Presentation ProactivBusinessCase

ProactivBusinessCase: Win the Decision

“ProactivKnowledge business case consulting has helped our high-tech project team to win a multi-million dollar internal funding allocation. ProactivKnowledge was key to achieving a positive outcome.”

François Miginiac, Directeur Produit GraphTalk AIA, CSC Financial Services SAS

CSC is a Fortune Top 150 company

1. What?

2. Why?

3. How?

[Method informed by our ProactivBusinessCase experience and a Harvard Business School approach]

1. What?

Add Value, Drive Change:

Identify a course of action and argue its benefits

benefitsrse of action and argue its

benefits

2. Why?

Demonstrate the value

a proposed product or service would generate for your organization

Prioritize projects

within your group and identify which ones to eliminate

Demonstrate the value

of a product or service to a customer to make a sale

Obtain additional resources

for a new project, initiative, or organization

Modify

an existing offering

Invest in a new capability,

such as a software program or training

Decide

whether to outsource a particular function

3. How?

Steps:

A: Set the Foundations

B: Build

C: Enhance

D: Sell

A: Set the Foundations

1. Define a clear problem you want to solve, or opportunity you want to seize

1b. ProactivBusinessCase knowledge focus:

Have you engaged in research and learning and are up to date on the latest thinking in the area?

Are your sources of information of the highest quality?

In order to mobilize your tacit and conscious knowledge and profit from other people’s, have you presented your opportunity to several people and invited constructive criticism of your approach?

2. Develop a clear opportunity statement

3. Identify key business objectives for your organization that are relevant to this

opportunity

4. Narrow your list of objectives by considering your stakeholders’ needs and interests

5. Identify metrics that map to each of your business objectives

6. Generate a full list of alternatives to meet your opportunity by brainstorming with stakeholders

7. Narrow your alternatives to those that best address your objectives and key stakeholder needs

7b. ProactivBusinessCase foundation focus:

Have you presented your process up until now to several people and invited constructive criticism of your approach?

Have you presented to several people how you will undertake steps 8 to 17 and invited constructive criticism of your approach?

B: Build

8. Gather all the data you’ll need to be able to analyze your alternatives

9. Estimate a time frame for implementing the initiative and achieving the benefits of your opportunity

10. Document all your estimates and assumptions

11. Analyze your alternatives against relevant business metrics

12. Compare your alternatives using a pros/cons table or other framework

13. Select the best possible solution given your analysis

14. Have you considered the risks—and developed a mitigation plan for each risk?

15. Have you created a high-level implementation plan?

16. Have you created a tracking plan or other means of tracking project results?

17. Do you know who will ultimately decide whether to approve your recommended solution?

17b. ProactivBusinessCase building focus:

Have you presented your work on steps 8 to17 to several people and invited constructive criticism of your approach?

Have you presented how you will undertake the various analyses in step 18 to several people and invited constructive criticism of your approach?

C: Enhance

18. Do you know the best way to “sell” your case to these people?

[This is a crucial “make or break” area of business case development and the political, strategic, sociological, psychological, linguistic, discourse, conceptual, transformative, obstacle, growth, and knowledge analyses need time to plan.]

a. Analysis of decision-makers' political agendas, perspectives, and fears

b. Analysis of required take-aways for each decision-maker

c. Semantic analysis of key concepts

d. Discourse analysis of key narratives

e. Problematizing and repositioning of concepts used in criticism

f. Alignment of argument with the company’s strategic priorities

g. Establishment of a growth narrative from the past to the future for the

- Company

- Product / project- Competition- End user

in order to establish a solid platform to underpin the business case

h. Analysis of transformative effects and vision: impacts, new possibilities

i. Integration of recommendations and witness statements into the argumentation

j. Internal and external business environment analysis: SWOT / PEST matrix

k. Representation of benefits according to the above analyses

18b. ProactivBusinessCase sales focus:

Have you presented the various analyses of your “sell” step to several people and invited constructive criticism of your approach?

Have you presented how you will undertake your final presentation to several people and invited constructive criticism of your approach?

D: Sell

19. Consider ways to keep your final presentation focused and concise

20. Keep at hand all the backup data (including calculations) you’ll need if someone requests further detail

Thank you

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European contact