Written by Patrick Boëdec on April 22, 2022
Whether in project management or in managing an entity, the art of reasoning is more important than the level of expertise. This is how consultants can intervene in complex environments, they compensate for the lack of content with methodology.
This is especially aimed at young professionals; the quality of the reasoning allows them to integrate more quickly into the company and build credibility.
The objective is to think in a systematic, organized way, by integrating more parameters, that is to say, to see further, wider and especially faster than your interlocutor. This approach allows you to analyze a situation more effectively, but above all it can help your interlocutor to structure himself and to see more facets of the same situation, to make decisions in an even more rational way. By making them discover additional realities, more subtle ways of understanding the ins and outs of a problem, you will bring added value, you will contribute to building trust and credibility.
This pattern is a way of thinking, this logic must be integrated into your DNA because it is the genome of management, and all existing methodologies, whatever they may be, are built on this logic, on this common sense.
In all situations, whether for a company or for your contact, you must start from the current situation, what we call in our jargon the "As Is". Understand the level of competence, know-how, operational or financial performance of the company today.
"The marginal is to spend that little extra on the form so that the content then takes its full dimension"
In the same logic, we have a "To Be", a desired target; What the company or the person should be able to do at a Horizon one, two or three years, it is the target model.
The "To Be" is usually imposed by regulatory changes, environmental constraints, competitive actions, new entrants, consumer expectations, technological leaps... in short, whatever the reasons, your interlocutor must deliver a "To Be".
Naturally, between the target model and the current situation, there is a gap that the company will have to fill, a gap between what the company should be able to do tomorrow and what it is able to do today.
"To communicate is to help others transpose themselves into another reality."
This gap has to be measured financially and it's called the top-down business case. There is no reason to stress an organization, to challenge employees by changing methods, tools... if there are no significant financial gains to go from "As Is" to "To Be".
Once the "Top-Down" business case is validated by the management team, the "To Be" must be delivered. The company will then have to launch a series of projects to close the gap between the existing and the target. This is the "Bottom-Up" business case.
Companies are generally limited in their execution; sometimes in their financing capacity, or by the availability of their resources, but also for questions of competences or even by a logical sequencing of activities; one cannot launch such project until others have been completed.
"When you're in front of someone, you know who is acting in this matrix. He manages an existing and has to deliver a target, the goal is simply to understand where he is coming from and why he has to towards his target, how, at what speed for what kind of gains."
To perform this prioritization work, the company builds its budget and identifies priorities based on three criteria, the financial stakes, the level of difficulty and the speed of obtaining the gains. The roadmap thus created focuses on what is easy, fast and yields more.
Since each project is launched based on its own business case, the sum of the business cases of the Bottom-Up projects must equal the value of the Top-Down business case.
Once again, your interlocutor is locked in this matrix; define a target, convince the shareholders of the financial performance of his vision, launch projects and initiatives, follow up the delivery of results, make sure the budgets are respected, solve the difficulties encountered, deploy the resources on each project, follow up the operational and financial performance... You will then be able to use this reasoning model to help your interlocutor to find, optimize and clarify his options and priorities, and you will always be one step ahead of him.
Example: what is your current level of performance in this or that area? What are your competitors doing that you are not able to do, why is this penalizing you? What initiatives have you launched, what results have you obtained in terms of turnover, margin, number of clients acquired, what should you do tomorrow that you are not doing today, what impact would this have on the company's profitability... Endless questions that allow you to maintain the leadership of an interview, while helping to clarify and structure. Your interlocutor has the "business" knowledge, you have the logic that brings value
Mastering this logic, consequently, reduces the differences in age, experience, and expertise.
Comments