You can have rock-solid analysis and still lose the room if the story is muddy. This chapter is about making your business case easy to say yes to: clear logic, clean structure, sharp visuals, and ruthless editing. The aim is not “pretty slides” but a narrative that senior stakeholders can absorb in minutes and defend in the room when you’re not there.
20.1 Storylining and Section Flow
A business case is an argument, not a data dump. Storylining is the discipline of deciding what that argument is—before you open PowerPoint or Word.
Start with the answer
Begin from the top of the pyramid:
- What are you recommending?
- Why now?
- Why this option vs the others?
- At what cost, for what value, with what risks?
If you cannot state that in 3–4 sentences, pause. You don’t yet have a storyline; you have a research project.
A simple, reusable storyline skeleton
For most business cases, this flow works extremely well:
- Decision & headlines
- What decision you need and what you recommend.
- The headline economics (NPV, IRR, payback, value at stake).
- Problem / opportunity & why now
- Baseline, pain/opportunity, and consequences of inaction.
- Strategic context and fit.
- Options and recommendation
- Baseline and option set.
- Evaluation criteria.
- Why the recommended option wins (trade-offs explicit).
- Baseline and option set.
- Economics and value
- Costs, benefits, and cash profile.
- Key drivers, sensitivities, scenarios.
- Risks, dependencies, and mitigations
- Top risks, residual risk, key dependencies, and contingencies.
- Implementation and governance
- Phasing, milestones, resourcing.
- Funding tranches and stage gates.
- Benefits tracking and accountability.
- The ask and conditions
- The approval you seek and any conditions you propose or accept.
Your executive summary is this story compressed to one page. The rest of the document simply unpacks it.
Flow within sections
Within any section, use a tight mini-structure:
- Opening sentence: what this section proves (“In this section we show that…”).
- 3–5 key points in logical order (cause → effect, or past → present → future).
- Short conclusion line that bridges to the next section (“Therefore we recommend…” / “This sets up the options analysis…”).
If a section can’t be summarized in one tight opening and one tight closing line, your content is probably trying to do too many jobs.
20.2 Slide vs Memo Formats and When to Use Each
Different organizations have different norms, but you will almost always encounter two main formats: a slide deck and a written memo. You should be fluent in both.
When to favor slides
Use a slide deck as the primary format when:
- The decision meeting is live and interactive.
- Your organization is used to reading stories visually.
- You need charts and diagrams to convey complex comparisons.
Strengths:
- Great for comparisons (options, scenarios, portfolios).
- Forces you to synthesize (limited real estate per page).
- Easy to present and navigate non-linearly.
Risks:
- Temptation to decorate instead of clarifying.
- People may skim titles only; if your titles are weak, your story is lost.
- Overuse of dense exhibits that nobody can read from a screen.
When to favor memos
Use a written memo as the primary format when:
- The decision-makers prefer depth and narrative (common in boards, some investors, regulators).
- Complexity is high and requires nuanced explanation or legal/regulatory framing.
- The pack must stand as a formal record of reasoning.
Strengths:
- Better for nuanced logic and legal / regulatory narrative.
- Easier to quote and archive.
- Forces you to write in complete thoughts, which improves reasoning.
Risks:
- Can become long and dense if editing discipline is weak.
- Harder to visually compare options or show quantitative patterns.
Hybrid: memo + slide deck
For major decisions, a hybrid is often best:
- Memo (8–15 pages) as the formal, narrative record.
- Slide deck (10–20 slides) as the meeting and communication tool.
Keep the numbers and labels identical across both. The memo may have more footnotes and detail; the deck should lean on strong visuals and headlines.
Rule of thumb
- Use slides as the primary format if your line and ExCo are heavily slide-native.
- Use a memo + slides for Board, investors, and regulators: memo as record, slides as interaction tool.
20.3 Data Visualization Essentials
You do not need to be a designer, but you must avoid confusing charts that confuse.
What charts are for
- Condensing multi-dimensional data into a graspable pattern.
- Supporting a single message you can write in plain English above the chart.
- Making comparisons and trends visually obvious without reading every label.
If someone has to squint or read every number to “get it,” the chart has failed.
Pick the right chart type
A few workhorses for business cases:
- Column (bar) charts
- Compare categories at a point in time (e.g., option costs, benefits by driver, savings by function).
- Line charts
- Show trends over time (e.g., cash flows, KPI trajectories, demand forecasts).
- Waterfall charts
- Bridge from baseline to outcome, showing component contributions (e.g., “NPV bridge: baseline → revenue uplift → cost savings → risk reduction → net impact”).
- Stacked bars
- Show composition within a total (e.g., cost breakdown by category, benefits by segment).
- Tornado charts
- Show sensitivity of NPV or other outcomes to key assumptions, sorted by impact.
- Options grids / tables with icons
- Summaries where qualitative dimensions matter (e.g., strategy fit, feasibility, risk).
Avoid exotic chart types unless your audience is very familiar with them.
