Business Case Writing

I was Wrong about Influence. Early in my career, I believed influence in a decision-making meeting was the direct outcome of a strong artifact presented and the ensuing discussion. However, with more leadership experience, I have come to realize that while these are important, there is something far more important at play. Influence, for a given decision, largely happens outside of and before decision-making meetings. Here's my 3 step approach you can follow to maximize your influence: (#3 is often missed yet most important) 1. Obsess over Knowing your Audience Why: Understanding your audience in-depth allows you to tailor your communication, approach and positioning. How: ↳ Research their backgrounds, how they think, what their goals are etc. ↳ Attend other meetings where they are present to learn about their priorities, how they think and what questions they ask. Take note of the topics that energize them or cause concern. ↳ Engage with others who frequently interact with them to gain additional insights. Ask about their preferences, hot buttons, and any subtle cues that could be useful in understanding their perspective. 2. Tailor your Communication Why: This ensures that your message is not just heard but also understood and valued. How: ↳ Seek inspiration from existing artifacts and pickup queues on terminologies, context and background on the give topic. ↳ Reflect on their goals and priorities, and integrate these elements into your communication. For instance, if they prioritize efficiency, highlight how your proposal enhances productivity. ↳Ask yourself "So what?" or "Why should they care" as a litmus test for relatability of your proposal. 3. Pre-socialize for support Why: It allows you to refine your approach, address potential objections, and build a coalition of support (ahead of and during the meeting). How: ↳ Schedule informal discussions or small group meetings with key stakeholders or their team members to discuss your idea(s). A casual coffee or a brief virtual call can be effective. Lead with curiosity vs. an intent to respond. ↳ Ask targeted questions to gather feedback and gauge reactions to your ideas. Examples: What are your initial thoughts on this draft proposal? What challenges do you foresee with this approach? How does this align with our current priorities? ↳ Acknowledge, incorporate and highlight the insights from these pre-meetings into the main meeting, treating them as an integral part of the decision-making process. What would you add? PS: BONUS - Following these steps also expands your understanding of the business and your internal network - both of which make you more effective. --- Follow me, tap the (🔔) Omar Halabieh for daily Leadership and Career posts.

Most “business cases” are way too shallow to be a business case. They’re more like brochures. Glossing over an account's story with templated marketing speak instead. Here's a 3x3 checklist (3 goals across 3 topics) to help you go do deeper. To make the shift from Brochure → Business Case. *Today’s Problem* (1) Reference internal project “codenames” to focus on an exec priority. (2) Play out the problem’s “so what?” a few times to go from a functional → strategic issue. The phrase "which means" will help. (3) Use the customer’s own data to quantify your problem statement. *Tomorrow’s Payoff:* (1) Align the outcome you’ll enable to a specific, exec-level metric. (2) Create a set of believable outcome scenarios the FP&A team signs off on. (3) De-risk those scenarios by linking out to a clear go-live plan. *The Pathway (From Problem → Payoff)* (1) Find a specific date (i.e. "compelling event") to anchor your timeline to a shift in the customer's org. (2) Weave in feedback from multiple buying roles, with known detractors’ critiques added. (3) Frame your “unique differentiators” as must-have requirements that’ll drive the decision. Is going deep on all these points as easy as handing out a brochure? Nope. Definitely not. But it’s worth it. You'll make it that much easier for your champions to sell internally. You can also cut down the time it takes to get to your first draft, and spot your discovery gaps, with Fluint: https://lnkd.in/gE-cZisa

