can't eat
themselves because it's turned."

Geoffrey looked at the puff as it lay so invitingly on his

plate. It was three cornered, and a little burnt at the edges,
which made it all the nicer in Geoffrey's opinion, and a nice
layer of white sugar lay on the top.

How good it looked! For a moment the boy gazed at it

undecidedly, then, when no one was looking, he put it into
his jacket pocket, and resolved to take it round to old
Rachel when they came back from Ipswich.

"For once," thought Geoff, "she shall have something that

somebody else wants."

He had had some difficulty in knowing how to stow away his

many presents so as not to crush his apple puff, but he had
managed somehow, and now as he stood outside the door
of Rachel's cottage, he took the puff out and was glad to
find it still whole. It certainly looked very tempting, and
Geoffrey was hungry after his walk. No one would see if
after all he ate it, instead of giving it to old Rachel, and no
one would consciously miss it.

For a moment the boy's resolution wavered, then he

knocked at the door.

Now an apple puff was not a very great thing to give up for
the sake of another, and perhaps some of my little readers
may think that it would not have signified very much if
Geoffrey had eaten it after all. But we must remember, that
life is made up of little things, and the great battle of life,
on which so much depends, consists often of little victories
and little losses, and this small victory that Geoffrey gained
that afternoon helped him in after years to gain a far
greater one.

When he grew up to be a man, there was something he

wanted very much, which was far more worth having than
this apple puff. He wanted it so much that he sometimes
felt he would almost give his life to possess it for ever such
a short time; but somebody else wanted it too, someone
who was weaker than he was, and who perhaps needed it
more than he did, and Geoffrey gave it right up for the sake
of that other.

I do not think he would have acted so nobly when he was a

man, if he had not begun quite early in life to deny himself.
If he had lost this little battle and had eaten the apple puff
outside old Rachel's door, in all probability he would have
lost that greater battle in after life.
"You are old Rachel, aren't you?" asked Geoffrey.
"Well, what if I be?" she answered.
"Come in," said a quavering voice as Geoffrey knocked, and
on entering, he saw a haggard looking old woman, with a
forbidding expression of face, and grey straggling hair,
crouching over a small fire.

"You are old Rachel, aren't you?" asked Geoffrey, who had
never seen her before.

"Well, what if I be?" she answered in a low gruff voice, "I

don't want no one to come interfering with me, leastways a
child. What do you want—eh?"

"I've brought you an apple puff," said Geoffrey, standing

still by the door.

"Shut the door, can't ye," said Rachel shivering, "the

draught's enough to cut one in two. An apple puff is it? That
ain't the kind of food I want, I ought to be fed on arrowroot
I tell ye, and sweet puddings and the like. But Jane never
sends me what I need, it's either somethin' that's turned
bad, or else what I can't eat."

"This is quite new and fresh," said Geoffrey, shutting the

door and coming a little nearer, while he laid the puff on the
table, "perhaps you've never tasted a puff—it's awfully good
—I wish you'd try it."

"That's a likely story, if Jane sent it," said Rachel glancing at

it, and then looking up suspiciously at Geoffrey.

"No one sent it," interposed Geoffrey. "We had them for
dinner to-day, and I thought you'd like one as they were so
good. I'm Geoffrey Fortescue, and I heard of you from Mrs.
Green."

Rachel looked back again at the fire, muttering to herself,

and Geoffrey looked round the room, and thought how bare
it was, and how lonely Rachel looked.

"Haven't you any money to get things with?" he asked.

"Money ain't for such as me: the big folk that don't need it,
they have the money. This world's comforts ain't for me."

"There's Heaven for you," said Geoffrey.

Rachel darted a quick look at the boy, and as she saw the
earnest young face looking at her so pitifully, the expression
on her own face softened, and she shook her head.

"I take it Heaven is a long way off," she said sadly.

"It doesn't seem so very far," answered Geoff, "Mother is

there, and I sometimes feel she's quite close."

"Heaven ain't meant for such as me," muttered Rachel,

cowering closer to the fire.

"I thought God loved everybody, and meant Heaven for the
whole world," said Geoff, "and," he added earnestly, "I'm
quite sure God must want you there, because you are so
lonely."

Rachel wiped away a tear or two with her apron. She had
not cried for many a long day. She had harboured too bitter
thoughts to allow of tears, but to-day, something in the
boy's simple words touched her hard old heart.

"I mustn't stop," said Geoffrey, looking out of the window at

the darkness, "or Nurse won't like it. But I'll ask Mr. Hodson
to come and see you, and I'll leave the apple puff, for it's
ever so good, if you'll only try it."

Rachel nodded her assent to the last sentence, but added:

"But don't you bring no parsons to see me. I don't want no
parsons here, unless," she added with a sob, and beginning
to rock herself backwards and forwards, "unless he can tell
me the way straight and plain to Heaven. I'd like to know
that."

