Creating a Burning Platform

For technical people a business case can be very intimidating.  Think of it like a recipe – it needs the right ingredients, prepared the right way.

This blog is 5 best practices for the most important ingredient of any business case – the burning platform.  You have to create a sense of urgency within your organization otherwise you will almost certainly lose the funding war.

1. It’s all about the numbers.  Any story you tell regarding your burning platform needs to be quantified as funding decisions are almost always financially driven. Creating your financial case drives clarity, shows you have done your homework and generally involves three contributing factors: cost savings from efficiency, incremental growth (sometimes expressed as opportunity cost) and risk reduction. Simple examples:

a. Cost savings:  We have 100 employees wasting half an hour per day due to our outdated system.  That’s $1,500 per day or $300k per year. 

b.  Growth/ Opportunity Cost:  The average cost of delay for project launch is $20k per week per project.  Accelerating launch by an average of 2 weeks per project will generate $40k per project.

c.  Risk:  We have 3 product recalls and 5 launch delays per year due to issue x. Our new solution is expected to reduce issue x risk by more than 50% eliminating 2 recalls and 3 delays per year, providing $yMM value.

2. Put a spotlight on errors.  There is a common tendency to downplay and paper over errors to avoid embarrassment.  But if you want funding for change you must do the opposite.  Go look for the errors, document them and quantify them.   

3. Create competitive tension.  Go find a competitor example that supports your case – either something they are doing to create value that your company isn’t or something they screwed up that you are at risk of. 

4.  Develop sticky facts.  A sticky fact is something that is thought provoking and unforgettable. They are gamechangers in getting stakeholder attention and mindshare. Examples include: “our projects take 50% longer than our competitors” and “75% of our research investment never makes it to market”.

5. Create buzz.  One senior leader once told me that decisions are typically preceded by buzz, and I’ve observed this. If you can get leaders discussing your topic and repeating your sticky facts, then you are heading for success!