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?
What is the "So What?" test and why do most proposals fail it?
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?
What You'll Learn
Learn to write for decision makers (Bottom Line Up Front, Pyramid Principle)
Master the "pre-meeting" hustle to ensure your agenda passes
Understand visual hierarchy in slides: one message per slide, not ten
Learn decision frameworks to prioritize ruthlessly
Develop stakeholder mapping and influence strategies
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.