Why your business case sucks
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.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Why your business case sucks
Similar to Why your business case sucks (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Why your business case sucks
- 1. Why Your Business Case Sucks Jeff Lash jeff@jefflash.com How To Be A Good Product Manager – www.goodproductmanager.com Twitter – twitter.com/jefflash ProductCamp St. Louis: April 21, 2012
- 2. 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
- 3. 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
- 4. Why your business case really sucks ►Hubris Why Your Business Case Sucks Jeff Lash ProductCamp St. Louis: April 21, 2012
Editor's Notes
- 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.