07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07b-Using good information design, 99-Spreadsheet modeling, charts & graphs, Excel resources, PowerPoint resources, PowerPoint tricks, slide-craft, tables

Sharing a Helpful Resource

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If your job is anything like mine, you use Microsoft Excel and/or PowerPoint on a regular (if not daily) basis. If you use either of these applications in conjunction with each other (which I know all of us have in our prior MP presentations), I have a very helpful resource to share with you.

One of the biggest challenges that I have faced is effectively incorporating data (particularly from Excel) into a concise PowerPoint presentation. Given that Excel and PowerPoint are both made by Microsoft, you would think that using these two applications in conjunction with one another would be fairly seamless and potentially even synergistic (1 + 1 = 3, right?).  However, integrating Excel and PowerPoint is not always straight forward, and conveying key takeaways rather than “data dumping” an entire financial model into your presentation can be a challenge. Additionally, I think that most of us are typically better at one than the other which doesn’t make things any easier.  I certainly have found this to be the case for myself, and while I have a strong background in using Excel, I have a lot of “room to grow” in terms of incorporating financial data from huge bulky models into a clean and concise presentation that conveys the underlying data effectively.

As I have searched for tools, resources, and articles giving guidance on this very topic, I have come across a particularly helpful website that I wanted to share with our class and hope that you will find it to be as useful as I have. This website is called ‘Think Outside the Slide’ and is as close to a “one stop shop” as I have found for guidance on just about everything relating to creating powerful presentations, with literally thousands of articles neatly organized by topic, as well as video tutorials if you’re more of a visual person. If you use Excel or PowerPoint at all, there is likely a specific article with tips and guidance on how to more effectively use the applications in a context relevant to you.

These are just a few that I have begun to frequently reference to give you a snapshot:

  • Using Excel Data in Powerpoint Presentations
  • Slide Design, Creation, and Editing
  • Linking Excel Data (and other content) to PowerPoint so that data in slides automatically updates
  • Tips on effectively cleaning up and animating graphs
  • Creating powerful visuals using Excel Data (waterfall graphs, diverging stacked bar charts, treemap diagrams, proportional shape comparisons, etc…)

For many business professionals, myself included, Excel and PowerPoint are critical tools, and learning to use data effectively in PowerPoint presentations can take time but is versatile skill with application to countless professions that can help to distinguish yourself from your peers/co-workers, and add value to your clients. I hope you find this to be a helpful resource, please feel free to share any other resources that you frequently use and have found helpful in your career. Thanks!

Helpful links referenced in this post:

http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/free-resources/

http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/using-excel-data-in-a-powerpoint-presentation/

http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/articles/

05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 99-Applying business intelligence

What Makes Messages Stick?

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In his book, Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, Garr Reynolds discusses many different methods and exercises that help you craft a great presentation, including techniques used by TED presenters.

A chapter I find particularly helpful talks about “messages that stick”- why do some presentations make a great impact on you whereas others just fade away minutes after you have stepped out of the conference room.

In order to make a presentation memorable, take a step back, prior to crafting your slides, and think about a time when stories were passed along around the campfire. What made those messages resonate with you? Garr mentions six principles, first introduced by the Heath brothers in their book Made to Stick:

  • Simplicity. Decide what matter in your presentation and simplify these points. Not everything should be “high priority”.
  • Unexpectedness. Keep the crowd interested. Create a “gap” in their knowledge by asking questions, then fill that gap with information.
  • Concreteness. Give a simple speech with real examples, not abstractions. For example: “let’s kill two birds with one stone” is easier than saying “let’s work towards maximizing our productivity by increasing efficiency across many departments”.
  • Credibility. Most of us are not well-known experts in our field, and usually use data to back us up. Try putting the data in contexts instead of just leaving it “as is”. For example: “enough battery to last you on a flight from NYC to LA” instead of “five hours of battery life”.
  • Emotions. An easy way to help people “feel something” about your content is to add images.
  • Stories. Try to provide real-life examples and illustrations instead of simple streams of information.

Think about the last memorable presentation you have witnessed. Most likely, it encompassed most, or all of the points above.

A link to the book on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Zen-Simple-Delivery-Edition/dp/0321811984/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404828019&sr=8-1&keywords=Presentation+Zen%3A+Simple+Ideas+on+Presentation+Design+and+Delivery%2C+2nd+Edition

 

 

 

06-Building a case, 07c-Telling stories, storyline structure

Have you heard the one about the . . .

