Influencing Executives Through Data Analysis and Reporting

How can I develop executive influence through business information analysis and reporting to help drive decision making in my organization?

Bhavesh Patel, Senior Director of Global Risk & Business Resources at Sanofi ( Bhavesh Patel )

To start with, understand the audience. If you're presenting to leadership at the finance level, they’ll be numbers driven, so your reporting will need to be on actual cost savings. If you're looking at it from a supply chain point of view, you may instead report on lifecycle and supply chain impact. Your message has to be tailored to the audience you’re presenting to.

Are they new to the organization??Have they been here for a long time? If they're new to the organization, where do they come from??Do you have relations with other organizations? Or within the current organization, do you know who works with that person? Get an understanding of how they operate and what kind of information they like. Do they want slides? Do they just want abbreviated conversation? You have to understand what makes that person tick.?

And also, it has to be brief. It cannot be 20-page presentation. Use a short, simple set of data that represents their business and their respective organization or department. When you do that, you're able to clearly identify goals and objectives and make sure that the message is geared towards the mission of the company.?

Melissa Zellner, Executive Director, Security & Resilience at Organon ( Melissa Zellner CPP PMP )

I would agree. In order to do that, you have to know your business.?Doing that homework in advance is key to being able to connect the data. What is driving the business??What are the current business challenges? What's the environment? Where's the focus? Are they focused on business development or something else, and how does your data resonate with that?

It’s important to consider what you are championing as the security department’s mission or “value-add” to the organization. Security organizations are traditionally responsible for a myriad of areas but ?there are likely two to three key responsibilities for which they lead the organization.. If your security organization's key focus is crisis management or investigations, for example, then the data you highlight should connect to that program. Regularly demonstrating examples of how your security organization is supporting the business and subsequently tying data to underline it will aid business decision making.?

Patel: Yes. And whenever you're presenting, make sure you carry the torch for the entire team.?Represent the overall security brand. We present in a standard template—we have a light and a full version. The light version is only two slides. One talks about the organization and the pillars that we represent—People and Asset protection, Information Protection/Insider Risk, Crisis Management, Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Security.?So when we present, we always have a slide that represents the entire team.

Another key thing is to always use real-life case studies within the company, within the organization. That helps other leaders clearly understand the value of what you bring to the table.

Zellner: I would add that it is important to be attuned to whether what you're promoting is desired. Be willing to pivot if the timing is not right for the organization.?When the groundwork is set, the case can be made as receptivity changes or when the organization has reached a different state. Internal collaboration in the organization cannot be understated in order to garner feedback that will assist in progression of the security program and its ability to support the organization.

As far as what data to use, it goes back to knowing your business.?The critical piece is knowing what is top of mind for your stakeholders. Is the business focused on the longer horizon where there is interest in digesting strategic data??Or is it focused on the immediate term where there is a need to manage imminent risks with tactical data???Miscalculating this posture will definitely alter the receptivity of your stakeholder.?

Assessing the appetite of where the data is going to be best received along that paradigm is important. From there, crafting your sources and feeds around those requirements will set you up for advancement.?Generally, you’ll want a balance of personnel and tools.?If you try to benchmark and then apply a model that may work at a different organization to your business without knowing the business’ appetite, it's going to be a challenge.

Patel uses a chart like the one below to assess and develop internal stakeholder support.