I have often said, and often hear, that you can attribute the success or failure of an objective to either the strategy or the measured execution of the strategy. But what if the objective was set-up to fail before reaching these points? What if your business case was flawed?
Harvard Business Publishing recently published a piece by Susan Cramm discussing the dire need for a strong, well-planned and well-bought-into business case.
In most cases, the benefits outlined in business (cases) are a work of creative fiction, and, once the initiative is approved, they are filed and forgotten.
Susan lays out the two fundamental pillars of developing a sound business case: building support and defining clear objectives.
On support:
I’s important to align the initiative to the overall strategic business objectives and to align the initiative to serve the selfish interests of the individuals who will be impacted most.
Any business case must obtain stakeholder buy-in for approved funds. It would be wise to set yourself up for support from those who will be affected most. To do this, there are three questions you should have the answers to before moving forward with any business case approval:
- What are the company objectives for this year?
- How would success of those objectives be measured?
- What challenges or barriers in achieving that success stand in the way?
With answers to these questions in tow, you can begin to define an initiative that is close to the needs of the company, while working with the parameters of success. Presenting this to leadership in a manner that aligns with their own words/needs/challenges increases the likelihood and level of support/buy-in you will receive, which will ultimately become vital down the road.
On defining a clear objective:
Ensure that the objectives are defined in terms of impact to the core business drivers.
By aligning your company identified objectives with business drivers, you begin to take the guesswork out of your business case for your proposed solution while opening the door for greater discussion. There are two side benefits to doing this as well:
- The detail collected in building the business case can be used to lay the foundation for the strategy.
- The business case becomes the grounding document throughout the lifecycle of the initiative, allowing for measurement against the core business drivers.
By obtaining support and defining a clear objective, you ensure you are building your strategy on a rock-solid, measurable foundation.
Keep in mind what great project managers know in their heart and soul: projects fail at the beginning due to inadequate planning. Smart leaders know how to create business cases that serve as a powerful tool in leading change. Do you?
Business Cases Are a Waste of Time (But Do Them Anyway)