Closing the door softly after him, Geoffrey ran as fast as he

could to Mr. Hodson. Although he ran the risk of a scolding
from Nurse for being late, he felt that Rachel must not be
left in her misery.

He arrived at the house nearly breathless, and told his

friend what had happened.

Mr. Hodson, who had together with the Vicar for many a
year tried in vain to overcome Rachel's objection to see a
clergyman, was glad enough of the news Geoffrey brought
him, and prepared at once to go and see her.

"Mr. Hodson," said Geoffrey anxiously, "God loves her,

doesn't He? And He won't turn her away from Heaven, if
she asks to be let in."

"If Rachel really wants to find God, He certainly will not turn
her away," answered Mr. Hodson. "The Lord Jesus Christ has
made a way there for us all, and old Rachel's way is the
same as yours and mine. Do you remember the story
Geoff," he added, as he put On his coat to start off at once,
"of the man who saved his children by making a bridge of
his own body from the window of his burning house to that
of the opposite one? The houses were very near together,
and he could reach from one window to another."

"His children one by one crossed over his body into safety,
and just as the last child was saved, the house fell in, and
the man was killed. When the Blessed Lord Jesus died on
the Cross, He made a bridge for Rachel, and for you and for
me to Heaven. You see, I have good news for your old
friend, Geoff my boy, so you run home as fast as you can or
you'll get a scolding."

And Geoff did get a scolding. Nurse met him at the door.

"Master Geoff," she cried, "I'm downright ashamed of you

for setting the children such an example. There I've been
worrying after you for the last twenty minutes, and thought
you'd come to some accident or other. I'm downright
ashamed of you."

"I had some business to do," said Geoffrey, trying to pass

her. But Nurse placed her portly figure in his way.

"Business! A chit like you talking of business! What'll you

come to next, I wonder. You're a naughty boy and ought to
be ashamed of yourself. What business have you had to do,
I should like to know, except to be a good obedient boy.
That's the business you ought to be doing I take it."

Geoffrey flushed angrily. His mother never scolded him in

this way, and he had often run messages for her as late as
this by himself.

"Let me pass, Nurse," he said angrily, trying to push past

her, "I've not been doing anything wrong."

"Nothing wrong!" exclaimed Nurse, catching hold of his

arm. "Nothing wrong to make me that anxious about you
that I didn't know what to do—nothing wrong that you've
kept us all waiting for tea, and have set a bad example to
all the children. I'm ashamed of you Master Geoff. Now I
should like to know what you've been about, and I mean to
know too."
But at the sight of the bread and water, he lost his temper
completely,
and taking up the glass, he threw it on to the ground.
Now Geoff did not wish to tell Nurse about the apple puff,
and felt exceedingly angry at being treated like a little boy,
and held by the arm in this way. So raising his hand he
struck nurse's arm as hard as he could, and then pale with
anger, he rushed into his bedroom and locked the door.

"Well I never!" ejaculated nurse. "If that isn't a wicked

temper, I don't know what is."

When she went back into the nursery a few minutes

afterwards, she informed the children that Geoff had been a
naughty boy, and was to have no tea that evening, but that
Forbes might put a glass of water and some bread outside
his door, but was not to speak a word to him.

Forbes, in utter astonishment at his elder brother being

punished in this way, obeyed wonderingly.

Now it was a great pity that Geoffrey had not at once

explained to nurse the cause of his absence. She might
have given him a slight scolding, for not asking her leave
before going, but her kind heart would have sympathized
with him, in his wish to do a kindness.

But Geoffrey's pride had stood in the way. He could not

endure being treated like a little boy, and scolded like a
naughty child, and as he paced up and down his room, his
indignation rose, and reached its climax when he heard
Forbes' footstep outside, and the sound of him quietly
laying down his tea, as he supposed, by his door without a
word. Was he to be treated then like a mere baby? And to
be held in disgrace like Jack or Dodie would have been, if
they had been naughty?

He opened his door impatiently to call after Forbes to take

away his tea, but at the sight of the bread and water, he
lost his temper completely, and taking up the glass, he
threw it on to the ground, smashing it to pieces. Then
locked his door again, and would not open it, though nurse
shook it violently.

Then it was that Mr. Hodson's words about Alexander came

into his mind, and Geoffrey stood quite still in his walk.

"'He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a

city,'" thought Geoff.

Half an hour afterwards, to Forbes' intense astonishment,

Geoffrey appeared in the nursery and apologized to nurse.

Nurse said nothing, but going to the cupboard, she mixed

some gregory powder in a wineglass, saying, "anyone who
shows temper like that, I take it, must be ill. There my
dear," she added kindly, "you drink that, there's a good boy
—and you'll feel better to-morrow."

And Geoff drank it to the dregs, and in so doing was greater

than Alexander the Great.
 CHAPTER V.
"POOR LITTLE LAD."

