Category Archives: 06-Building a case

Identifying the logic and evidence support for a recommendation (for example using a logic pyramid to drive a story line), summarizing the message compactly and clearly (for example the “elevator pitch” version of the recommendations)

01-Structuring a problem, 05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 99-Applying business intelligence, creativity methods, evaluating evidence, feedback, scoping

Performance evaluation

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As part of this semester’s MP course I wanted to solicit feedback on my performance from constituents beyond my direct supervisor. I looked through the web for different options, and I found that I favor MIT’s performance evaluation templates the most. They have two formats that I think can be used to capture a lot of information about feedback on our professional performances.

One of them is focused on a quantitative evaluation of your performance along several parameters; the other is more narrative style and asks for stories regarding your development in your role and your organization.

As a quick summary, here are the parameters around which the quant one measures performance:

1. Proficiency/skill in carrying out assignments (ability/competency)

2. Planning/organizing/prioritizing work load (analysis/time management)

3. Holds self accountable for assigned responsibilities (accountability/reliability)

4. Proficiency at improving work methods/procedures (continual improvement)

5. Effective communicator

6. Ability to work independently/ or with a team

7.  Willingness to take on additional responsibilities

8. Adeptness in analyzing facts, problem solving, decision-making, and demonstrating good judgement (sensible thinker)

All managers are different, and some people may have managers that have unclear expectations, or do not communicate their expectations. This points to the importance of being able to manage oneself. I think that pointers such as these can lead the individual to continually reflect and evaluate their own performance. Of course, we may not be as objective as an outside source (but heck, they are likely not to be objective either!), but at least we can bring a greater awareness to monitoring our performance. By bringing a higher level of awareness, we should be able to hone in on issues, and do a little trouble-shooting ourselves.

 

06-Building a case, 07c-Telling stories

FILM CRITIC HULK: Screenwriting 101 (The Art of Story-Telling)

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FILM CRITIC HULK is a unique writer who uses all caps and “Hulk speak” to analyze movies, filmmaking and the way we consume movies. He allegedly works in the film industry with his real name, and he uses the comic book influenced pseudonym for all of his critical writing. He put together a book length treatise on the art of screenwriting that offers keen insight on story telling in general. Beware, getting past the CAPS LOCK WALL takes some practice.

Instead of giving a book report, recapping all of Hulk’s points, I’d like to highlight a few points that are clearly applicable to story-telling outside of the screenplay medium.  The full post has seven parts:

  1. What is a Story?
  2. Where to Find Inspiration?
  3. 6 General Stuffs You Need to Know Beforehand
  4. How to Tell a Story – Conceptually
  5. How to Tell a Story – Structurally
  6. How to Tell a Story – Screenplay-Specific Instruction
  7. Now Here Comes the Hard Part

Hulk points out that, ” A GOOD NARRATIVE IS COMPELLING TO THE AUDIENCE, ECONOMICALLY TOLD, FEELS REAL EITHER IN TERMS OF EMOTION, DETAIL, OR TEXTURE, AND SPEAKS TO SOME THEMATIC TRUTH THAT YOU RECOGNIZE IN YOURSELF OR THE WORLD AT LARGE.” In the business world, this translates to making sure your audience is engaged in your subject and explaining it in a way with which the audience can identify. We all need to make persuasive arguments in the office, often to diverse audiences. The narrative that wins over a colleague to your point of view may not speak to your boss in the same way.

Hulk also points out that the most important force in telling a story is empathy. This is especially true when making a persuasive argument to a coworker over who you have no direct authority. Framing an argument as a story that the other party can relate to goes a long way toward getting your point across.

Hulk repeatedly derides constrictive structural rules when telling a story. Professors Noonan and Smith have mentioned the same point in regards to presentations. We covered the basic structure that would make a successful slide deck, but it’s important to bend the guidelines if it adds to the story or presentation.

I highly recommend all of Hulk’s writing, although it can get pretty long winded. Now I’ll just leave this right here:

06-Building a case

Life is a Negotiation, Come out on top

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One of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my career is the power of being an effective negotiator.  Some people will say that their job doesn’t entail negotiations but I would argue every job involves negotiations.  Whether you are trying to make a sales pitch with a formal presentation, doing a price negotiation with a supplier, trying to get your cross functional team to use your project idea, or even trying to convince your boss you need a raise.  If you talk to anyone at work at some point you are doing some sort of negotiation.

Being persuasive is another way to view negotiations.  If you are trying to persuade someone of your point of view then you are doing a negotiation.  The quicker you realize you are negotiating with someone the quicker you can begin to use some of these tips of how to be more persuasive:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/how-persuasive-and-get-what-you-want-easily.html

For the basis of MP we are primarily talking about how to be more persuasive during presentations.  Every time we present in MP we are trying to persuade the audience to think our solution to the problem is the best solution out there.  Before you put together any presentation you should ask yourself “What do I want from the audience?” and then tailor your presentation to achieve that.