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What do a joke, a fable, a poem, a lecture, and a commercial all have in common? They tell a story. Like a book you can’t put down (hopefully), these pleasures in life should be looked at as the textbook for how to create compelling stories in business.

Ad agencies learned this long ago. The formula to a great ad  is to tell a great story. Advertising is a vehicle for marketing communication used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate targets to make a move – whether to change behavior or motivate behavior it is meant to drive consumers. In business, when we present either internally or externally within our companies, why don’t we treat the circumstance the same way? Obviously we don’t want to manipulate others, but we want to drive behavior towards a desired outcome.

In an Adage article discussing 2014 superbowl ads, the analysts noted that, “The winners had one thing in common: a strong narrative . . .”.  At work, is this not the same? Those who dominate their pitches or sell in their ideas to top level management create robust narratives that string you along and bring you to a conclusion. We should all use this as best practice.  We should look at how comedians develop their content, or philanthropists, or ad executive. We need to get inspired, develop the content, and revise until we can tell the best story we can.

Humans are natural storytellers. In the HBR article, The Irrestible Power of Storytelling, blogger Harrison Monarth, hits the nail on the head by stating, “People are attracted to stories . . . because we’re social creatures and we relate to other people.” Business is about building relationships – with consumers, with customers, with coworkers. Storytelling is a natural outlet to connect and get others to relate to what you are talking about.

Whether you are in finance, marketing, supply chain, or any other function, the next time you are asked to present, try thinking of your presentation as building a story.  

Get inspired. Develop the content. Revise

Check out another classmate’s post on storytelling here.

05-Creating & constructing good solutions

The Treasure Map — A path to finding ‘business gold’: solutions

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One of my two selected topics focuses on solutions.

Treasure Map, Chart your path
A Treasure Map of Solutions

In my preliminary research, I ran across an article in Business Insider, “Nine Steps to Effective Business Problem Solving” by Martin Zwilling. As Zwilling writes, managing any company is all about problem solving. Every employee at every level of the company is constantly evaluating issues and scenarios, coming up with solutions, and implementing them to benefit the company and customers. However, just because everyone participates in the decision making process does not mean everyone has a natural proclivity at finding the best solution for the problem.

In my case, I struggle with ‘solving’ an issue before the person presenting the problem has finished speaking. I need to develop a method where I can process the problem, understand the underlying issues, and identify a couple possible solutions before I jump to a single answer.

Based on Brian Tracy’s “The Power of Self-Discipline,” Zwilling defines the decision making process in his words:

  1. Take the time to define the problem clearly.
  2. Pursue alternate paths on “facts of life” and opportunities.
  3. Challenge the definition from all angles.
  4. lteratively question the cause of the problem.
  5. Identify multiple possible solutions.
  6. Prioritize potential solutions.
  7. Make a decision.
  8. Assign responsibility.
  9. Set a measure for the solution.

Looking at Zwilling’s descriptions of each separate step and my weaknesses, the areas I can most improve when finding a solution are: pausing to understand the problem (no jumping to conclusions!), defining the root cause of the problem, prioritizing potential solutions, and measuring the solution.

These are the four pieces of the decision making process I will research and share in subsequent blog posts. Four pieces that I will use to create my own map of finding ‘golden’ solutions to problems.

Along with further research of the topic, I will be putting my research into practice while at work. My first practice is recognizing when I need to make a decision and simply taking a step back to fully absorb the situation and context of the problem without jumping to conclusions. Look for a story on how I handle this test at work in a subsequent post.

04-Managing a project team, 07d-Delivering a presentation, feedback

Starting a conversation you are dreading

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In the HBR Blog post by Peter Bregman, “How to start a conversation you are dreading,” Bregman talks about how to best deliver not only disappointing news, but decisions overall.  First.

While many of us may hesitate to deliver the punch line, Bregman provides several examples where delivering the resolution first is key- with a single employee or to a team.

Waiting till the last minute causes one of two situations:

1) It makes the decision seem unclear. Not delivering the outcome first, causes confusion with your team. By delivering the decision first you are defining the outcome and giving clarity so the employee knows where the conversation is going. By doing this, you can follow-up with appropriate evidence to support the news.

2) It allows your team to question factors relating to the decision. Giving the facts before the decision, can side track your team or audience and open the door to debate. Therefore, ending the conversation before you deliver the final outcome.

