4.6 Presentation and Buy-In

The presentation of the business case is critical, whether it is for the establishment of an internal consultant position, having an internal consultant made a key part of the change team or obtaining an initiative champion. You usually get only one chance to make your case, after which the decision is made and you have to deal with the outcome.  

In determining your approach, understand how your organization works and proceed accordingly. I have worked for organizations that never made decisions at meetings, even though on the surface it appeared that they did. In reality, you needed to make your case with each manager separately. The meeting was then just a final review and approval. Before I learned this, I made a presentation requiring a decision at the meeting and was unsuccessful in gaining acceptance of a very important project.  

For other companies, making decisions at meetings is how business is conducted. This environment requires a vastly different approach in order to achieve a successful outcome. The important thing is to assess how decisions are made within your company, then present your business case with the understanding of how things work.  

Often as you go though his process, those from who you seek approval make suggestions that will require you to do additional work. For instance, you make a presentation requesting approval to develop an improved work planning process which, according to your business case, will clearly add immediate value to the business. At the conclusion, one of the managers asks if you have taken the time to see how the competition is handling this process.  

On the surface, this appears to be a logical question. But is it? It could also be what I refer to as a deflection, an additional task that 1) is not easy to accomplish, and 2) will make you and your request disappear, at least for some period of time. The deflection needs to be addressed, if possible, so as not to lose time and momentum of your effort. Asking questions to get clarity concerning the request is often a way to accomplish this task. Ask the requesting manager why they feel this search will add value. Ask them what they expect you to accomplish by taking the time needed. The answers to these and other similar questions may eliminate the need for you to stop what you are doing while you go off in a hunt for additional, but meaningless information.

4.7 Showing Value After Acceptance of the Business Case

Managers who accept the business case that establishes the internal consultant position expect return on their investment. How do you provide this return? The answer is to utilize your internal consultant skills to assure that all your initiatives are handled professionally, have a high degree of quality built into the design, are successfully deployed, are sustainable into the future, and deliver the value for which they are designed.

Five Things to Think About or Do

1. If the position of internal consultant does not exist in your organization, yet you are filling this role, consider developing and presenting a business case to management to get them 1) to recognize the position and 2) to assign you as the site internal consultant.

2. Consider the six elements of a business case; resource reduction, resource re-deployment, reduction in external spending, revenue enhancement, other efficiency and effectiveness gains and intangibles. Identify specific initiatives in which you have been involved that delivered value in these six areas.

3. Identify how your organization makes decisions. Do they work as a team and make decisions at team meetings? Do they need to have a one-on-one discussion prior to the meeting so that the meeting is simply a rubber stamp? Is there a different approach that they follow? Knowing this is important to the internal consultant.

4. Have you ever developed a business casedocument to use as a tool to get management approval of a strategic initiative? If yes, were you successful? If not, why?

5. Find examples of successful business cases within your company. Use them as templates for when you need to develop a business case for an initiative.