SHOW ME THE DATA - A brief framework for persuasion

In a world where everyone has multiple KPIs with their limited time and budget, evidence based persuasion is more important to others. We often need to cram massive asks in to a 30 minute PowerPoint to ask for resources. 

I know this is probably obvious for a lot of people but for myself and some teams I've worked with, we often relied way too often on corner cases and anecdotes that pull at heart strings and end up having difficulties getting people to give a crap. 

This is a framework I started using and it's helped me out quite a bit with staying focused and assessing importance. When I've presented using this, I've had more success. Funny enough, I've also had a lot of success evaluating that my idea is stupid and I probably don't need to pursue it any further. It's been a great help at streamlining this process and saving time. 

Like I said, this might be obvious to a lot of you but my smooth brain really needed this laid out in a more accessible way to compartmentalize these steps so here we have it:

STEP ZERO - KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

Ideally you will only be presenting your idea and findings to one person but they may need to present it further up. Every subsequent step needs to be tailored to the audience you're talking to. The way they process information, what's important to them, etc all need to be considered. What visuals and evidence matter to one group of people doesn't always apply to the others. The sales associate may be more concerned with profitability whereas the compliance associate may be more focused on potential litigation. Never assume there's a one size fits all. 

STEP 1 - WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

It sounds obvious but definitely spend some time defining exactly what the issue is you're bringing up. Don't just buy a SaaS service or a new solution and back in to the issue from there. Figure out what exactly is the gap or the issue with your line of work and clearly state it. If you can't clearly state your problem, the rest of your argument falls apart immediately. 

STEP 2 - WHY DOES IT MATTER? WHY SHOULD I CARE?

You need to also spend some time reflecting on what the importance of this issue is. It seems daunting but the key is to come up with SOME sort of hypothesis of impact here. If, for example, a task takes forever - what does that mean? Is it time that can't be spent on other income generating tasks? Is it a bad customer experience that will affect retention? Tell me why this is such a big deal that we need to take good time out of our day to discuss it. 

Pro tip here - if you can relate it back to dollars and cents, you will have that much of a stronger argument. 

STEP 3 - CAN I SHOW EXAMPLES OF THIS? CAN I QUANTIFY THIS?

Online I've read at numerous sources that 65% of people tend to be visual learners (source). They aren't going to be able to understand significance as easily without something tangible showing the impact here. 

This is where you can get creative. Pull evidence that makes sense to the people reviewing your explanation. Make the relevant figures clear. Use visualizations that show impact at a glance. Try to stay away from the wall of text as it will take more time and effort to discern what you are trying to articulate. 

Additionally - make sure the problem is actually quantifiable. Is this happening 1% of the time? How many people is that? Does it matter in the grand scheme of things? The problem needs to be prevalent enough to make it worth the time and money investment to fix. Everyone thinks their problem is important but is this more important or urgent than another problem?

Lastly - make sure your examples and data are buttoned up. Make sure you can explain the methodology with your eyes closed and are familiar with the numbers when you present. This goes back to knowing your audience. Cherry picking is mighty tempting but if you present the wrong data to someone familiar with the subject area, your credibility is shot. It's okay to say "I don't know I'll get back to you" vs having complete BS up there and getting called out. 

STEP 4 - BRING A SOLUTION AND A GOAL 

Nobody likes complainers. If you want to vent, talk to a friend. Your peers and colleagues likely have a lot going on so make these discussions productive. If you have a problem, come up with what a potential solution is. It can be a vague idea that needs to be flushed out but at least it shows a vision and direction (hopefully with some budget estimates) so that people can make a decision on the approach. 

Past that, make sure you have a goal and a plan to measure it as well. You better be able to account for the change pre and post implementation and show that it was worth the time, money and effort. Otherwise, your credibility is shot and you'll have a very difficult time convincing people of anything past that. 

In my career, this is where I personally always hit walls. We had all 5 steps of this in our own minds but we didn't present it and articulate it in the way that allowed people to understand and make a decision. I still have trouble with this today - this very article has some unsupported anecdotes. But overall, approaching persuasion in this way helps to organize thoughts and give you the best chance of success. 

ONE LAST NOTE - DON'T BE STUBBORN

This is probably a whole article on it's own but - Don't be afraid of changing your own mind as well OR compromising and meeting in the middle. You don't know everything. Your audience doesn't either. We should approach this as an opportunity for collaboration and striving to make the larger vision more successful. You may not always get your way, but hopefully there's a middle ground. Don't ever be afraid of failing, walking away, re-assessing and coming back with a new approach. 

