Self Management
Key Questions
What is staff work and why does it matter?
How do you write a paper or deck that management will actually approve?
How do you "socialize" an idea before the actual meeting?
Does your deck of slides pass the 'So What?' test?
What is the Pyramid Principle and why does every McKinsey consultant use it?
How do you influence without authority in bureaucratic organizations?
What are decision frameworks like RICE, ICE, Eisenhower Matrix?
How do you manage 'HiPPOs' (Highest Paid Person's Opinion) when the data disagrees with them?
What is the difference between 'seeking alignment' and 'design by committee'?
Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Track your progress as you learn
Hard Truths
The best idea in the world will die if the paperwork (submission) is bad.
Consensus building happens before the meeting, not during it.
Slides are for the audience, not for you to read your script.
Most slide decks are dense text with no visual hierarchy and a buried lede.
Executives have 30 seconds, so if your first slide doesn't answer "why should I care?", you've lost.
Technical people explain HOW before establishing WHY it matters.
Stakeholders say "yes" in meetings then ghost you - you didn't build alignment.
Differentiate between seeking approval, endorsement, forgiveness or to inform.