Geoffrey could not fail to acknowledge to himself that after

all, Nurse had been wise in putting Dodie into a frock with
high neck and long sleeves, for the winter was unusually
severe.

Snow lay for several days some inches thick in the garden,
and though the boys enjoyed the snowballing well enough,
and were able to keep themselves thoroughly warm, little
Dodie seemed to feel the cold very acutely, and often came
in from her daily walk crying from the pain of freezing
fingers.

In fact, the child did not seem herself, and Nurse began to
grow uneasy about her, particularly as in seven days' time,
Major Fortescue was expected and she was naturally
anxious that all the children should be looking their best on
his arrival.

In Geoffrey's eyes, Dodie seemed to be growing thinner and

smaller altogether, and a terrible fear seized him lest she
was going to be ill, and would be so when his Father
arrived.
As the days past, he gave up snowballing, and spent his
time in the nursery with Dodie, who was not allowed out.

"I think the cold has struck her," said Nurse, as one day she
altogether refused to eat her dinner. "I've a mind to send
for Dr. Booth, the powders I've been giving her don't seem
to be what she wants."

Geoffrey laid down his knife and fork, feeling a sudden

disinclination for the mutton and dumplings before him.

"Do you think Dodie is going to be ill?" he asked anxiously.

"I hope not, my dear, but it ain't like her to turn away from
her food, and she has a nasty little cough that don't get
better. Anyways I'll ask Dr. Booth to look in, there can't be
no harm in that. There, there my darling," she added,
taking Dodie on to her knee, "don't cry, there's a pet."

Nurse looked down at Dodie's little face which was lying on

her arm.

"I don't like the look of her," she murmured more to herself
than to anyone else, "her eyes are too bright to be natural,
and she's restless, poor little dear." Then louder she added,
"Geoff, you might run down when you've finished your
dinner and ask the doctor to be so good as to look in. You'd
catch him before he starts out on his rounds if you're
quick."
 "Dr. Booth," he said,—looking up into the Doctor's face—
"will Dodie be well by the time Father comes home?"

Geoffrey, who had listened with a beating heart to all Nurse

had said, sprang up at once, and not heeding Nurse's
injunction to finish his dinner first, ran off at once for the
Doctor, and returned again in an incredibly short time.

To his excited imagination, the few minutes that elapsed

between leaving the message at the doctor's door and his
arrival seemed hours, and then at last his ring was heard,
and a minute after, he stood looking at Dodie, who still lay
in nurse's arms.

Geoff did not move his eyes from his face, till Nurse
suddenly looking up and becoming conscious of the three
little listeners who stood around, ordered them all
peremptorily out of the room. Geoffrey, however, waylaid
the Doctor as he left.

"Dr. Booth," he said, standing with his hands thrust deeply

in his pockets, and looking earnestly up into the Doctor's
face as he put on his coat in the hall, "will Dodie be well by
the time Father comes home?"

The Doctor shook his head somewhat ominously.

"That I can't tell you, my boy," he answered, as he buttoned

up his coat and smoothed his collar, "with care I hope your
little sister will get well before very long—but it will require
care—and I can't say exactly when she will be herself
again."

"Is she going to be very ill?" asked Geoff.

The doctor turned away somewhat hurriedly from the

anxious face looking up into his, and fidgeted a little
nervously with his hat before putting it on. Then clearing his
throat, he looked round again and patted the boy on the
head saying, kindly:
"Care and physic do wonderful things, my boy—for all I
know, your little sister will be having a game of snowballing
with you this day week."

"I do hope she'll be well by the time Father comes," said

Geoff with a sigh.

"Oh well—who knows!" said Dr. Booth jovially—and

ramming his hat on his head, he nodded to Geoff, and in a
minute more was driving away from the house, but not
away from the remembrance of those anxious eyes that had
been raised so beseechingly to him,—which remembrance
made him shake his head, murmuring "poor little lad."

When Geoff went up to the nursery, he saw Nurse had been

crying, but when he asked what the Doctor really thought of
Dodie, she told him she had no time to talk and that he had
better go down to the other boys in the schoolroom as
Dodie had to go straight to bed, and mustn't be disturbed
by any noise.

Geoffrey did as he was bid, but with a heavy heart, feeling

quite sure that Nurse's tears meant that Dodie was very ill.
He could not play with Forbes and Jack, or even read, but
sat by the fire, looking silently at the red coals, for an hour
or more.

It was the greatest relief when Nurse at last came down and
told him he might go upstairs and watch by Dodie's crib
while she had her tea, and that was the beginning of a
continual watching on the boy's part. Nurse finding how
gentle and tender he was, and how noiselessly he could
move about when he liked, did not object to his spending
many hours by Dodie's crib, and indeed, in her great
anxiety, she began to be thankful for the boy's presence.
For the Doctor's report of Dodie had been serious. The child