Lesson learned: if their is a conversation you are dreading, or one resulting an important decision- deliver the resolution first. This will eliminate any confusion with your employee(s).

http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/07/how-to-start-a-conversation-youre-dreading/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

07c-Telling stories

Easy on the Slides, Heavy on the Story

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I currently work for a large energy management company, specifically on a team that develops new software applications that promote internal efficiencies of business processes. Every few months I find myself in front of groups of engineers, project managers, and business managers presenting information regarding the latest set of features released in our software applications. The presentation material is always technical, the demonstrations are always technical, and the questions and answers exchanged with the audience are always technical. My purpose is to equip the audience with the technical knowledge to enable them to turn-around and use the software applications to their fullest.

Needless to say, I don’t often weave storytelling into my technical presentations. I’m not particularly looking to close a sale or win over a new investor with my presentations. However, with aspirations to venture into entrepreneurship post-MBA, I have been considering the art of storytelling as a skill that may be extremely beneficial in my near future. An Inc.com article by Riley Gibson highlights three reasons why mastering the art of storytelling can help entrepreneurs and start-ups succeed (Article Link).

1. Stories are Memorable.

No matter how great your idea is or how much data you have to prove its greatness, if your audience isn’t connected to what you are saying, they won’t care or remember after you finish. Gibson points out Dollar Shave Club and their over-the-top hilarious commercials. No PowerPoint slides or bar charts, just a witty and entertaining delivery that won’t quickly be forgotten by viewers, or more importantly investors.

2. Stories Travel Further.

Gibson suggests that memorable stories are much easier to recall in the future than detailed specifications or statistics. The accuracy to which your business idea or venture is retold by others after your initial presentation is very important. In essence, a memorable story will travel more accurately and further than other techniques.

3. Stories Inspire Action.

Finally, Gibson points out that entrepreneurs often need to inspire action, which may be among investors, employees, or even customers. Spilling out data or specifications isn’t likely to motivate the majority of audiences. Rather, a compelling story can reveal the what, why, and how that is behind the action and in-turn can help to inspire the action that is desired.

With a technical background, it will be a challenge for me to punt the PowerPoint slides filled with technical jargon and transition to the development of a story that is 1) memorable, 2) can be accurately recounted, and 3) inspire action. However, I fully agree with Gibson, with a high level of competition in the marketplace for investors and customers, it is of the upmost importance to be able to set your company or idea apart from the rest.

 

Article Link: http://www.inc.com/riley-gibson/3-reasons-every-start-up-should-tell-more-stories.html

01-Structuring a problem, 06-Building a case, 07c-Telling stories

What we can learn from the Declaration of Independence

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What we can learn from The Declaration of Independence about the art and craft of structured problem solving.

This past weekend, as our nation celebrated the 4th of July, I took time to reread the Declaration of Independence. The document contains the most famous and precious words in American history, and arguably the finest articulation of the idea of natural rights ever written: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I have long marveled at the beauty and power of the Declaration, and been fascinated by Thomas Jefferson, its principal author. This document provides a good example of 3 key management practice learning objectives: 1. Persuasive communication 2. Successful, real-world, problem solving and 3. An incitement to action.

1.  Making the Case Through Persuasive Communication

In the spring of 1776 Jefferson devoted much effort surveying the opinions of his countrymen to get their thoughts on American independence. He told one correspondent that he, “took great pains to enquire into the sentiments of the people on that head. In the upper counties I think I may safely say that nine out of ten are for it.” In terms of American political history, Jefferson was among the first to generate data from a survey of public opinion.

The ideas of freedom and liberty, which define the central themes of the emerging American republic, were commonplace in conversations, sermons, letters, and printed essays of the times. In drafting the declaration Thomas Jefferson said that his purpose was, “not aiming at originality of principle or sentiment.” Rather his intent was to, “place before mankind the common sense of the subject,” and to offer, “an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion.”

Drawing upon the philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment, Jefferson built his case on a contract between government and the governed that was founded on the consent of the people. Both poetic and practical, his arguments are grounded in the context of a story. The effect is a compelling narrative, even a romantic version of reality, which helped create an American identity.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the document is the logical force and rational power of the arguments it presents, the most notable of which is the notion of self-evident Truths − Truths that are self evident by reason and definition and based upon assertions of reality. (The angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees)

Great writing commands respect. The Declaration is an excellent example of persuasive, evidenced based logic that shaped the course of history. Thomas Jefferson took the current American political ideas and put them into a form that the Colonists could read, appreciate, and understand. With the power of the pen, he articulated a new principle for the government of humanity: all men are created equal. He also ensured that from the beginning, the United States of America would be a nation based on the principles of rational thought.

