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Build the Business Case

Give Great Presentations

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT skills you can develop as a leader is your ability to influence others. In fact, it might be the single best determinant of your standing in the organization—you either have influence (with the right people) or you don’t. If you’re successfully influencing others, it means that they find you credible, believe your data, and trust your judgment. You get to weigh in on important decisions and push your agenda with peers and senior leaders. It doesn’t get any better than that. If you have broad influence across your organization, congratulations; you’ve clearly earned it, because being recognized as an influencer isn’t something that’s handed out to just anyone. If you’re trying to establish your reputation as an influencer, keep at it; it’s definitely something you want to achieve as a leader.

Whether you already are an influencer or are striving to reach that level, be warned: Influence is one of those things that you can lose, too. There’s nothing worse than being accepted into the “inner circle” but then, for some reason, being excluded from particular discussions or decisions. It can leave you scratching your head. What happened? How did you go from being asked for your opinion or having your suggestions praised to being on the outside looking in? This chapter explores ways to boost your influencing skills and achieve, maintain, or recapture your status as a trusted resource for decisions. In order to move up in the company, you’re going to need to influence others—a lot.

Know the Influencing Landscape

The first thing you need to know about influencing others is that people have different influencing preferences. That is, some leaders are influenced by data or facts, whereas others respond emotionally to impassioned pleas or “gut” arguments. Try to use an influencing style that doesn’t fit your intended target’s preferred style, and you’ll strike out every time. This happened to me early in my career as I struggled to influence the COO about a leadership development program I wanted to launch. I needed his support, but I wasn’t getting anywhere, even after repeated meetings. Why? I was trying to influence him by the power of my brilliant arguments; I was demonstrating passion, but I was relying completely on a “trust me, I’m the expert” style. I thought that was all I needed to do—couldn’t he see that I was on the right track? At one point, I even said: “Don’t you see how great this will be?” Whoops. My mistake was not realizing that the COO made decisions based only on facts, logic, and data. He had to see it in black and white to be convinced of its value. Fortunately, his chief of staff took me aside and coached me on how to approach him using his preferred style. I built a business case for the project, presented it to him with retention, engagement, and succession planning data, and eventually got him to sign on as a sponsor of the program. In the end, I had to match my approach to the COO’s preferred style. I’ve never forgotten this lesson and have tried ever since to learn what my boss expects when it comes to influencing his or her decision making. So, do your homework: Know what your leaders are looking for and what moves them. Generally, data is the great equalizer; bringing a business case or some facts to the party almost never fails. Usually, you’ll at least get your foot in the door. But if you rely on the “trust me, I know what I’m doing” approach, chances are you’ll have trouble influencing consistently across the organization.

Build Your Case

One of the best ways to build your business case is with a PowerPoint presentation, which seems to be the influencing tool of choice in organizations today. An advantage to committing your case to paper is that it can potentially influence others even if you’re not there to present it in person (although this is preferable, of course). PowerPoint draws a lot of criticism, but it can be a very effective means to present your case and fuel your influencing effort. The trick is to keep your presentation brief, get to the main points quickly, and leave plenty of time for discussion, questions, and some of that passion and personal gravitas (yes, after you present the data, you can close the deal with your winning personality). If you want to try a minimalist approach to building a presentation, use the following model of a business case that requires only five PowerPoint slides.

Slide 1: The Issue You’re Trying to Solve. Start with the problem you’re trying to solve. Acknowledge the issue at hand, complete with any supporting data that makes it critical or time-sensitive. This serves to focus your audience on what you’re going to talk about and why it’s important.

Slide 2: The Solution, Answer, or Approach. Don’t bury the lead any longer; your next slide should include your plans to solve the issue. This is the slide you’ll spend the most time on—it is your money slide. This is where you’ll likely field the most questions, too, so be prepared. Know your facts, and be objective about the plan; don’t become overly defensive about it if pushed. A useful technique is to include three options on this slide, with a clear indication of which one you recommend. This shows you’re open to different ways of solving the problem but also demonstrates your decisiveness.

Slide 3: Supporting Evidence. Next, add a slide of supporting data or evidence to indicate why this approach is the preferred solution.

Slide 4: Budget, Resources, and Time Frames. Your fourth slide should detail the budget and personnel needed for the project, along with the projected timeline for completion.

Slide 5: Immediate Next Steps. Finally, your last slide further demonstrates your confidence and planning skills by detailing the immediate next steps to get the project up and running. This shows that you know where to start, and that you’re ready to begin.

This simple approach to documenting your plans is a great way to influence most any audience. It’s short enough to walk through in fifteen minutes, but packed with enough information that the leadership team can review facts and data and become comfortable with your recommendation. If you want to be known as an influencer across the company, be prepared to bolster your point of view with a crisp, data-driven presentation. Make it clean and professional looking (sometimes that’s half the battle), and practice it with a peer or a team member before you deliver it. Influencing others is a vital skill to possess and be known for. If you want to break out and take charge of your leadership image, this is a great place to start. Develop your business case, present it with confidence, and start building your fan base inside the company!

Bootstrap Takeaways

Give Great Presentations

1. Influencing others is an art. Do your homework to know how your boss likes to be influenced. What moves your boss to a decision?

2. Build a strong business case—most senior leaders respect and expect data. They want to see return on investment and a logical approach.

3. Keep your presentations concise—convey the information necessary to make a decision in just five pages.