Last week, I helped a sales VP at a $850M+ company build a business case for a $50K sales training investment. His team was trending toward a $15.2M miss. Here's the exact framework we used to get it approved: STEP 1️⃣ Lead with the math problem, not the solution Don't walk in saying "we need training." Walk in saying: "Our org restructure and new quotas created a math problem. 50% of reps are under 20% to target, pipeline multiplier is 2x when we need 3.5x. We're trending towards 43% attainment despite showing 130% YOY growth." Numbers don't lie. Executives respond to math. STEP 2️⃣ Show what you've already tried "Here's what I've implemented: structured prospecting, improved joint sales planning, individual coaching, and a hiring pipeline." This proves you're leading, not making excuses. STEP 3️⃣ Zoom out to the bigger picture "Looking regionally, we're at $41.5M vs $150M target (27.7% attainment). Even our best territory is under 35%, with most averaging just 25%." Now it's an organizational issue, not just your team's problem. STEP 4️⃣ Present three scenarios Do nothing: 43% attainment Base case: 70% attainment with systematic approach Best case: 85%+ attainment with full implementation STEP 5️⃣ Make it easy to say yes Option 1: Pilot with one team ($25K) Option 2: Full organization ($50K) The secret? You're not asking for training. You're solving a business problem. The result? His RVP said "This makes complete sense. Let's move forward and get enablement involved with planning. Most sales leaders fail because they lead with solutions instead of quantifying the pain first. Bottom line: A $15.2M miss costs infinitely more than a $50K investment in systematic improvement. When you frame it as de-risking the business rather than asking for development budget, the conversation completely changes. Ready to build your own bulletproof business case? Here's what successful VPs do: 1. Run the math on your current trends 2. Document actions you've already taken 3. Present the strategic choice between hope and systems 4. Build your coalition before the big presentation The companies that consistently hit their numbers don't rely on heroics. They invest in systematic excellence. — Sales Leaders, want to be a world class sales manager and get your team crushing quota? Go here: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

Ever presented rock-solid research only to hear "Thanks, but we're going with our gut on this one"? Securing stakeholder buy-in is rarely about the quality of your work. It's about something deeper. When you’re dealing with a research trust gap, ask yourself 5 questions. 👽 Are you speaking alien to earthlings? When you say jargon like "double diamond" or "information architecture," your stakeholders hear gibberish. Business leaders didn't learn UX in business school—and most never will. Translate everything into business outcomes they understand. Revenue growth. Customer retention. Cost savings. Competitive advantage.  Speak their native language, not yours. ⏰ What keeps them awake at 3am? Behind every skeptical question is a personal fear. That product manager who keeps shooting down your findings? They're terrified of missing their KPIs and losing their bonus. Have honest conversations about what they're personally on the hook for delivering. Then show how your research helps them achieve exactly that. ❓Are you treating assumptions as facts? You might think you know what questions matter to your stakeholders. You're probably wrong. Before starting research, explicitly ask: "What questions do you need answered to make this decision?" Then design your research to answer exactly those questions. ⚒️ Are you dying on the hill of methodological purity? Sometimes you have 8 hours for research instead of 8 weeks. Being dogmatic about "proper" research methods doesn’t always pay off. Focus on outcomes over process. If quick-and-dirty gets reliable insights that drive decisions, embrace it. 🍽️ Are you force-feeding them a seven-course meal when they wanted a snack? Executives need 30-second summaries. Product managers need actionable findings. Junior team members need hands-on learning. Tailor your approach to each one. You can also use my stakeholder persona mapping template here: https://bit.ly/43R7wom What’s the best advice you’ve heard about dealing with skeptical stakeholders?

HR Effectiveness. Here's my cheat sheet to help develop a business case for building new HR teams or functions. HR leaders continue to evolve their structure and teams. A business case helps evaluate options/guide decisions. My cheat sheet can help jumpstart your thinking. 1. Executive Summary → What is the proposed function, department, or team? → Why is it needed now? → What are the expected benefits? (1-2 key outcomes) 2. Problem and Opportunity → What business issue/opportunity does this address? → What's the impact if nothing changes? → How does this align with organizational goals? 3. Proposed Solution → What will the new function/department/team do? → How is this different from what exists today? → Who will it serve (internal/external stakeholders)? 4. Options Considered → What other solutions were explored? → Why is your recommendation the preferred option? 5. Benefits, Value, ROI → What are the top 2–3 measurable outcomes? → How will success be measured (KPIs, milestones)? → What is the expected ROI over 6, 12, 24 months, etc.? 6. Costs and Resources → What are the estimated start-up and ongoing costs? → What people, tech, or other resources are required? 7. Risk and Mitigation → What could go wrong? → How will you manage or reduce these risks? 8. Implementation Timeline → What are the key phases or milestones? → When could the function/team be operational? 9. Next Steps → What decision or approval is needed from leadership? → What are the immediate next steps once approved? There's more to business cases than what's shown here. Use this as a starting point and modify as needed. ❓Which parts resonate most? What would you add? Drop your ideas below.  ♻️ Repost to help others with their HR business case 🔔 Follow Brian Heger for more insights 💾 Save this post for reference Want my cheat sheet? Get it in issue 300 of my Talent Edge Weekly newsletter 👉 https://lnkd.in/gYn9yByc

