{"id":31,"date":"2017-03-15T12:06:38","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T12:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/?p=31"},"modified":"2023-08-30T16:31:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T15:31:35","slug":"reporting-formats-the-hidden-factor-in-effective-communication","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/reporting-formats-the-hidden-factor-in-effective-communication\/","title":{"rendered":"Reporting Formats (The hidden factor in effective communication)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6>\u201cWithout a standard there is no logical basis for making a decision or taking action.\u201d<br \/>\n&#8211; Joseph M. Juran<\/h6>\n<figure class=\"alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/reporting-formats-698.jpg\" alt=\"reports and graphs\" width=\"698\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/reporting-formats-698.jpg 698w, https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/reporting-formats-698-300x172.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 698px) 100vw, 698px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Many of the factors that make for success in business, and in life, are seemingly mundane; tedious even, but that apparent blandness can sometimes hide the fact that the routine disciplines are the bedrock of good performance. So the gifted musician practises their scales religiously, the professional athlete works on their flexibility, the talented leader makes sure he\/she gets enough sleep so that they have a clear head when making decisions etc. In business one of the most overlooked of these \u2018hidden\u2019 success factors is how people formally communicate ideas and information within a business.<\/p>\n<p>Whether reporting overall business performance, \u2018pitching ideas\u2019, solving problems, planning a negotiation, or giving project updates, having a systematic approach to transmitting information around the business is an unglamorous but important factor in an organisation\u2019s success. Well-designed standard formats ensure that key points are covered and errors are minimised. It\u2019s easy to learn to write them and the information is easy to grasp (because the format is always the same.) So what are some examples of effective, standardised reporting formats&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-balanced-scorecard\"><a class=\"anchor\" href=\"#the-balanced-scorecard\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a>The Balanced Scorecard<\/h2>\n<p>Developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton (1992 Harvard Business Review) the aim of the Balanced Scorecard is to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify what you need to measure to be successful<\/li>\n<li>Focus people (and business processes) on the priorities<\/li>\n<li>Make sure that all people (and systems) are aligned with the same set of priorities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In essence the scorecard aims to add strategic non-financial performance measures to traditional financial metrics, to give managers and executives a more &#8216;balanced&#8217; view of a company\u2019s performance. The Scorecard has four sections that cover the key elements, which, Kaplin &amp; Norton argue, makes for success in business:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Financial<\/strong> (e.g. ROI; Cash Flow; Profitability)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer; internal and\/or external<\/strong> (e.g. Customer Satisfaction; Customer Retention; acquisition of new clients; brand image)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Internal Business Processes<\/strong> (e.g. Manage risks; Efficient operations; Continuous Improvement)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Learning &amp; Growth<\/strong> (e.g. Talent Management; Performance Management; Morale; Training)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Of course to work well it has to be actively used as the centerpiece of a management meeting, and its completion must be absolutely mandatory. As with all management information it needs constant review and amendment of metrics to retain its relevance. However, \u2018Scorecards\u2019 are a \u2018big idea\u2019 in terms of reporting formats, in fact they were selected by the editors of Harvard Business Review as one of the most influential business ideas of the past 75 years, as they gives senior executives a clear, structured way of executing and monitoring business strategy.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"board-reports-or-bored-by-reports\"><a class=\"anchor\" href=\"#board-reports-or-bored-by-reports\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a>Board Reports or bored by reports?<\/h2>\n<p>Board Reports are intended to help company directors drive their organisations forward by answering questions like, \u201cWhat were the significant events last month\/Quarter? Are we on target? What is the financial situation? What significant investments are planned?\u201d Etc. However, very often, senior executives find that the Board Papers they receive are too detailed and too poorly structured to be able to absorb all the data \u2013 they can be hundreds of pages long! They also (typically) suffer from \u2018metric madness\u2019, with a huge range of KPI\u2019s (Key Performance Indicators) often using different reporting formats.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge then is to dispense with the myriad of KPI\u2019s, colours, tables and lines, and sheer \u2018heft\u2019 that constitute many Board Packs and replace them with a simple, well-organised report that tells a story for each key area of the business. Of course providing the proper level of detail, mostly in the appendixes, is important so that Executive and Non Executive Directors have access to data they need to make informed decisions. But providing that data needs to be done in a clear, concise manner that makes it clear (i) what the purpose of each section of the report is and (ii) what decisions the Board are being asked to make.<\/p>\n<p>One writer on this subject, Jon Moon, suggests that his Words in Tables format (WiT) provides a possible answer. WiT is a method of presenting information in table format&#8230;<a href=\"http:\/\/jmoon.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as in this example from his website&#8230; jmoon.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-346\" src=\"http:\/\/www.boulden-executivecoaching.