Organizational decision-making is at its best when it’s a well prepared non-event. Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way -and I think most of us did.
Here is the setting:
- the project has been defined;
- the budget is there;
- the plan is ambitious;
- next is an important meeting on the agenda: the board of directors has requested you to present the status of the project and the key decisions to be taken.
You go Tiger!
You already know what they are like. You heard the war stories from your colleagues – some of them barely made it alive. But not you. You are different. You will be prepared. First of all you will be backed by research and facts. Next, you will have a slide deck that is sharp and not overloaded with details. The details? Of course you have them – you have been working overtime to prepare the handouts. The stylish binder. The scenario’s. The different questions they may ask. The time you will allow for discussion. The follow-up report you will send them.
You are so prepared.
No Tiger
So what went wrong? Why didn’t they listen to the end? Why did they all of a sudden zoom in on a detail? Why did they pull it out of its context? Why did they stop listening in a split second? And why – o why – did they not even let you get to the end of your presentation?
Here’s Why
Are those people assholes? Maybe, but that doesn’t get us any further. Here’s a different approach: suspect yourself first. Look at yourself as the creator of your context. Take a moment to really believe that you are. Restart your round of observations. Re-play all the events you went through looking through those lenses. Here is what you will probably notice:
- You prepared the presentation. of course you did. Nothing wrong with that. Except that you are the owner of the presentation and they are not. People – especially executives – are less likely to approve something over which they have no ownership.
- You did the presentation. Unfortunately this is not a beauty contest; neither is this about your fantastic presentation skills.
- You made it into an event. This is the worst thing you can do, because most of the times events go hand in hand with surprises (a big figure that they see on-screen for the first time, a new risk that all of sudden rears its ugly head, etc.). Don’t do it.
Here’s How
Looking at the above points, here is a different scenario – tested and approved by myself (By the way – here is a full disclosure: the reason I am writing this is because I have experienced in person what the above tiger went through).
- Consult executives before the meeting. Make sure the slide deck went through their hands before it reaches the screen. Ask for their opinion. Let them know what your intentions are. But most of all, make sure you see each of them privately – even if it is only for five minutes. This is the true work of buy-in. This is what creates ownership. And yes – they will make silly remarks and you will have to go through the dust of making 37 versions of the presentation.
- It’s about them and the extent to which you are capable of articulating their needs, worries, desires, accents and nuances in the presentation. Pretty sure you forgot about that… it takes a different focus.
- The preparation and the presentation itself should result in a discussion on the ‘how’ and into the definition of action points in order to get the ball rolling. This can only be possible when there are no surprises and when the whole presentation is a non-event. Make it look, feel, smell and taste like regular work. Attention: not by manipulation but by preparing differently.
I have learned the hard way that big C-suite meetings for decision-making are most successful when it is not my preparation, not my presentation and certainly not a big event. They don’t teach us that in business schools – yet I have found it to be true. Organizational decision-making should be a non-event.