2.  Creating Value through Real World Problem Solving

While Jefferson’s skill and abilities as a thinker and a writer were remarkable, he also possessed another important quality: the power to analyze a historical situation in depth, to propose a course of action, and shape the minds of the decision makers and legislative assemblies. The bulk of the declaration contains a list of charges condemning the actions of King George III, while creating sympathy for the American cause.

The main problems were subjecting the colonies to laws without representation and the increasing tyrannical abuses from the English system of monarchy. Jefferson provided a solution by focusing his structure on two important themes. The first was the concept of individual rights: ‘The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time: the hand of force may destroy, but cannot enjoin them.’ Second, and equally important, was placing these rights within the context of popularly sovereignty, or the right of a nation to govern itself.

It was Jefferson’s ability to link the right to self government with liberty, both rooted in a Divine plan, and further legitimized by ancient practice and English tradition, which gave the colonists such a strong , clear, and compelling case for action. All of this led to a momentous decision. The struggle they faced was a daunting one.

3.  The Call to Effective Action

With forceful logic, evidence, and a sense of urgency, the declaration details the reasons the American colonists had to declare themselves independent, given their mistreatment at the hands of the British. Implementing these ideals would prove to be enormously challenging.  And, of course, England did not recognize or grant authority to the Declaration of Independence, and it would take a war of seven years to give validity and meaning to our founding document, but Jefferson’s efforts were essential for defining and legitimizing the new nation. With persuasive written communication, a logical framework for understanding the problem, and by proposing a  justifiable course of action, he won the hearts and the minds of the American people.

Great events in history are determined from all kinds of varied and complex factors, but the single most important one is always the quality of the people in charge. It all comes down to leadership. Two hundred and thirty-eight years ago our founding fathers made the sacrifices necessary to create the freedoms that we enjoy today. With the English language they gave voice to the unspoken hopes and aspirations of people everywhere. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, it was “the miracle of human affairs,” one that would result in “the greatest revolution the world ever saw.”

Full text of the document: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/declare.asp

 

Sources that were used in the composition of this post:

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham 2012. Random House. New York

The Road To Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson by Kevin J. Hayes. 2008. Oxford University Press.

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis 1996. Random House. New York

A History of the American People by Paul Johnson 1997. Harper Perennial. New York

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Issacson. Simon & Schuster. 2003. New York

06-Building a case, 99-Applying business intelligence, business databases, evaluating evidence, library research

Data credibility challanges impact all BI research

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The posts concerning data credibility are absolutely spot on – but their relevancy doesn’t stop with challenges around hard data.

Reading through them, the observations that jumped out:

  • repercussions if the information is inaccurate
  • need to analyze and ensure the integrity of the data
  • shifting focus on going to the actual source of the data rather than applying a Band-Aid approach to the bad data
  • Chevron’s use of a process to ensure that the right decisions are made using the right information

All of these can be applied to the entire business intelligence process, including the identification, access and analysis of secondary information, including data.  Think about data you locate in industry trade publications, in Wall Street analyst reports, even in sources of market research, such as Marketline/Datamonitor, Euromonitor, or EIU.  You can’t just take the data for granted, assume that it is correct.  You need to question, probe and understand many facets, including the originating source of the data, methodologies around the data gathering process, the accuracy, integrity and bias of the source of the data (both original and published) which includes understanding something about the intended audience and purpose/motivation for the data creation/use as well.

And like Chevron, you must have a process (remember the  discussions around the necessity for “Planning the Work” and “Working the Plan” in your fall’13 MP class and the spring’14 BI workshop).  Having these in place provides you and your team with a framework that, if applied correctly, helps ensure that you avoid using bad data, using unsubstantiated insights for your analysis and recommendations.

Last Fall in MP, Professor Noonan introduced you to a few BI frameworks, and we briefly mentioned a few more in the BI workshop.  I am attaching more detailed discussions around 4 of these frameworks (what we are calling Business Intelligence Briefs) which speak so directly to your data credibility threads.

