#3. Develop clear recommendations and drive implementation

Don’t let everything (insights, $, pride…) go down the drain. No matter how brilliant the research and findings are, without delivering results, none of it matters.

Here are a few tips on developing recommendations and leading implementation:

Communicate using the Pyramid Principle

The Pyramid Principle is an incredibly useful framework for effective visual and verbal communication. It’s all about top-down messaging. Start with the conclusion first, then make sure the building blocks are there to support the overarching message. A simple way to do this is by making sure the hierarchy is maintained in the structure of your powerpoint slides or written documents visually. In the case of powerpoint, apply the rule of thumb “one-slide, one message”, to make sure everything builds up to the message in the slide heading. If you’ve structured your documents following the Pyramid Principle, the delivery should be straightforward. All you have to do is read from top-to-bottom, from one-slide to the next.

Draw actionable implications

There are too many instances where I have personally found myself excited about the synthesis of research that is filled with really interesting facts that satisfy my curiosity. But “so what”? What does this mean for the team or organization? Go the extra mile to draw implications that are actionable for the team and can lead to impact.

Develop an example roadmap

So you’ve drawn the implications. But how will the team go about tackling the recommended path? If you think it’d be helpful to get the ball rolling, put together a straw-man roadmap that outlines the main activities, milestones, and owners and stakeholders. It’s not easy for a team that is used to going through the same motions to come up with a plan to roll-out a new initiative.

Involve & get buy-in from the right stakeholders

Hopefully, you’ve been involving the relevant stakeholders through the entire research process (or each of the Seven Steps if that’s the framework you decided to use). It’s important to keep them involved along early parts of the journey to make sure you are focusing on the right questions, but perhaps even more so in the latter parts if you hope the team will act on your recommendations. The most successful projects I recall from my time at McKinsey were those where we made sure our clients were onboard every step of the way, and not just for the presentations. On the other hand, I’m unfortunately not sure if some of the research I did at Catalant went anywhere. This is partly due to the short duration I was at Catalant, but also more likely since I was not involving the right stakeholders.

Conviction

Lastly, this is more of a tip on how to deliver your findings and recommendations. While researchers can lean on data to substantiate their claims, I also think that conviction is a very important attribute for leaders who want to drive change. The fear associated with the uncertainty can be a key barrier to for teams who consider change. However, leaders with conviction can help their teams overcome uncertainty and enable them to focus on implementing the best course of action. During my time at Happie, I recommended changes to the way the tech-enabled service operated and the design of the internal-facing product. When I made the recommendations, I not only packaged the data to support my claims, but tried to make sure my message to the executive team was delivered with conviction.

Go the extra mile to develop actionable recommendations and lay the ground for your insights to make a true impact.