Management Voice Index
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All of us have to sell ideas to the Board, no matter whether we are in Sales, HR, Marketing or Operations. But we have to compete for the Board's attention with external suppliers and consultants, who are often more used to formal presentations at director level. Some say that it is actually harder for internal staff to win the Board's attention. What should you do to:

Win Support from the Board?

In the next few editions of Management Voice we are going to look at different ways of winning Board approval. We will look in detail at the kind of conversation a Board will expect to have with you. What questions should you ask the Board? What will they ask you? And, of course, what content should be in your Presentation, and how should you deliver it?

Let's start by looking at ways to win Board approval for a project proposal, perhaps the installation of new workflow software, new management development training or a new product set.

The Board will pay most attention to the expected outcomes of your project. It is very easy to overlook this, and focus on the what and how of a project, rather than the why.

So next time you want attention from the Board – whether through a written document or presentation – make sure you are answering the following questions:

Why Are You Proposing The Project?

What are the factors that make the project important? The ‘key drivers' behind a project may include:

• Compliance issues. Will the project help the company with new regulations?

• Competitor activity. Is the project an essential catch-up, or opportunity to take the lead?

• Opportunity to enter new markets. Will the project create a new revenue stream?

• Potential to save substantial amounts of money. Boards are anxious to control costs in the current economic climate.

• Staff retention and development concerns. Don't forget that staff are the human capital of the firm, and require long term investment.

• Technology requirements. Take a view on the technology implications of your idea. How will your idea work with your current technical resources?

What Will Be Different After The Project Is Complete?

You need to be absolutely clear and concise about what will have changed. HR staff love to think that a new project will ‘Help to make things will run more smoothly'. This is not a good enough reason for a project, nor is the other favourite: ‘It will improve morale'. If your project will, in fact, make the business run more smoothly you need to clarify what you mean. Do you mean more efficiently? If so, where will the efficiencies be, and how are they to be measured?

How Is The Project To Be Executed?

Show how the project will be carried out, but keep the explanation brief. Give the Directors just enough information to justify your financial assumptions.

What Is The Bottom Line?

Every Board has many projects competing for finite resources. The Board will tend to allocate time, attention and ultimately money to those projects most likely to add value to the company in financial terms.

You may have thought of a wonderfully efficient new process that will save staff time. But unless you show how the staff will use the spare time they have gained from your new system, the bottom line benefit to the company may be zero.

Improvements to company profits need to be shown as genuine cash savings, or as new revenues generated (return on investment).

What is the Return on Investment?

In the current climate, a training project needs to demonstrate a strong ROI. Companies have different ways of calculating ROI. Some organisations work on a simple payback method, looking at how quickly the project will save money, or generate new income. Other companies have their own set ROI formula, and you need to know what the formula is. Talk to your finance department, who should be able to brief you on the Board's financial expectations. If you have won the support of the Finance Director, your idea stands a much stronger chance of Board approval.

What Are The Risks?

A new project will always carry a degree of risk. By showing the Board that you have thought about risk, even if in very broad terms, you will have shown good preparation. Projects with a high ROI often bring high risks. The Board will know this, so make sure you have thought about what could go wrong with the project and how the company can minimise risk. Your risk assessment should show what happens to the company if the project is completely successful, averagely successful, or no success at all.

Why Is This Project So Important?

Sum up – why is this project so important? What is the risk of NOT doing the project? Where should this project be in overall importance to the Board?

Management Voice Index
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