Business Intelligence BRIEFS-4_Information Gathering Plan Business Intelligence BRIEFS-3_Four Avenues for Gathering Intelligence Business Intelligence BRIEFS-5_Owners of Information and Motivations Business Intelligence BRIEFS-2_Five Dimensions of BI

 

04-Managing a project team, feedback

First-Time Manager Survival Guide

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One of the motives for me in obtaining my MBA is to learn more about managerial best practices and apply what I learn in the classroom to the workplace. This is why I’m especially looking forward to taking ‘Managing Groups & Teams’ in the fall. Currently, I have only had the opportunity to supervise student workers and have yet to manage other full-time professional staff members. Many of you may be in a similar boat, as you find yourselves only a few years out of college and still trying to establish your place in the office hierarchy. As we continue to move up the chain and are promoted to management positions, we will be entrusted with increased responsibilities, and with this comes its challenges. Our success now is not only dependent upon our own performance, but also of those we oversee.

In order to be a successful manager, I believe you must be a leader first and foremost. Here are some guidelines to becoming an effective leader from Bill Gentry’s article 3 Tips For Surviving As A First-Time Manager:

1) “It’s not me, it’s you”

Schedule an individual meeting with each of your direct reports as soon as you move into the new management role. You need to figure out what motivates them, how they like to be led, and what questions or concerns they may have. Communication is critical in every (work) relationship, so this is the best place to start. Using the Birkman Method Assessment may be a very useful tool to utilize here as well.

2) “Mentor others for a win-win”

Mentorship is also a big factor in a successful supervisor/supervisee relationship.  Research has shown that it not only benefits the person being mentored but also helps the manager doing the mentoring become a more effective and efficient leader. Regular check-ins and providing feedback (both constructive and positive) will help both parties involved.

3) “You are 100% the boss, but only 50% of the relationship”

This is something first-time managers struggle with the most. You must accept the fact that you are only responsible for your own actions, behaviors, thoughts, etc. You cannot control other people’s opinions or feelings about you, so you must learn to let it go. It is impossible to make everyone happy 100% of the time. Just focus on being the best leader and manager you can be, and the rest will fall into place.

From my personal work experience, I feel like I’ve learned what not to do as a manager. I value this Forbes article because it’s provided me with some actionable takeaways or “To Do’s” rather than “Don’ts,” which we too often focus on.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ccl/2013/05/10/3-tips-for-surviving-as-a-first-time-manager/

07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, slide-craft

Less is More, Right?

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In the article titled “My Seven-Step Method for Creating a Presentation When the Stakes are High” by Carmine Gallo  http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2013/12/18/my-seven-step-method-for-creating-a-presentation-when-the-stakes-are-high/, Gallo accentuates one of the great points of creating a slide deck – less information and more pictures increases retention of the material. Specifically, Gallo identifies that only 10% of information conveyed verbally is retained by the audience, but this increases to 65% if the verbal concept is coupled with a relatable graphic or picture. This article also addresses a number of techniques for preparing to give the presentation, many of which have been covered in posts elsewhere.

I believe this concept extends far beyond the basics of slidecraft. We have seen other posts this semester about dealing with distracted audiences, so let’s evaluate this concept in that scope. Imagine that you are watching a presentation where the presenter is exploring a complex issue in detail. Suppose the slide looks something like this:

(from Gallo article)

How distracted will you be, specifically if the verbal presentation does not align with the visual? In my case, I would likely be even more confused if the presenter attempted to step through each part of this obviously overrun slide. By simplifying the presentation of the slide, the audience is allowed to focus on the information. I liken this idea to introducing the audience to the information in lieu of confronting them with it. The presentation and presenter will be far better received with a consumable amount of information on each slide and slide design that does not distract or alienate. If I can develop my skillset to always fall within the boundaries of this concept, I believe most of my battle is won. However, this is a difficult transition for me, as I am always most interested in the underlying data and information behind a presentation and always am yearning to dive deeper into what I have been presented with and what I am presenting. Therein lies my challenge: balancing the desire for information with the desire to be understood. Tricky for sure!

I think that we have seen fantastic examples in the first two semesters of MP of how to do this correctly, so we obviously have some classmates very strong in the area of slidecraft. Personally, I have had little previous need to develop me skills with Powerpoint or similar software, but I was fortunate to work with a great team in last fall’s semester of MP, from which I was able to begin to sharpen my skills. Again, thankfully, I was paired with a team during the spring that had excellent technical slide creators from whom I gained an even more detailed look into the mechanics of creating the slides. This is where I intend to focus the balance of my semester: the technical details of actually creating the slide deck and I look forward to seeing the resources that everyone is able to uncover.

 

MEMBA learning community, Fall 2016- Spring 2017