← BEFORE

Anyone that has tried to identify the most cost-effective and impactful response to a competitor move knows about the sheer amount of data, analysis, and blank stares that they often have to endure to get to a final decision.

With the potential monthly or weekly frequency of this challenge, there needed to be a more efficient and pleasing way to formulate a competitive response.

AFTER →

We began by listening to the teams that counteract competitor moves, and a major challenge they faced was convincingly communicating with other teams and leadership. Tight deadlines made things bad enough, and trying to garner the understanding of fellow teams and the buy-in of leadership using complicated data tables and charts added to the frustration.

To address this problem directly, we observed that there were three distinct personalities in the intended audience. So, we devised an easy-to-use solution where the analytical insights could be translated into three different formats.

The insights were now subtly communicated in three distinct ways within one storyline to garner the understanding, buy-in, and engagement of the three different audience types. Leadership and teams “got it” faster and experienced a drastic reduction in time getting to final decisions.

The greater gain was a reduction in the amount of failed meetings, where there would be too much data, too much banter, not enough engagement, and not enough forward progress. Making vital insights much more appealing to the audience reduced the time and stress levels of devising competitor responses, leading to more peace-of-mind and confidence to all those involved.

Insights were easily translated into three different narratives to customize their appeal

← BEFORE

Improving the way strategies get developed often involves adopting new methodologies.

The starting point in making changes is to share and explain the underlying lessons that motivate the new methods.

The challenge was to share the lessons and insights quickly enough and convincingly enough in order to ensure timely decisions on how to improve the strategy development process.

AFTER →

Our work with both senior leadership and teams revealed that one of the larger overheads in improving management operations was obtaining the understanding and buy-in from many individuals.

At a more specific level, we discovered that the main challenge was in communicating the insightful lessons that motivate the upgrade, especially when the content was complex. This could mean weeks or months lost before getting everyone on board.

We first observed the intended audience and discovered a variety of preferences for absorbing information. Hence, we collaborated around a straightforward solution that translated insights into a variety of metaphors and analogies. They each worked to resonate with the different personas of the audience in order to elicit quicker and deeper understanding. This not only helped raise the level of comprehension, but also made the presentations and meetings more enjoyable, relaxed, and productive.

By securing a method for packaging ideas in a way that the audience can relate to and enjoy, we enabled faster decision making when deliberating over process improvements. At a higher level, this foundation provided the stepping stones for the ultimate goal of devising smarter strategies and ensuring performance excellence.

Same lesson told with multiple approaches to accommodate various audience personas and expedite decision process