Questions to ask during the first two phases of an enablement project (Intake + Business Case): ----- INTAKE 1) Who is the target audience(s) 2) What job requirement and/or topic is to be addressed? 3) Is this a new job requirement (did their job or expectations change)? 4) How critical is this requirement/topic to individual and organizational performance (are the consequences severe or have low effect/can be repaired)? 5) How difficult is this requirement? Is practice, coaching, and experience required? 6) Among the target audience, what percentage is not performing to standard? 7) Is memorization required? Or can guides be used to refer to and fully support performance? 8) How frequently is this performed on the job (randomly, monthly, weekly, daily)? 9) What attempts to address this requirement/topic have been deployed in the past? Why did they fail? 10) What exists today to enable this requirement/topic? Why is it falling short? 11) Why is this being requested now? 12) What is being requested? Are there expectations as to what will be developed and deployed? 13) When does this request need to be completed? Why is that time frame important? ----- BUSINESS CASE 1) What problem are we solving? 2) How is this impacting the business? 3) How do we objectively know this is impacting the business (and if we don’t know, how can we test it)? 4) How will the business benefit (and how is this measured)? 5) What will indicate we’re tracking for success (and how is this measured)? 6) Are the indicators in the audience’s direct control? 7) What outputs/deliverables does the audience need to produce? 8) When should these measures be improved and what is our target range for improvement? ----- From there, you'll need to make a decision: - DELETE: it doesn't make business sense to pursue - DEFER: put on hold until other important dependencies take place - DELEGATE: it's not in the scope of enablement responsibilities - DO: it makes business sense to allocate resources #salesenablement

🩸 💦 😢 Have you ever poured your blood, sweat, and tears into a proposal… and gotten crickets from your leadership? You’re not alone. Good ideas fail all the time. Not because they’re wrong, but because the business case wasn’t strong enough. After one of my workshops on building a business case for leadership development, an HR leader pulled me aside. Her team had spent months designing a solid program, but she couldn’t get her leadership team to approve it. When I asked her why she felt her company needed a leadership development program, she said: “I guess because it's the right thing to do.” That right there? A huge red flag 🚩, and likely the very reason her pitch was falling flat. If you want your company’s leadership to invest time, money, and resources into your ideas, you need more than good vibes. You need a compelling business case. Here are 4 steps that work: 1️⃣ Define the problem. No problem = no urgency. What pain does your idea solve, or what opportunity does it capitalize on? 2️⃣ Quantify the cost of doing nothing. Executives speak the language of money. Show them the financial impact of the status quo versus the projected savings or cost avoidance of implementing your idea. 3️⃣ Propose multiple solutions (but recommend one). Frame multiple options that you can support, back them all with data, and then make your case for the best path forward. 4️⃣ Forecast the upside. Demonstrate how your idea will improve results — with $ signs and % symbols included. In short, a business case isn’t a list of nice-to-haves. It’s a story about how solving a specific problem or taking advantage of a specific opportunity will drive business results. 👍 Get that right, and your chances of hearing “yes” go way up. Do you have any additional tips for getting ideas heard and approved by leadership? I'd love to learn from you.

