why your business case sucks
DESCRIPTION
This is a proposed session for ProductCamp St. Louis (http://productcampstlouis.org/); Saturday, April 21, 2012.For a product manager (or entrepreneur), the business case (or business plan) is the opportunity to present the rationale for why a particular product or investment is worthwhile. It is the time to put your best foot forward to get support for your initiative from internal stakeholders or potential investors.Unfortunately, many business cases are just plain lousy. To the author, the initiative is a no-brainer; to the readers and audience, well, they wouldn't disagree with the "no-brainer" label, they just would apply that to the author/presenter rather than the product opportunity. This session will discuss why a lot of business cases just plain suck -- why something that's a great idea in your head doesn't resonate with others -- and offer specific suggestions for product managers and entrepreneurs to better prepare and present their business cases.TRANSCRIPT
Why Your Business Case Sucks
Jeff [email protected]
How To Be A Good Product Manager – www.goodproductmanager.com
Twitter – twitter.com/jefflash
ProductCamp St. Louis: April 21, 2012
Why Your Business Case Sucks Jeff Lash ProductCamp St. Louis: April 21, 2012
Why is a business plan/case important?
► Outlines the market problem, the extent of the problem, how you’re going to solve it, and how you’re going to be successful doing it
► Provides evidence to back up your ideas
► Provides a vision and focus
► Shows that you’ve thought about all of the right details
► Makes the case for investment and support
Why Your Business Case Sucks Jeff Lash ProductCamp St. Louis: April 21, 2012
Why your business case sucks► Unclear what problem you’re solving► Lack of research / evidence► “Macro” without the “micro”► Diving into Red Ocean instead of looking for
Blue► “Swiss cheese” planning► Unrealistic assessment of competitive
landscape► Vague goals and unclear success metrics► “SWOT” analysis instead of SWOT analysis► Conservatism where aggressiveness is
necessary, and vice versa
Why Your Business Case Sucks Jeff Lash ProductCamp St. Louis: April 21, 2012
Why your business case really sucks
► Hubris