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/finance-report-1.jpg\" alt=\"finance-report\" width=\"602\" height=\"852\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"toyota%e2%80%99s-a3-method-nemawashi\"><a class=\"anchor\" href=\"#toyota%e2%80%99s-a3-method-nemawashi\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a>Toyota\u2019s A3 Method &amp; Nemawashi<\/h2>\n<p>Toyota\u2019s production system is highly regarded and has a number of well-known elements amongst its 13 components or \u2018pillars\u2019 e.g. \u2018fool proofing\u2019 (Poka-Yoke) Pull System (Kanban) etc. However a vital, though lesser-known \u2018pillar\u2019, is their addiction to A3 reports and \u2018building a consensus\u2019 (i.e. Nemawashi.)<\/p>\n<p>Toyota insists that managers use a tool called \u201cthe A3\u201d (named after the paper size \u2013 11\u201d x 17\u201d) as a method for sharing information, solving problems and approving proposals. All proposals, ideas, problem solving exercises etc. have to be summarised on a single A3 page. The A3 page is divided into several sections, with each being a small square or rectangle, and each section tells part of a \u2018story\u2019 that builds to support a given conclusion. The key to success is to realise that there is a need to \u2018story board\u2019 the proposal, recommended action etc. and to ensure that the key data is presented clearly, and there is a logical \u2018flow\u2019 to what\u2019s being suggested.<\/p>\n<p>Nemawashi typically begins when the person who is promoting a particular proposal talks the stakeholders through the initial draft of the A3 form. Usually they start with the most junior stakeholder and then work their way up the chain of command, modifying their proposal, as necessary, in the light of comments received from key people. In the event of strong resistance, the proposal is either abandoned or completely reworked. The idea is that once a proposal is approved (which may take some time) it is fully understood by all the relevant parties and can be implemented quickly and efficiently.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"summary-on-a-page-soap\"><a class=\"anchor\" href=\"#summary-on-a-page-soap\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a>Summary on a Page (SOAP)<\/h2>\n<p>The Procter &amp; Gamble One Page Memo format has been in use by P&amp;G since the 70\u2019s. As the name suggests all internal communications have to be condensed into one page, and follow a fixed, five-part, format.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The background<\/strong><br \/>\nSet the context<\/li>\n<li><strong>Introduce your idea<\/strong><br \/>\nDescribe, ideally in one sentence, what you\u2019re proposing<\/li>\n<li><strong>Explain how your idea works<\/strong><br \/>\nExplain the key elements of the idea<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reinforce the benefits<\/strong><br \/>\nList the three most important benefits of your proposal\/idea<\/li>\n<li><strong>Suggest the next step<\/strong><br \/>\nState what has to happen to move things forward<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This format ensures that ideas are presented succinctly and coherently, because addressing the five steps (should) automatically mean that the important elements of a new idea have been thought through.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"pecha-kucha-%e2%80%93-the-japanese-art-of-chit-chat\"><a class=\"anchor\" href=\"#pecha-kucha-%e2%80%93-the-japanese-art-of-chit-chat\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a>Pecha Kucha \u2013 the Japanese art of chit chat<\/h2>\n<p>The Japanese reporting format of Pecha Kucha (literally &#8216;chit chat&#8217;) is used to keep presentations short and sharp. The discipline is to prepare 20 slides, each of which gets shown for 20 seconds (on auto change) so each presenter has 400 seconds (6 minutes and 40 seconds) to make their point. It is primarily intended to keep people at conferences (internal or external) and networking events (where there are a whole string of talks on the agenda) &#8216;focused&#8217; and so avoid death by PowerPoint. Here is an example of this 20 x 20 format in action: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.speaker.org\/video\/pechakucha.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.speaker.org\/video\/pechakucha.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"so-what%e2%80%99s-next\"><a class=\"anchor\" href=\"#so-what%e2%80%99s-next\"><i class=\"fa fa-link\"><\/i><\/a>So what\u2019s next???<\/h2>\n<p>Reflect on the nature and quality of the internal written communications that you (a) prepare and (b) receive, and consider if some \u2018standardisation\u2019 of formats might be useful.<\/p>\n<h3>On-line<\/h3>\n<p>Take a look at this short lecture (10 minutes) on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UvffmfnTh3A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how to use the A3 report format<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Reading<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/How-Make-IMPACT-Influence-Presentations\/dp\/0273713329\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>How to make an IMPACT: Influence, inform and impress with your reports, presentations, business documents, charts and graphs<\/em><\/a> (Financial Times Series) by Jon Moon<\/p>\n<h3>Courses<\/h3>\n<p>Consider sending your managers on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/course-managing-the-team.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cManaging the Team\u201d course<\/a> (which includes discussions of standardising reporting formats)<\/p>\n<h3>Coaching<\/h3>\n<p>Or maybe a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.boulden-executivecoaching.net\/coaching-philosophy.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u2018one to one\u2019 executive coaching session<\/a> would help you to consider the way some aspects of your company\u2019s documentation could be improved e.g. Standardised Sales Pitches, Revised Board Packs etc.<\/p>\n<p>And remember&#8230;<\/p>\n<h6>\u201cWithout standards there can be no improvement\u201d<br \/>\n&#8211; Taiichi Ohno<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cWithout a standard there is no logical basis for making a decision or taking action.\u201d &#8211; Joseph M. Juran Many of the factors &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":475,"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boulden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}