Have you ever gone to your leader with a great idea and after you present it he or she looks at you with that look? You know the one. The look of confusion as if to say, so, what?
When you present an idea, you need to be able to answer the so, what question.
So, what do I mean by this?
The so, what is the business driver behind an idea. It’s why someone would want to execute the idea or plan, and why they should care. Without answering the so, what an idea is just that: an idea with no purpose and no excitement behind it.
Let me give you an example...
You go to your leader after coming back from a conference and you want to implement the latest software release being offered. You go through all the new features and functions and how cool these tools are. You explain how everyone is going to love this change.
But when you finish your leader looks at you and says, “So, what?”
Your leader is right. All these new features are great but if you can’t answer the so, what you will never get approval to move forward.
What you should have done after listing all the new features and functions is to state why.
Why are these new features important? How are they going to drive productivity or employee engagement? Why should anyone care?
Give your leader a business reason to move forward and you will avoid the so, what look.
Until next time…I’m Marty, make every minute count.
Commentaires