As I mentioned above I like to look at being persuasive as an important skill set to being successful in business.  Being an effective negotiator can get you on the projects you want, have the processes you want implemented, working with the people you want, and ultimately getting you that job and promotion you covet.

Some people don’t like negotiating, initially myself included, but the more you practice it and use these techniques the more natural it will become.  Before you know it you will be negotiating with people without even realizing it.

What have you negotiated for lately?

06-Building a case, 07b-Using good information design

McKinsey’s take on making cost cuts stick

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Working at a large company, I frequently read and hear about the next initiative coming down the pipe to reduce costs, but rarely do those efforts create lasting change.  We improve in the short term most likely as a result of the Hawthorne Effect, but the control measures used to lock in the change are either inadequate or not monitored to ensure compliance.

In this article, McKinsey & Company offers 5 tips to making cost cuts stick (it is also available in a podcast).  Each suggestion is backed up with data and experience demonstrating the effectiveness or lack thereof in creating lasting change.  The one that hit home for me was to “Clearly articulate the link between cost management and strategy.”  The article reads, “the goal cannot be merely to meet a bottom-line target,” but that is frequently what our company does.  I like how the article points out that it might not be wise to starve a business unit that is a shining star in need of resources for the purpose of simply meeting a savings goal.

As a business leader, I believe we should concentrate on what changes our business needs to be competitive in the market place, and not the attainment of some arbitrary savings target.

01-Structuring a problem, 04-Managing a project team, 05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 06-Building a case, creativity methods, evaluating evidence, problem statement, scoping, team dynamics

How Effective Leaders Solve Problems

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Effective leaders tend to find a strong balance between data analysis and intuition. Many times, the aspect of intuition comes from recognizing patterns or trends. A big part of problem solving is recognizing these trends and finding ways to minimize its reoccurrence. Additionally, it is important for leaders to understand the true essence of the problem rather than finding a temporary fix that will likely rise again in the near future. This gives leaders more time to focus on other areas of the business rather than continuing to fix the same problem over and over again.

Understanding the intricacies of every aspect of the business is one way to develop a strong sense of how your decisions can affect specific areas of the business. Effective leaders don’t look at problems as a nuisance; effective leaders see problems as an opportunity for ongoing improvements.

Forbes has come up with four characteristics that make an effective leader:

1) Transparent Communication: The main takeaway is that transparent communication allows for other people to be heard. It fosters an environment where people are willing to speak up if there is an issue.

2) Break Down Silos: The importance of this characteristic is to eliminate boundaries. It is important to solve problems that affect the overall business rather than one segment of the business.

3) Open-Minded People: Effective leaders are ones who are not discouraged to find innovative ways to solve a problem. They are individuals that do not avoid the problem; they are not afraid to face problems head-on.

4) A Solid Foundational Strategy: As we have learned in our Strategy course, a business without a strategy is dangerous. Effective leaders go beyond figuring out the problem; they find ways to implement a strategy to solve the problem. This includes resource allocation and budgeting.

Some final takeaways are:

  • Always step back and assess the situation; never take a blind guess when solving a problem.
  • Find ways to solve the cause of the problem to eliminate it from reoccurring.
  • Learn from your previous failures and use those lessons learned to solve future problems.
  • Don’t avoid problem solving; challenge yourself to solve the problem head-on.

To read more about becoming an effective leader, feel free to visit the article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2013/11/04/the-4-most-effective-ways-leaders-solve-problems/.

05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 06-Building a case

Building a Better Business Case

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I believe that one of the hardest part of giving a great presentation, is the ability to persuade your audience.  Sure, I can give you tons and tons of data to back up why my solution is the best.  But showing data sometimes is not enough.  How you structure how to present the solution is an important aspect as well.

The article “6 Steps to Building a Better Sales Pitch” shares that “You need to get to the heart of why this activity is in their best interest.”  In other words, why should they care?  It suggests that asking the six questions below will help put you on the right path of building a case.

1.  What is the potential value in this situation?
You have to have a logical financial and strategic foundation to create value.

2.  Who do you need to convince?

3.  What motivates each party?
It’s important to understand what drives a stakeholder’s behavior and focus.

4.  What items will you need to seal the deal?

5.  What actions do you want each party to take?
Laying out a specific path the stakeholder definitely helps them visualize how this action plan can work for them.

6.  How can you most effectively communicate the action you want them to take?
Presentation and format depend on your target. Tailor your message to the style of the audience.