Make charts “board-legible”
- Title = message. Not “NPV by option” but “Option B delivers highest NPV with only marginally higher risk.”
- One central visual point per chart; don’t tell three stories at once.
- Labels big enough to read on a projector; no tiny fonts.
- Clean axes: no unnecessary gridlines, no 3D effects, no clutter
- For time series, always label units and horizon (e.g., FY25–FY30, real vs nominal).
If you have to apologize for a busy chart (“I know this is hard to read…”), fix it before the meeting.
Don’t lie with visuals
- Always use consistent scales when comparing options or scenarios.
- Start axes at zero for bar charts unless there is a compelling reason not to—and then clearly mark it.
- Do not truncate time series in a way that hides important history or tail behavior.
Credibility lost on one misleading chart contaminates the whole case.
20.4 Step-by-Step Editing & Concision Guide
The difference between a decent case and a great one is often one ruthless editing pass. Here is a practical editing workflow.
Step 1 – Delete to decide
Before polishing, ask:
- If I had to cut this case to half the pages, what would I keep?
Mark those pages and sections:
- Executive summary.
- Problem/why now.
- Options & recommendation.
- Economics and top risks.
- Implementation & governance.
- Ask & conditions.
Everything else is supporting. That mindset makes it easier to cut.
Step 2 – One-page discipline
Force yourself to:
- Re-write the executive summary until it fits comfortably on one page / slide.
- Re-write the problem/why now section to one page for standard cases (maybe two for very complex situations).
If you cannot do this, your thinking is not sharp enough yet; fix that before adding more pages.
Step 3 – Tighten section by section
For each section:
- Delete any paragraph that does not clearly help answer:
- What are we doing?
- Why now?
- Why this option?
- At what cost and value?
- With what risks and plans?
- Turn verbose paragraphs into 2–3 short, declarative sentences.
- Replace adjectives (“significant,” “material,” “strong”) with numbers or specifics wherever possible.
Example:
- Instead of: “There is a significant opportunity to improve customer satisfaction in key segments.”
- Use: “Customer NPS in SME is 18 points below the market benchmark; closing half that gap is worth $12–15m NPV.”
Step 4 – Fix headlines and titles
Scan every page:
- Turn neutral titles into message titles.
Weak: “Cost savings by function.”
Strong: “70% of savings come from three functions—Ops, Service, and Supply Chain.”
Each page should be justifiable by reading its title plus maybe one key bullet.
Step 5 – Remove duplication
Common duplication patterns:
- The same idea described in the narrative, then repeated in bullets, then again in a chart.
- A risk described fully in the risk section and then again in implementation.
Keep:
- One full treatment where it belongs.
- Short references elsewhere (“see Section 13 for full risk details”).
This instantly reduces length without losing content.
Step 6 – Check for consistency and landmines
Quick passes for:
- Number consistency: if any two references to the same metric differ, fix them.
- Terminology: one label per thing (don’t call it “Digital Experience 2.0” in one place and “New Portal” in another).
- Dates and horizons: ensure they align across economics, roadmap, and funding.
Inconsistencies make reviewers question everything else.
Step 7 – Read it like a stranger
Ideally, hand to a colleague; if not, simulate:
- Read only the executive summary and section headings. Would you understand and be able to repeat the argument?
- Then skim just the first sentence of each section and the chart titles. Does the logic still hang together?
If the answer is no, you don’t need more words; you need clearer ones.
20.5 Style & Clarity Checklist
Use this at the end as a quick quality gate.
Logic and flow
- The story flows: Decision → Problem/Why now → Options → Economics → Risks → Implementation → Ask.
- Every major section opens with a sentence that explains its purpose.
- Each page/section has one clear message, captured in the title.
Concision
- Executive summary fits on a single page/slide and is decision-grade.
- No section feels like it is arguing two or more different points at once.
- Repeated content (text or charts) has been removed or referenced, not duplicated.
Language
- Sentences are mostly short and active (“X does Y”), with minimal passive voice.
- Jargon is avoided or briefly defined; acronyms are spelled out on first use.
- Qualitative claims are tied to specifics (data points, dates, examples) wherever possible.
Visuals
- Each chart has a message title (“what this shows”), not just a label.
- Axes, units, and time horizons are clearly marked; no misleading truncations.
- Charts are legible when projected; no dense small-font tables masquerading as visuals.
Consistency
- All financial metrics (NPV, IRR, payback, totals) match the latest model.
- Option names, KPI labels, and risk names are used consistently everywhere.
- Dates, horizons, and scenario names are consistent across sections.
Credibility signals
- Assumptions and uncertainties are acknowledged; over-precision is avoided.
- Top risks and residual risk are presented plainly, not buried or sugar-coated.
- Supporting evidence (data, benchmarks, pilots) is referenced where it matters.
If you can truthfully tick these boxes, you will walk into the room with a business case that reads like what it is meant to be: a clear, honest, and decision-ready argument—not just a stack of slides.