Vision - See where you're going before you crash in to a tree

To start this article off, I want to compare 2 managers archetypes I've had in my career. 

Manager 1 came up through the department and was very well versed in the team's day to day operations. They had regular meetings and made sure we all knew how our work rolled up to the larger objectives of the company. They knew each member and placed them in a position that was aligned with their strengths. 

Manager 2 was very knowledgeable about the department tasks but had come from another organization. They had to spend a lot of time getting to know the team and understanding what each member's role was. While this manager spent a lot of time with upper management and celebrated wins, the manager was stretched thin on multiple projects. The communication was more similar to a messenger than a leader. They focused on relaying requirements and achievements back and forth between the senior management and the working team members. 

Nothing malicious about Manager 2, and they always supported the team, but morale tanked compared to Manager 1. So what the hell happened? 

I spent a lot of time trying to figure it out and the big conclusion I came to was this: The extra familiarity Manager 1 had with the department allowed them to focus less on the day to day and focus more about future plans and ensuring the team was kept up to date on what was being discussed by management. For lack of a better term, the first manager was able to set a vision for the team whereas the second manager only had the bandwidth to focus on day to day operations. 

So, what is this "VISION" I keep referring to? 

No...not this guy. 

I want to define the Vision as the kind of "north star" for a team to follow in their day to day operations. It's a central theme explaining a team's role in the organization, the problems they exist to solve, and the benefit / end result of doing so. 

Who cares? Sounds like some corporate mumbo jumbo? 

Put simply - I believe it sets expectations and gives every team member autonomy. 

Mark Manson, a popular self help writer, often states that happiness doesn't come from success or fame but from the constant pursuit of identifying and solving problems. "Life isn't about avoiding suffering but figuring out what you're willing to suffer for. What suffering comes easy to you but not to others. That's your competitive advantage". 

Here's the hypothesis I'm currently testing - With a clear vision and expectations set, the team members will be more willing to take ownership of tasks without needing constant reassurance. As they take ownership and complete incoming tasks, they'll be less happy with keeping the status quo and will actively seek out ways to innovate and improve processes. The constant iteration and progress will lead to higher job satisfaction, higher productivity, and more competent team members overall. 

Who should be defining the vision? 

It really needs to be the role of the team leader to define the overall vision. The leader needs to understand the larger organization, it's goals and pain points. The leader also needs to understand the team - it's strengths, weaknesses, and role in the organization. Since the team leader has the whole perspective, they can put the two together and guide the team toward reaching those larger goals. 

Why shouldn't the team set the vision?

The leader should definitely take input from the team on aspects of the vision (especially related to prioritization and workload). However, one of the main benefits of having the team leader set the vision is centralization, standardization, and neutrality. If everyone on the team works toward their own vision, they may clash and conflict with the vision of other team members. This may lead to communication breakdowns, infighting and general nonsense. Additionally, the leader remains an impartial party so if there are any disagreements, you have a judge to clarify. The team also has a common enemy if it comes down to it, which may strengthen the rest of the team's bond. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. 

A good vision still isn't a silver bullet

No matter how solid and intriguing your vision is, it's not the end all be all to solve workplace issues. The other issues of a company (fair pay and benefits, product / service reputation), The manager (empathy, trust, training, work / life balance) and the employee (motivation, entitlement, attitude) all play a role in team success. This is just one piece of that puzzle, and one that I don't think receives enough attention. It's fairly easy to solve and really does make a big difference in the perception of a job. 

So the next time you're dealing with crappy morale and are looking to improve, make sure that you've set expectations clearly with a well thought out vision and see if that helps the situation. 

Step 1 - Getting started (the beginning [an introduction])

I guess I should start by introducing myself. I'm Joel. I'm in my 30s and I work for Honda HQ in Torrance. I've been there for 9 years at this point starting as a Jr analyst and working my way up to assistant manager. My background is in philosophy and history but my passion is computers and technology. 

I'm not quite sure what I want to write here but I've been getting the itch to "share" and I'm not really cut out for social media so here I am. 

Basically, I want to share what I've learned (and continue to learn) about business, management and the like with people. 

I didn't go to a fancy school for business. I wasn't a particularly good student. I was a philosophy student that graduated with a B- average. But what I lacked in traditional success, I think I made up for by being incredibly adaptive and persistent. 

I definitely don't know everything and I'm still picking up a lot every day. However, I think I've learned a few things that may help folks out. There have been a lot of "aha" moments that maybe aren't as obvious as I figured. 

So I'll try this out a bit and see how it goes. I may make a total ass of myself but that's okay. If you're comfortable, you're not growing (or so I've heard).