Here is a link to the full story: http://www.inc.com/karl-and-bill/6-steps-to-building-a-better-sales-pitch.html

01-Structuring a problem, 06-Building a case, evaluating evidence, issue trees, problem statement, scoping

A Recap on the Strategic Problem-Solving Model

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Oftentimes, we can be inundated with information from work, school, and other obligations. We have covered a lot of this information in our MP course, but it is good information to look at and keep in mind when faced with trying to solve a problem in your business. McKinsey has developed a strategic problem-solving model that is specifically set in place to help MBA students build knowledge and skillsets in strategy.

Here is McKinsey’s strategic problem-solving model:

We must first start with defining the problem and determining what information is required to expand your research on that problem. This is where you “frame the problem” and then develop a hypothesis based on that problem. At this step, we develop an issue tree to break down our ideas into smaller components.

Once you develop an issue tree, you need to sort out the information into what you know and what you don’t know. Then you seek out more information on those topics that you don’t know by using fact-finding and interviewing techniques to gather information.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when following this problem-solving model:

  • Be sure to follow facts, not intuition
  • Figure out the underlying issue before diving into the project
  • Don’t reinvent the wheel; follow the frameworks given to you
  • Look to other resources to help guide you with your research
  • Garbage in = garbage out
  • First, look at the annual report, then outliers in data as well as best practices in the industry

For more information on this strategic problem-solving model, be sure to visit http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/donaldson.html.

05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 99-Applying business intelligence, business databases, evaluating evidence, library research

Iron Maiden and Data Analysis: How one Heavy-metal band used data to profit from a revenue-stealing platform

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Applying data analysis definitely isn’t always the most exciting field- certainly not as fun as seeing a heavy metal band say Iron Maiden live for instance. With the constant shrinking revenues from traditional album recordings many bands are increasingly reliant on live shows- especially older bands who’s catalog of albums can be easily downloaded in a matter of minutes at no profit to the band or label. This leads them down a road of never ending farewell tours in the same reliable but boring locations.

Enter Iron Maiden: The international super group undoubtedly has fans all over the world but has struggled with their selection of where to tour, despite being one of the most iconic acts in industry. In an innovative use of data analytics for the music industry the band now weighs illegal downloads by location to help determine demand. This has paid off huge in their recent South American tours whereas prior data say that it would have been a disaster and complete opportunity loss. Their most recent tour gained them the distinction of “One of six groups that outperformed the industry” including live documentary sales and one concert alone in Sao Palo that grossed them over $2.5 million. South American attendance and revenue also trumped their previous averages in NA and the EU too.

Hail the Iron Maiden data wonks!

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/iron-maiden-using-bittorrent-analytics-to-plot-tours-20131226

06-Building a case, 99-Applying business intelligence

Jumpstarting post-grad job searches

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As has been mentioned in multiple posts already, it’s never too early to begin thinking about job searches for those of us that plan on changing companies, roles, or industry’s post graduation.  Here’s a short article that offers some tips and strategies that could help the process.  There’s nothing earth shattering or likely anything you haven’t heard in the past but a good reminder nonetheless.  Also, if you haven’t subscribed to Vault, it’s a great resource for career intelligence and has helped me in the past. 

Highlights include leveraging Emory’s career center, leveraging school contacts, casting a broad net because referrals are key, staying organized, and customizing resume’s and cover letters for each opportunity. 

http://www.vault.com/blog/job-search/how-to-jumpstart-your-post-grad-job-search?utm_source=WCU_Letter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=7_31_2014&referer_ID=7778&utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=86670

06-Building a case, 07c-Telling stories, evaluating evidence

Intuition + Data = Good Decisions and Compelling Storytelling

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One of my reasons for attending business school is to improve my decision making skills. I typically apply the mantra “follow your gut,” when making decisions, but have quickly found that this doesn’t fly in the business world.  Colleagues want evidence based recommendations, which in my mind means I have to work with numbers (not my favorite).  Fortunately, incorporating both data and intuition can result in good decisions and compelling storytelling.

In this article by Andrew McAfee, we learn from specific examples that human judgment alone does not trump algorithms. So is the sum of our experiences and beliefs worthless? No! It’s all about using judgment or opinions as inputs to data models. Unfortunately, many people get this process turned around and disregard data that doesn’t align with their opinions.

From there, you can use data to tell compelling stories and build persuasive business cases. In this HBR blog, Walter Frick interviews Jim Takersly on how data and stories enhance each other. At one point, data is referred to as “medicine” and the story as something that helps you consume that medicine. I’d have to agree with that metaphor, but I also understand how data can give a story shock value or credibility. There are many different kinds of stories to tell with data. Here are ten.