The last two weeks, I posted about the common challenges in data governance projects, particularly when business stakeholders aren’t engaged early enough, and shared a rare success story of a #CDO who avoided this pitfall through proactive engagement from day one. This week, we’ll turn to remedies: strategies for early stakeholder engagement. To lead with the conclusion, for the most part, there is no secret methodology. It’s as simple as identifying the #business unit or functional leaders and asking them a few questions. In fact, especially in the beginning, the simpler, the better. No slides, no demos – focus on the business context. One recommendation is to separate the understanding of the use cases from the data-related analysis. For example, if it has been determined that a company cannot create effective customer segmentation because data from different sources cannot be linked together, the first step is to thoroughly understand the use case. Articulate this understanding clearly—don’t settle for a mental check. Ensure the use case is explicitly defined and described. Describe at a high level what is being done and how it drives value. Also ask the business stakeholders about the impact. In the case of the segmentation, how much could customer experience increase, how much could churn be reduced, how much could cross-sell be increased? This step is extraordinarily critical now. It is very tempting to dive into practical solutions for the data integration problem, but if you cannot articulate a defensible value rationale at this point, you will not be able to build your business case later on either. The business case for the data capabilities will have an upper bound that is equal to the value of the entire use case, as only a part of that value can later be attributed to the data solutions. My advice is to make this a hard go/no-go tollgate: if you do not have a strong value rationale that is supported by the business, do not proceed. This first hurdle is the most substantial one. Once you have a clear value statement, then business buy-in will be guaranteed. Moreover, because the expected outcome is clearly quantified, throughout the program, solution requirements can be much more transparently reviewed. To effectively engage stakeholders early in the project, consider the techniques shown on the attached image to: 🗣️ Initiate Open Dialogues 🧑🤝🧑 Create Collaborative Workshops 🌟 Bring in External Success Stories For more details, see the full article ➡️ https://lnkd.in/exkiQYXE One Data #datastrategy #datagovernance

Struggling to get everyone on board? Some clients complain that they feel like they are hearding cats. I remember leading projects like this and was frustrated until I learned a better way. Here's a step-by-step guide to achieve stakeholder buy-in: 1. Gather Perspectives → Why it works: Provides a complete view of stakeholder positions. ↳ Action: Ask each stakeholder about their understanding of project goals, benefits, and concerns. 2. Identify Misalignments → Why it works: Pinpoints areas needing attention. ↳ Action: List key differences in a shared document, analyzing root causes and impacts. 3. Plan Actions → Why it works: Creates a roadmap for resolution. ↳ Action: Develop specific steps to improve alignment, assigning owners and deadlines. 4. Implement Strategies → Why it works: Addresses concerns systematically. ↳ Action: Adjust project elements as needed and enhance communication to meet stakeholder needs. By following these steps, you'll turn potential roadblocks into a path to project success. — P.S. Unlock 20 years' worth of leadership lessons sent straight to your inbox. Every Wednesday, I share exclusive insights and actionable tips on my newsletter. (Link in my bio to sign up). Remember, leaders succeed together.

Have you ever advocated for a new tool, project, or initiative, only to be told you need to "make a business case?" Except no one ever tells you what a convincing business case looks like. You write a high-level summary and hope for the best, but it feels like an exercise in futility. What no one tells you: Business cases that get approved convert ideas into metrics. Here's what a great business case includes: (1) Clear statement of the problem you need to solve, with metrics attached. Most people stick to high-level descriptions ("will help us onboard customers faster!"), but this rarely convinces anyone. Great business cases make explicit, direct reference to the organization's ability to meet its board-level goals. You want to make statements like, "Today, it takes 4 weeks to onboard a new customer. We need to get this down to 2 weeks in order to hit our target of onboarding 500 new customers this year." In other words, put your request in direct context of the goals the organization already cares about. (2) Clear explanation of how your proposed solution will help. Use metrics here too. You want to include stuff like, "Today, the manual steps involved in configuring a new account take 10 hours of someone's time. By using Fancy New Tool to automate this part of the process, we will reduce this to 30 minutes." What you assert here becomes an operational commitment if your business case is approved, so make sure you believe it. (3) Comparison of the costs of adopting your proposal vs. the costs of doing nothing. This is where most business cases fall down, even if they get (1) and (2) correct. This is stuff like, "An annual subscription to Fancy New Tool costs $80,000. Adopting Fancy New Tool will save us 9.5 hours of time across all 500 new accounts. This will save us $237,500 in labor costs. Furthermore, if we do not automate this process, we project that we will only be able to onboard 400 new accounts next year, which would amount to $15M in lost revenue opportunity." The difference between business cases that get approved and those that do not usually comes down to math. ** I'm Kieran Snyder, an AI exec, former CEO, and data storyteller who publishes new data about AI, management, and work every single week at nerd processor. Give me a follow if you like this stuff!